WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski announced that art organizations in Springfield and Staunton will receive a combined $35,000 in federal grants. The funding was awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Through the National Endowment, the Springfield Art Association will receive $15,000 to support a community mural project and Staunton’s Macoupin Art Collective will receive $20,000 to support a mobile art education program.

“The arts connect our community and showcase our homegrown talent,” said Congresswoman Budzinski. “I’m thrilled to announce that $35,000 in federal funding is headed our way to support local projects in Springfield and Staunton. I look forward to seeing the benefits this funding brings to Central and Southern Illinois!” 

“The Springfield Art Association is thrilled to be recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts. This is the first of several attempts for a local project to be funded by the NEA. The Springfield Art Association submitted a grant application to the NEA for a mural project. It proposes that a mural be created by nationally recognized artist Barbara Mason on the east side of Springfield. Ms. Mason was born and raised here in Springfield; she now lives in Texas. The mural includes opportunities for community input on both the location and content of the mural. Community meetings will be held in March to determine the location. Ms. Mason will be visiting in May for content input and the mural is scheduled to be produced in June or July with assistance from local art students. The grant is a matching grant. The NEA is providing $15,000 that will need to be matched for the total cost of the project of $30,000,” said Betsy Dollar, Executive Director of the Springfield Art Association.

“The Macoupin Art Collective is proud to announce the receipt of funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to provide community events and art programs to rural and Central Illinois through ArtReach. Our ArtReach programs include the Art Bus, Free After School Art, Free Craft Cabinet, and a pay as you can Art Material Thrift Shop. During its first year of 2021, the Art Bus saw an average of 10 percent of the population of each of the communities visited. Bringing joy and opportunities to rural areas with populations of 200 or 2,000. Our mission is Art to All. We are grateful for this incredible opportunity, through the work of the NEA, to share art in our corner of the state of Illinois,” said Marcella Cloud, Development Coordinator and Community Liaison at the Macoupin Art Collective.

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.