The 2010 Lansing JazzFest has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the National Endowment for the Arts' "Challenge America: Reaching Every Community" program. The program supports projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations — those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics or disability.
NEA grants are awarded to professional arts programs that emphasize the potential impact of the arts in community development. A first-time NEA award recipient, the Lansing JazzFest is among only four grant winners in the state of Michigan.
"Through the recognition and support of this NEA grant, the 2010 Lansing Jazzfest will have additional resources to offer a wider variety of educational programming for all members of the community to participate in," says Sharen Lange, Executive Director of the Old Town Business & Art Development Association (OTBADA) and Coordinator of JazzFest.
Lansing JazzFest began in 1995 when OTBADA chose to develop high-quality free music festivals as a tool to positively contribute to community development. Both the Lansing JazzFest and sister festival, Old Town BluesFest, have a long-standing tradition of excellence in musical programming.
"The NEA grant is a significant indicator of not only our current success, but also our commitment to meet the growing need to produce accessible arts programming for our community," adds Lange.
Source: Sharen Lange, Old Town Business & Art Development Association
Writer: Suban Nur Cooley
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