Jamaica Plain's Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts has been awarded two grants from the Mass Cultural Council.
Diane Ivey, right, and Jessica Bucci "yarn-bombed" the sign at the Eliot School in 2014.
The first, an operating grant of $10,900, allows the organization to continue its work inspiring lifelong learning in craft and creativity for people of all ages and from all walks of life. This grant supports the Eliot School’s work bringing art and woodworking classes to over 2,000 children this year in public schools and community centers across Boston, and offering craft classes for adults and children at its schoolhouse on Eliot Street.
The second grant, of $30,000, will help pay for a feasibility study to determine how the Eliot School might renovate and expand space at its schoolhouse or within alternate space elsewhere.
The Mass Cultural Council, which is a state agency, provides funds to every community in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to promote excellence, education, access and diversity in the arts, humanities and sciences, to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the vitality of our communities and economy.
MCC also gave grants to other Jamaica Plain organizations, including 826 Boston, A Far Cry, BalletRox, Boston CyberArts, Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Freelance Players, Spontaneous Celebrations and Urbano Project. Separate funds, announced in the spring, support organizations working on creative youth development through the arts.
State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, state Reps. Liz Malia and Jeffrey Sánchez, have been among the local legislators actively supporting state funding for arts and culture, helping to shepherd Mass Cultural Council through this year’s tight budgeting process.
Mass Cultural Council’s budget of $15.7 million includes nearly $14 million from the state of Massachusetts plus grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. At least $47,000 total this year goes to arts organizations in Jamaica Plain.