Boston, MA, May 12, 2021—Celebrity Series of Boston has been approved for a $15,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support several projects within the Neighborhood Arts pillar of Celebrity Series’ Arts for All! Community Engagement program. This project will support exciting projects highlighting the diverse voices of local Boston artists during our 2021/22 reopening season. Celebrity Series of Boston’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 Celebrity Series of Boston 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.”
“Support from the NEA will help tremendously as Celebrity Series approaches the challenge of resuming live performance in our changed world,” said Gary Dunning, President & Executive Director. “Knowing we have this early support gives us the confidence to move forward in planning a robust Neighborhood Arts season designed to support and amplify the diverse voices of Boston-based artists.”
Neighborhood Arts engages Boston area performing artists to bring the joy of live performance to people of all ages and abilities. Drawing deeply on partnerships with community organizations, Neighborhood Arts activates neighborhoods with a rich and varied array of opportunities, including interactive workshops for youth, free and $5 community concerts in neighborhood venues, and free tickets to Celebrity Series main stage performances.
While COVID-19 has disrupted usual plans, in 2020-21 Neighborhood Arts pivoted to digital engagement, with interactive workshops for youth and free, professionally presented digital concerts featuring local artists.
For more information on the projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
About Celebrity Series of Boston
Celebrity Series of Boston was founded in 1938 by pianist and impresario Aaron Richmond. The Celebrity Series has been bringing the very best performers–from orchestras and chamber ensembles, vocal and piano music, to dance companies, jazz, and more–to Boston’s major concert halls for 83 years. The Celebrity Series of Boston believes in the power of excellence and innovation in the performing arts to enrich life experiences, transform lives and build better communities. Through its education initiatives, the Celebrity Series seeks to build a community of Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, shared experience—on stages, on streets, in neighborhoods–everywhere.
Celebrity Series of Boston is grateful to our 2020-21 Season Sponsors Amy & Joshua Boger and to the many individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose support helps fulfill our mission to present performing artists who inspire and enrich our community. Individual and Institutional supporters include the Barr Foundation through its ArtsAmplified initiative, Leslie & Howard Appleby, Stephanie L. Brown Foundation, The Catered Affair, Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, D.L. Saunders Real Estate Corp., First Republic Bank, Foley & Lardner LLP, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Outside the Box: A Production of the Boston Arts Summer Institute, Cynthia & John S. Reed Foundation, Royal Little Family Foundation, Stifler Family Foundation, Anonymous, and many others.
# # #