The Audience-Building Project Awardees!

Lake Placid Center for the Arts Grants $650,000 to 71 Arts Organizations Across New York State through Audience Building Project

Initiative Supported by the New York State Council on the Arts

Lake Placid, NY – The Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LPCA) is thrilled to announce the list of awardees from its inaugural Audience Building Project, a regrant program supported by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) this year.

The statewide program is focused on audience-building to support organizations as they recover from the COVID-19 and racial justice pandemics. LPCA is distributing a pool of $650,000 to presenters of all sizes with $5,000-$10,000 grants towards projects that are intended to grow and diversify audiences. By mitigating some of the financial risk involved in programming performing arts experiences that will appeal to a new or broader audience, the Audience Building Project aims to support arts organizations’ ability to develop deep, sustainable relationships within their communities.

The Audience Building Project received over 200 applications from approximately 155 organizations across the state and will issue 73 awards for projects in 3 categories: Reignite the Field, Risk-to-Reward and Artists in Communities. Reignite the Field offers support for presentations of all kinds, like awardee Central NY Jazz Arts Foundation and their presentation of bassist Endea Owens. Risk-to-Reward supports presentations that involve a financial risk that when overcome, will help to grow an audience base, including Tannery Pond Center’s musical performances by indigenous artists in conjunction with their exhibit, Indigenous Gifts: Tradition, Today, and Tomorrow. Artists in Communities funds additional community engagement projects that will enhance and extend the time artists spend in a community around a performance, like Kaatsbaan Cultural Park’s series of pre-performance workshops and community showings from the New York Theatre Ballet.

The full list of awardees can be found online: bit.ly/tabp-awards-2023.

The LPCA is grateful to NYSCA for partnering to bring this new initiative to fruition, and to all of the dozens of organizations across New York for working to expand meaningful access to the arts for all.

The Audience Building Project is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with support from the Governor and New York State Legislature.

About the Lake Placid Center for the Arts
Nestled in an Olympic village, the Lake Placid Center for the Arts is a year-round treasure to residents and visitors of the Adirondacks and is the premier art and cultural hub of the region. Orchestrating quality programming, performances, rotating art exhibitions, and education experiences to residences and visitors alike, the LPCA provides an ensemble of offerings in music, theatre and dance, and supports local, regional and national artists in its Fine Arts Gallery. At the heart of this hub is hands-on learning experiences for children exploring their creativity and adults finding new passions. As a leading organization, the LPCA collaborates with other Adirondack non-profit partners to build, support and cultivate the arts community. Inspiring excellence in the arts for generations, the LPCA continues to thrive today at its unique and captivating Lake Placid campus.

About the New York State Council on the Arts
The mission of the New York State Council on the Arts is to foster and advance the full breadth of New York State’s arts, culture, and creativity for all. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York State, the Council on the Arts will award $127 million in FY 2024. The Council on the Arts further advances New York’s creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Council is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch. For more information on NYSCA, please visit www.arts.ny.gov, and follow NYSCA’s Facebook page, Twitter @NYSCArts and Instagram @NYSCouncilontheArts.

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