NEFA Invests in New England's Artists and Cultural Organizations

(Boston, MA) The New England Foundation for the Arts has made grants totaling $337,821 to artists and nonprofit organizations that support culture in communities across New England. These grants support public presentations and engagement activities, and reach all six New England states, impacting communities large and small.

NEFA’s Expeditions and New England States Touring (NEST) programs made a total of 96 grants. These programs are made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies.

“These grants enable cultural and civic activity in communities across New England – both rural and urban. Artists and their partners at cultural organizations in our region are engaging conversations that matter for today – inspiring us to be more human, more innovative, and to create opportunities for all to participate.” said NEFA executive director Cathy Edwards. “We are grateful that public support for the arts at the federal and state levels supports these programs.”

Projects awarded funds include The Telling Project, which uses theater to deepen understanding of the military and veterans’ experience, and will work with partners in rural Vermont and New Hampshire; the return to New England of Ballet Hispanico, which offers exquisite choreography, impactful educational experiences and meaningful dialogue that celebrates the diversity and strength of Latino culture in the U.S.; and the New England premiere of Meet Fred, a collaboration between Hijinx Theatre, a pioneering Welsh company dedicated to inclusive casting of artists with learning disabilities, and Blind Summit, one of the UK’s preeminent puppetry troupes, who together contemplate the absurdist predicaments of Fred, a puppet who fights prejudice on a daily basis.  

The Expeditions Touring grants support multi-state New England tours of regional, national and international artists to engage with multiple New England communities, encouraging organizations to share resources and information. Expeditions Tour Planning grants provide planning resources for future tours. This year the panel awarded 37 grants to tour 10 projects and 12 grants for tour planning.

2018 Expeditions Touring Grants:

• Adam Weinert Dance, Hudson, NY, to tour to:
  • Brown University, Providence, RI
  • Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Becket, MA
  • Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA
• Ain Gordon with Josh Quillen/Pick Up Performance Co(s), New York, NY to tour to:
  • ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, Williamstown, MA
  • Connecticut College, New London, CT
  • International Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven, CT
  • Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield, CT
  • The Yard, Chilmark, MA
• Ballet Hispanico, New York, NY, to tour to:
  • Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington, VT
  • Kingdom County Productions, Barnet, VT
  • Pinkerton Academy, Derry, NH
  • Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, New Bedford, MA
• Hijinx Theatre, Cardiff, Wales, to tour to:
  • Flock Theatre, New London, CT
  • Puppet Showplace Theater, Brookline, MA
  • Sandglass Theater, Putney, VT
• Keigwin + Company New York, NY, to tour to:
  • Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington, VT
  • Portland Ovations, Portland, ME
  • Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield, CT
  • World Music/CRASHarts, Cambridge, MA
• Kinan Azmeh and Dinuk Wijeratne, Brooklyn, NY, to tour to:
  • Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Ossining, NH
  • University of Saint Joseph - Autorino Center for the Arts, West Hartford, CT
  • West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts, Claremont, NH
• Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, New York, NY, to tour to:
  • Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington, VT
  • Portland Ovations, Portland    ME
  • The Colonial Theatre, Keene   NH
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst Fine Arts Center, Amerst, MA
• Ragamala Dance Company, Minneapolis, MN, to tour to:
  • Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
  • Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Becket, MA
  • Middlebury Performing Arts Series, Middlebury, VT
• The Telling Project, Austin, TX, to tour to:
  • Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, VT
  • Kingdom County Productions, Barnet, VT
  • Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College, Keene, NH
• We're Muslim, Don't Panic, Chicago, IL, to tour to:
  • Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston, ME
  • The Dance Complex, Cambridge, MA
  • The Yard, Chilmark, MA
  • Trinity College, Hartford, CT
  • University of Saint Joseph - Autorino Center for the Arts, West Hartford, CT

2018 Expeditions Tour Planning grants:

• Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston, ME, for a canary torsi, Brooklyn, NY
• IBA - Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Boston, MA, for Agua, Sol y Sereno, San Juan, PR
• ANIKAYA Dance Theater, Somerville, MA, for ANIKAYA Dance Theater, Somerville, MA
• Afterglow Festival, Provincetown, MA, for Brian King and What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?, Gloucester, MA
• FirstWorks, Providence, RI, for Early Morning Opera, Los Angeles, CA
• Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield, CT, for Frederick Gravel, Montreal, QC, Canada
• Pao Arts Center, Boston, MA, for Lenora Lee Dance, San Francisco, CA
• Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, VT, for Mocean Dance, Halifax, NS, Canada
• '62 Center for Theatre and Dance, Williamstown, MA, for New England Dance on Tour
• Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College, Keene, NH, for Roger Guenveur Smith, Los Angeles, CA
• SPACE Gallery  Portland, ME, for Sara Juli, Falmouth, ME
• Middlebury College, Dance Program, Middlebury, VT, for Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre, New York, NY

The New England States Touring program provides support for performances and activities by New England artists in New England states, with grants ranging from $400 to $4,000. In fiscal year 2018, the NEST program supported 43 organizations from 36 different communities to present 50 artists representing 39 communities through 58 grants. Application deadlines are the first business days of August, December, and April; details at www.nefa.org.

