The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and The Kresge Foundation are partnering to expand support of creative placemaking through the launch of a pilot technical assistance program. In collaboration with Local Initiatives Support Corporation, National Creative Placemaking Program (LISC) and PolicyLink, the pilot program will provide the creative placemaking field a deeper understanding of how to do arts-based community development well, ultimately benefiting funders and practitioners.

 

Specialized technical assistance will be given to 14 organizations and their partners with the goal of advancing each organization’s ability to lead successful projects that result in positive short- and long-term outcomes for their community. In addition, the program will clarify standard practices in creative placemaking by sharing lessons learned. The program will also inform future funding practices for NEA’s Our Town program and Kresge investments.

 

“We are excited to work closely with and learn from projects on the ground,” said Jason Schupbach, director of Design Programs at the NEA. “This unique collaboration amongst government, foundation, and community development organizations will be beneficial to everyone in the U.S. who is interested in creative placemaking.”

 

“Stronger, more collaborative partnerships that foster equitable and inclusive community development will help advance creative placemaking projects that improve the life circumstances of vulnerable populations and strengthen neighborhoods,” said Regina Smith, managing director of Kresge’s Arts and Culture Program. “We are thrilled to partner with NEA, LISC, and PolicyLink to pilot this initiative.”

 

Through a competitive process, the NEA selected seven previous Our Town grantee organizations to receive the technical assistance:

 

Cheyenne River Youth Project in Eagle Butte, SD

City of Kansas City, MO

City of Anderson, SC

Forklift Danceworks in Austin, TX

Martin County Community Redevelopment Agency in Palm City, FL

Metro Nashville Arts Commission in Nashville, TN

Youngstown State University in Youngstown, OH

 

Read the press release here.