Arts-based Community Development Investment for New Haven

Artspace one of 64 National Endowment for the Arts Our Town projects selected nationwide

We are proud to announce that Artspace is the recipient of a NEA Our Town grant in support of this year’s City-Wide Open Studios “GAME ON!”

The Our Town grant program supports creative placemaking projects that help to transform communities into lively, beautiful, and resilient places with the arts at their core. The NEA received 240 applications for Our Town this year and will make awards ranging from $25,000 to $100,000.

“For six years, Our Town has made a difference for people and the places where they live, work, and play,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Projects such as the one led by Artspace help residents engage the arts to spark vitality in their communities.”

“Artspace is tremendously inspired to further catalyze the energy already evident at and around the Goffe Street Armory, from artist Titus Kaphar’s new Post Masters program, to Hillhouse High School’s Marching Band/Drill Team, to the Goffe St Horseshoe Club’s practices at DeGale Field,” said Artspace Executive Director Helen Kauder. “We look forward to working closely with GSA stakeholders and the City of New Haven to activating the building and building its capacity to serve, through artist-designed games— as a creative resource for residents and visitors alike.”

The Our Town grant will support  Game On!, Artspace’s annual City-Wide Open Studios festival. The festival will engage artists and community members through commissioned works of art that will explore how the Goffe Street Armory can connect with the surrounding neighborhood. With guidance from the City of New Haven and members of a neighborhood planning committee envisioning the Armory’s future, Game On! will work with adjacent partner organizations-Prescott Bush Senior public housing, Hillhouse High, New Haven Correctional Center, and DeGale Field to re-brand the vacant Armory and link it more closely to its surroundings. The festival activities will support the hundreds of artists and more than ten thousand community members who participate in the festival, as well the neighborhood organizations that may benefit from a re-branded armory.

For a complete list of projects recommended for Our Town grant support, please visit the NEA web site at arts.gov. The NEA’s online resource, Exploring Our Town, features case studies of more than 70 Our Town projects along with lessons learned and other resources.