A panel of peers in the arts community selected 18 local artists and creative businesses to receive an Arts Alive mini grant. This year, 43 total applicants sent artist bios and descriptions of their project for review. Selected projects received funding to either expand the artist’s or business’s professional abilities or increase the amount of people they reach with arts experiences.
We’re really delighted that the mini grants program can open the doors for folks to pursue their dreams and reach their community. – Jennifer Paone, Board Co-Chair
The 2024 mini grant awardees are:
Hannah Banana
Visual artist Hannah Banana Clark, who intends to use the grant to purchase supplies and promotional materials for an old-train-car-turned-new-community-maker-space called “The Banana Box” in Swanzey, NH.
Keene Senior Center Executive Director Kimberly Rumrill, who will use the grant to fund the purchase and installation of molding and hanging rods to hang paintings for a new art gallery at the Senior Center.
Local artist and educator Erin Sweeney who will use the grant to help pay for a sign and website for a new art studio in Hancock called Brick House Arts. Sweeney intends to host workshops, pop up art shows, events for all ages, and an Art Table project, among other community collaborations and projects.
Filmmaker and High Cairn Films-founder Chris Hardee, who will use the funds to support free screenings of a new history-focused documentary ‘Good-bye to a House’ to local audiences in the Monadnock region. These screenings involve time, travel expenses, and in some cases, equipment purchase or rental.
Waking Finnegan
Violinist and songwriter Corey Walden, who will use the mini grant to support an album recording by the local Celtic music project Waking Finnegan.
Former librarian Miranda Rosbach, who will use the grant to serve families with children aged 0-12 of Rindge by creating a Mini Maker Art Studio with art classes and interactive experiences and a children's bookshop in her backyard.
Pyrographer, fiber artist, and performer Brenna Morss-Fish, who will use the mini grant to purchase materials to craft unique and fun wood and fiber-based products to support her growing creative business.
Writer and writing coach Becky Karush, who will use the grant to fund a week at Welcome Hill Studios in Chesterfield, NH to provide uninterrupted writing time to work on the third draft of her WWII-themed historic fiction novel.
Artist and arts educator Sammy Burhoe, who will use the funds to purchase printmaking class materials including a new set of printmaking inks, 2 new rollers and about 25 sheets of fine art paper for students ages 14+ in a public after school program at The Center at Orchard Hill in Alstead, NH.
Martha Behrens-Temple
Photographer and mixed media artist Martha Behrens-Temple, who will use the mini grant to gain access to the workshops, materials, and resources available with membership at the Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro.
Caroline Tremblay
Author, entrepreneur, and content creator Caroline Tremblay, who will use the grant to fund a solo writing retreat at a farm to provide inspiration and uninterrupted writing time to draft her first novel.
Artist and art teacher Melanie Fedorowicz, who will use the funds to support her growing art practice and creative business in a new studio.
Artist Alison Scott, who will use the funds to purchase frames for artwork to be exhibited in local galleries.
Singer-songwriter and audio engineer Cameron Paul, who will use the mini grant to purchase materials for the construction of a vocal isolation booth for his music studio.
DJ Owen Zoll, who will use the mini grant to purchase an external hard drive for his music.
Photo of ‘Emergent Pines’ and Alison Scott by Diana Place
Independent director, producer, filmmaker, and documentarian Heather Holloway, who will apply the mini grant to the cost of developing, mounting, and framing photography for a public exhibit of a film currently in production.
Interdisciplinary artist, educator, and art historian April Claggett, who will use the mini grant to purchase supplies for an interactive, video-based installation at the Jaffrey Civic Center.
Dance instructor, professional choreographer, and dancer Kristen Walden, who will use the funds to replace props and costumes for classes and performances.
Arts Alive awarded grants of $200 to $250, depending on the needs of the project and alignment with the nonprofit’s mission of igniting creativity, sparking connections, and nurturing the artists and culture-bearers of the region so that they may spark others to dream, create, and engage.
Kristen Walden by Peter Paradise Photography
Through anonymously collected demographic information, Arts Alive determined that 28% of the mini grant applicants are living near or below the poverty line and over 49% make less than the region’s median income. Additionally, 36% of applicants are caretakers of another household or family member, like a child or an ailing relative.
We’ve begun collecting data to see who is accessing our programs to better understand where the need is. Mini grants are an easy way to say to artists - your ideas are valid, worthy, please keep going! With this bit of funding, we are able to connect artists with money to kickstart their dreams. I wish we had another few thousand to give away each year! - Arts Alive Executive Director Jessica Iris
By accepting the mini grant, awardees agree to use the funds for intended purposes by September 2025. Awardees will also document the impact of the funding on their project. To help raise the $2,000 for this program, Arts Alive conducted a NH Gives Day online fundraiser in June 2024. In October 2024, Arts Alive was able to increase the amount of mini grants available with a generous donation from the The Eppes-Jefferson Foundation.
This year, the mini grants panel consisted of local arts leaders, previous mini grant recipients, and Arts Alive board and staff members including 2023 mini grant recipients Sarita Drew of Everybody Burlesque, musician and composer Tara Novak, musician and sound artist Katie Semro, artist and arts educator Tristan Bridges, and Keene Sentinel journalist and photographer James Rinker. Additionally, Keene State College professor and 2024 Ewing Arts Award winner Christina Wright-Ivanova, Arts Alive board member James Duffy, and Arts Alive Programming Coordinator Nina Taylor-Dunn juried.
