Seven CreativeGround Profiles We Love: April 2017

CreativeGround is filled with eye-catching profiles, but this collection of artists, creative businesses, and cultural nonprofits really grabbed our attention. In addition to their excellent profiles, each has either received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts or conducts advocacy work for arts funding within their region. Read more about each of these engaging profiles and maybe get some inspiration for building your own...
 

MacDowell Colony (New Hampshire)

At its founding, the MacDowell Colony was an experiment with no precedent. For more than a century, MacDowell, the nation’s first artist residency program, has been making a place in the world for artists because art makes the world a better place. Founded in 1907 by American composer Edward MacDowell and pianist Marian MacDowell, his wife, The MacDowell Colony provides a setting where a diversity of disciplines converge, leading to new possibilities for art and new directions for artistic careers. the MacDowell Colony has received ongoing support from the National Endowment for the arts, including the Art Works Grant since 2013.

MASSCreative (Massachusetts)

MASSCreative works to build a more vibrant, healthy and equitable Massachusetts. MASSCreative works with artists, leaders, supporters, and partners of the arts, cultural, and creative community to advocate for the resources and support necessary for the sector to thrive. A critical partner for the Massachusetts creative economy, they host the annual Arts Matter Advocacy Day as well as many other initiatives intended to rally the community and fight for vital funding throughout the state.

Bruce Museum, Inc. (Connecticut)

Consistently voted the "Best Museum" by area media, the Bruce Museum is a regionally based, world-class institution highlighting art, science and natural history in more than a dozen changing exhibitions annually. The permanent galleries feature the natural sciences that encompass regional to global perspectives. In addition to in-house educational programs for all ages, they offer an extensive outreach program to area schools. In 2011, the museum was awarded the "Access to Artistic Excellence" grant by the National Endowment for the arts support the research and planning phase of the exhibition "Merry Company."

Kevin Doyle (Rhode Island)

Kevin Doyle is a master of Irish step dance who learned his first steps from his mother, a native of Roscommon, who taught her children to dance in their Providence home accompanied by her lilted tunes. A lifelong dancer, Kevin was a U.S. Champion Irish step dancer in his early competitive years, and has been entertaining audiences ever since with his traditional style of "close to the ground" rhythms and intricate foot work. He also was just awarded a National Fellowship from The National Endowment For The Arts!

Belfast Creative Coalition (Maine)

Since its inception in early 2012, the Belfast Creative Coalition’s mission has been to cultivate arts and culture to attract people and business to the Belfast area. Within a 20 mile radius of Belfast is a rich concentration of artistic talent, individual craftsmanship and cultural heritage that deserves to be recognized and promoted. Recognizing the Belfast area’s three gems of art, local food and beautiful land, BCC boosts the efforts of this local, well-recognized and highly-respected cluster of arts, cultural and farm endeavors.

Double Edge Theatre (Massachusetts)

Double Edge Theatre's mission is to create a 'living culture' by developing the highest quality of original theatre performance, based on the long-term imaginative work of the ensemble and other artists and their rich interaction with the communities in which the work takes place, and by cultivating at its home in Ashfield, MA—the Farm—a permanent center of performance, training, research, and cultural exchange. The company’s goal is to elevate the creation and understanding of artistic expression and cultural mutuality between artists and communities, with economic, environmental, and cultural sustainability. The organization has been honored with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Arts for over 20 years.

Sandglass Theater (Vermont)

Sandglass Theater is driven by a dedication to artistic excellence in the productions of the core ensemble and by a spirit of inclusivity in the presentation of diverse guest artists and community events. Sandglass is inspired by a love of puppetry and live performance, engagement with local and international community, and respect for audience. A recipient of many grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Sandglass' mission is to sustain an artist-driven theater with an emphasis on advancing the development of puppetry as a unique and unusual theater form that embodies the human experience.

All images supplied courtesy of the artists