Book Arts to Receive $10,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
Buffalo, NY— The WNY Book Arts Center has been approved for a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support Printing Partners. This project is part of Book Arts’ educational outreach program hosted by community partners throughout the Buffalo region & offers free, sequential art classes to children & families in their own neighborhoods. Book Arts’ project is among the more than 1,100 projects across America totaling nearly $27 million that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2021 funding.
“As the country and the arts sector begin to imagine returning to a post-pandemic world, the National Endowment for the Arts is proud to announce funding that will help arts organizations such as Book Arts reengage fully with partners and audiences,” said NEA Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “Although the arts have sustained many during the pandemic, the chance to gather with one another and share arts experiences is its own necessity and pleasure.”
Just as the print industry revolutionized the distribution of information in America, Book Arts is revolutionizing the way art can serve, connect, and expand access to education and job training in WNY. Grant funds from the National Endowment for the Arts will have a tremendous impact on Book Arts’ organizational stability as we continue to embrace our core values of collaboration and resilience while reimagining our approach to artistic service to our Western New York community. We have reached an exciting stage in Book Arts’ development: poised for growth, prepared to reap the benefits of a successful leadership transition; the completion of comprehensive marketing & rebranding efforts; and the realization of years of building improvements and enhancements. This investment is a vote of confidence in Book Arts’ bright future as we work to support artists in their development, reach children and families who might otherwise not have access to the transformative power of artmaking, and encourage all who engage with our organization to explore their creative curiosity.
Removing the barrier of cost and transportation, PRINTING PARTNERS affords all families the opportunity to participate in high-quality arts learning. In this hands-on program, learners of all ages & abilities engage with the book arts to build their creative confidence and artistic skills. Classes offer students a safe space to students investigate basic to advanced forms of book & printmaking techniques alongside professional teaching artists, and work with specialty artist materials to create thoughtful & unique works of art.
Located in the heart of downtown Buffalo, the WNY Book Arts Center (Book Arts) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the book arts through collaboration and innovation, bridging antique equipment and processes with modern artmaking techniques, and celebrating the heritage of Buffalo’s’ printing industry. Book Arts is proud to act as a hub to create and foster a collaborative community by providing opportunities to artists and educators, and all those in creative pursuits.
For more information on the projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
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