Creative Communities Program
Building Creative Communities Through The Arts

Grant Coordinator: Cassandra Erickson
cassandra.erickson@dcr.nh.gov
(603) 271-7926

Purpose
To improve the quality of life in communities through participation and local investment in the arts, and strengthening the creative economy.

Goals

• Encourage community members, organizations, and municipal/community leaders to strengthen the creative economy by supporting local arts programming, artists, and art businesses.
• Educate municipal/community leaders on the value of local investment in the arts by supporting the development of  cultural plans, local arts agencies/arts commissions, arts and economic development strategies, cultural tourism efforts, and pubic art programs.
• Support collaborative arts projects involving community members, organizations, and professional NH artists who engage community members in the  arts-making  process resulting in the creation of public art.
• Provide professional development opportunities for NH artists that will enhance their artistic and business skills.
•  Support and make professional NH artists aware of training opportunities that will enable  them to work in health care facilities.
• Promote and support  arts programs for patients/residents/clients and staff in healthcare, nursing facilities and agencies serving elderly people.
• Support and strengthen existing and new arts councils/commissions, alliances and consortia as well as non-arts organizations that offer arts programs on an ongoing basis.
• Promote model community, health care, economic development and cultural tourism projects involving the arts.
• Make the arts more accessible by increasing year-round, high quality arts programming in rural and under-served communities around the state.

This Program Serves
Local arts councils, commissions and agencies, artists, arts presenters, emerging arts organizations, community performing groups, municipalities and community organizations (singly or as a coalition) that program the arts for their communities, schools (in partnership with others), libraries, civic clubs, social service organizations, Main Street programs, chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, health care providers, nursing home  facilities, agencies  serving elderly people, regional planning councils, and senior centers.

Types of Grants and Services

Program Services

• Offer series of artist entrepreneurial workshops for professional NH artists to improve their business skills.
• Dissemination of information and presentations for artists, community leaders and members, and health care providers to learn  more about community arts programs, community cultural planning,  and the value of the arts in local, economies (creative economy),  health care facilities, and for elderly people.
• Establishment and convening of a statewide Arts Satellite Network, composed of community leaders and representatives of local/regional arts councils, arts commissions and collaboratives, to share expertise, best practices, projects, and resources relating to arts and community/economic development (e.g., cultural planning, affordable live-work spaces for artists, creative economy initiatives).
• Administration of an in-state arts in health care initiative that supports arts programs in health care facilities and for people who are elderly.
• Maintenance of on-line Arts in Health Care Artist Directory of professional artists skilled in offering arts programs, including staff training, in health and nursing care facilities. Click here for the Arts in Health Care Artist Directory.
• Maintenance of an on-line Community Arts Roster that identifies professional artists skilled in offering programs that engage community members in the creative process. Click here for the Artist Roster.
• Collection of resource materials pertaining to community arts, arts in health care and artists as entrepreneurs.
• Liaison with the New England Foundation for the Arts' New England States Touring Program that provides grants to NH presenters to support the presentation of performing artists from the other five New England states; for more information about NEFA programs visit www.nefa.org or call 617-951-0010.
• Liaison with the New England Foundation for the Arts' online regional artist directory (www.matchbook.org).