May 11, 2016

Kilmer Announces Grants for New Art Projects in Tacoma, Port Townsend

TACOMA, WA – Today, Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA), a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, announced new grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for projects in Tacoma and Port Townsend. The investments follow NEA Chair Jane Chu’s February visit with Kilmer to art organizations in Tacoma, Port Townsend, and Bainbridge Island.

In Tacoma, the grants will further the development of Tacoma’s Theater District and support a new exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum on Chinese history. The Port Townsend grant will be used for workshops at the Centrum Foundation.

“The arts play a transformative role in our communities,” said Kilmer. “As someone who worked in economic development, I know the arts are an absolute game-changer for us. These grants will help add to the vibrancy of our communities, enhance our livability, and attract talented people and businesses. I was proud to welcome the Chairwoman to our neck of the woods earlier this year so she could see the outstanding things happening in our region and why they deserve support.”  

The following local organizations received NEA grants:

Centrum Foundation: The foundation will receive $25,000 for workshops at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and the Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival. Artists will present concerts and also offer instruction by leading workshops. Instructors will include Yiddish musician and tradition bearer Michael Alpert along with Cajun musician Marc Savoy. Both are NEA National Heritage Fellows.  

Tacoma Arts Commission: The commission will receive $50,000 to develop the Culture and Transportation plan for the Theater District. This is a redesign of an important gathering and transportation hub that will increase access, improve use for cultural activities, strengthen the connection to the region, and improve the look and feel of the spaces through quality design and public art.

Tacoma Art Museum: The museum will receive $20,000 to support the exhibition and catalogue “In Search of Lost History: Zhi Lin and the Legacy of Chinese Railroad Labor.” The exhibition seeks to address Chinese history in the Puget Sound region, featuring a dozen newly commissioned paintings by Lin that examine the treatment of late 19th-century Chinese laborers.

In February, NEA Chair Chu joined Kilmer for an extensive tour of art initiatives in the 6th District. They visited the Tacoma Museum of Glass and heard from service members and veterans in the Hot Shop Heroes: Healing with Fire program and the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts. In Port Townsend, they looked at work being done at the Centrum Foundation along with Copper Canyon Press, a non-profit publisher dedicated to poetry. Both also went on a tour of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.

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