Creative Communities Program
Building Creative Communities Through The Arts

Creative Communities Coordinator: Judy Rigmont
judy.l.rigmont@dcr.nh.gov
(603) 271-0794

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 creative process.
• Strengthen arts organizations and the skills of artists that provide challenging opportunities for community members and local artists to engage in creating art together.
• Provide professional development opportunities for NH artists that will enhance their artistic and business skills and train them to work in health care facilities.
• Promote and support artist residencies 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, fairs/festivals, community performing groups, municipalities and community organizations (singly or as a coalition) that program the arts for their communities, e.g., schools (in partnership with others), libraries, civic clubs, social service organizations, Main Street programs, chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, health care providers, nursing facilities 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.
• Maintenance of on-line Arts in Health Care Artist listing of professional artists skilled in offering arts programs, including staff training, in health and nursing care facilities.
• Dissemination of information and presentations for artists, community leaders and members to learn more about community arts programs, community cultural planning, and the value of using the arts in economic/community revitalization projects.
• Administration of a multi-year regional Arts & Health Care Initiative in partnership with Vermont Arts Exchange and Massachusetts Cultural Council, including: support of programs and training opportunities for artists and staff in one or two NH hub sites.
• 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 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).

Last updated: February 29, 2008