Next Stage Arts Project in Putney has been awarded a $370,000 grant from the national organization, ArtPlace America. Selected as one of 55 recipients out of nearly 1300 applicants, Next Stage was recognized as fulfilling ArtPlace’s mission “to advance the field of creative placemaking, in which art and culture play an explicit and central role in shaping communities’ social, physical and economic futures." Next Stage was noted in ArtPlace’s award announcement for it’s role in helping the community emerge from “two major fires in the village center... to create a performing arts and community center that is already becoming the new anchor for Putney's re-emerging downtown.” $320,000 of the award is for capital improvements at Next Stage’s performance venue at 15 Kimball Hill, as part of a joint effort with the Putney Historical Society ¨(PHS) to renovate this historic building into a fully-accessible, modern performing arts center, with $50,000 going to support additional programming and school collaborations.
The ArtPlace grant expands the Next Stage Arts Project/Putney Historical Society collaboration to embrace national partners and peer organizations, increasing visibility not only for Next Stage but for the whole southern Vermont community.
“We are honored to be among the projects selected for funding by ArtPlace America in this grant cycle. The affirmation that our small, rural project in southern Vermont is resonating with the larger, national dialogue around arts and community-building is very exciting to us,” said Billy Straus, President and Co-Founder of Next Stage Arts Project.
Governor Peter Shumlin said: “In just three short years, Next Stage Arts Project has been instrumental in reinvigorating the cultural and economic life in Putney, as well as other communities in Southern Vermont. The project embodies the kind of creative collaboration and resourcefulness we are striving to encourage in the State of Vermont.”
Said Putney’s Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard: “This is great news, so exciting to see Putney village come to life!”
The total goal of Next Stage and Putney Historical Society’s joint Capital Campaign is $860,000, which comprises afull accessibility upgrade including the installation of an elevator, restoration of the historic ceiling, roof, and façade, major upgrades to the performance space including seating, air handling, lighting/sound, and the addition of a green room, as well as renovation of the kitchen and a restored exterior. With the $320,000 from ArtPlace, the Capital Campaign has now raised a total of $650,000 including other grants, several lead donations from community members, and a more than $110,000 state tax credit. The goal is to close the remaining $210,000 gap with additional grants and at least $100,000 from community donations. The work on the building is slated to begin this season and completed by the fall of 2016.
Lyssa Papazian, Capital Campaign co-chair and Putney Historical Society board member, said ¨Next Stage Arts Project is doing wonderful work, enriching the community through the adaptive reuse of an important, historic building at the center of Putney village life since 1841.¨
Next Stage Arts Project was founded in 2010, as a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing Putney’s cultural and economic village center through the programming, development and operation of Next Stage.
ArtPlace America is a collaboration of leading national and regional foundations, banks and federal agencies committed to accelerating creative placemaking. More information at: www.artplaceamerica.org (link is external).