The City of Atlanta – Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) has been given a $25,000 Grants for Arts Projects award by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support ELEVATE 2021. This project will enhance the City’s cultural offerings by providing free, quality cultural experiences that highlight what makes Atlanta unique and increasing Atlanta’s cultural and economic vitality.
The OCA’s 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 the City of Atlanta – Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs 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.”
“The NEA’s support of our programming will help us continue to enhance the City’s cultural offerings, through ELEVATE, and help our artistic community emerge from the pandemic,” said Camille Russell Love, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
Presented annually by the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs in various locations around Atlanta, ELEVATE is a temporary public art program that seeks to invigorate the Atlanta area through visual art, performances, and cultural events.
Launched in 2011, the first exhibition of ELEVATE hosted 15 events and 40 performances over 66 days. Artwork filled vacant properties, street corners, and plazas to showcase artwork ranging from 13 story murals to contemporary dance, video, installation, and poetry. This intensive cultural programming invited 13,313 new visitors to downtown Atlanta. Since its inaugural year in 2011, more than 250 articles have been published recognizing Atlanta’s cultural spirit.
For more information on the projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.