New England Organizations receiving NEST grants in 2018: 

• 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH
• Arts Alliance of Northern NH, Littleton, NH
• Arts Council of Tamworth, Tamworth, NH
• Arts Escape, Southbury, CT
• Autorino Center for the Arts, West Hartford, CT
• Bar Harbor Music Festival, Bar Harbor, ME
• Barre Opera House, Barre, VT
• Bread & Roses Heritage Committee, Lawrence, MA
• Castleton University, Castleton, VT
• The Colonial Theatre, Keene, NH
• Common Fence Music, Middletown, RI
• Community Art Center, Cambridge, MA
• Court Street Arts, Haverhill, NH
• The Dance Complex, Cambridge, MA
• Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT
• Eastport Arts Center, Eastport, ME
• First Parish Congregational Church, Yarmouth, ME
• FirstWorks, Providence, RI
• Island Moving Company, Newport, RI
• Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Becket, MA
• Jazz Residency Initiative, Denmark, ME
• Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon, NH
• Litchfield Jazz Festival, Litchfield, CT
• Maine Celtic Celebration, Belfast, ME
• Maine Coast Waldorf School, Freeport, ME
• Marlboro College, Marlboro, VT
• Monadnock Waldorf School, Keene, NH
• onStage at Connecticut College, New London, CT
• Piti Theatre Company, Charlemont, MA
• Portland Ovations, Portland, ME
• Puppet Showplace Theater, Brookline, MA
• Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College, Keene, NH
• Rhode Island Black Storytellers, Providence, RI
• Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Ossining, NH
• Sandglass Theater, Putney, VT
• Seven Stars Arts Center, Sharon, VT
• SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME
• Strawbery Banke Museum, Portsmouth, NH
• Tomaquag Museum, Exeter, RI
• The Wilbury Group, Providence, RI
• West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts, Claremont, NH
• Westford Museum, Westford, MA
• The Yard, Chilmark, MA

New England Artists Benefitting from 2018 NEST grants:

• A Far Cry, Jamaica Plain, MA
• A Squared Films, Cambridge, MA
• Aaron Larget-Caplan, Boston, MA
• Akwaaba Ensemble, Manchester, NH
• Ali Kenner-Brodsky, South Dartmouth, MA
• Alicia Potter, Boston, MA
• Alloy Orchestra, Cambridge, MA
• Antonio Rocha, Gray, ME
• Artfarm, Middletown, CT
• Ashleigh Gordon, Dorchester, MA
• Atwater-Donnelly, Warren, RI
• Avery Sharpe, Plainville, MA
• Bonnie Duncan & the Gottabees, Jamaica Plain, MA
• Bread and Puppet Theater, West Glover, VT
• Burlington Taiko, Burlington, VT
• Camerata New England, Hanover, NH
• Circus Smirkus, Greensboro, VT
• cordis, Needham, MA
• Debo Band, Jamaica Plain, MA
• Delaney McDonough, Denmark, ME
• elephant JANE dance, Wakefield, RI
• ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX, Providence, RI
• Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, Bar Harbor, ME
• FUKUDANCE, Winchester, MA
• Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti, East Hartford, CT
• History At Play, Somerville, MA
• Ice Dance International, Kittery, ME
• John Hunter, Lee, NH
• Karim Nagi, Boston, MA
• Lida Winfield, Shelburne, VT
• Lorraine Chapman, The Company, Winchester, MA
• Maria Rindenello, Bourne, MA
• Mark Shilansky, Somerville, MA
• New England Brass, Beverly, MA
• Nimble Arts, Brattleboro, VT
• Ourbigband, Portsmouth, NH
• Pilobolus, Washington Depot, CT
• Puppetkabob, Georgia, VT
• Sandglass Theater, Putney, VT
• Shakespeare to Hiphop, Lexington, MA
• Sokeo Ros, Providence, RI
• Sumner McClain, Sharon, MA
• The GroovaLottos, Mashpee, MA
• The Kelly Girls, Groton, MA
• Thomas/Ortiz Dance, New Cannan, CT
• Veronica Robles, Boston, MA
• William Alexander, Montpelier, VT
• Wunderle's Big Top Adventures, Chester, VT
• Young at Heart Chorus, Florence, MA
• Zili Misik, Jamaica Plain, MA

About NEFA
The New England Foundation for the Arts invests in artists and communities and fosters equitable access to the arts, enriching the cultural landscape in New England and the nation.  NEFA accomplishes this by granting funds to artists and cultural organizations; connecting them to networks and knowledge-building opportunities; and analyzing their economic contributions. NEFA serves as a regional partner for the National Endowment for the Arts, New England’s state arts agencies, and private foundations. Learn more at www.nefa.org.

CONTACT: Ann Wicks | 617.951.0010x534