From 5PM on June 11th to 5PM on June 12th, 2024, Arts Alive will be participating in The NH Center for Nonprofits online fundraiser NH Gives. Arts Alive, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, uses all funds raised to support emerging artists in the Monadnock region through a program called Mini Grants.
Arts Alive’s mission is to ignite creativity and spark connection across the Monadnock region. By nurturing artists, culture-bearers, and creative instigators, the organization strives to bring access to the arts to every Monadnock region community member. The organization provides artists and organizations education, resources, assistance, and community support for success. Through the Mini Grants program, Arts Alive seeks to boost emerging artists, especially those that identify as experiencing financial hardship, in their professional and creative endeavors.
In 2023, Arts Alive raised $2000 during NH Gives to award grants of $100 to $250 to 10 projects that either expanded the artist’s or business’ professional abilities or increased the amount of people they could reach with arts experiences. There were 33 total applicants. Through anonymously collected demographic information, Arts Alive determined that 39% of those applicants lived at or below the poverty line and over 57% made less than the region’s median income.
This is an incredible program to resource creative instigators in our community. Through it, we are able to connect artists with funding to kickstart their dreams. - Arts Alive Executive Director Jessica Gelter
Recipients of Arts Alive’s 2023 mini grants include Christopher Clauss, a published poet and slam poetry event organizer who plans to start a monthly poetry night in downtown Keene; circus artist and juggler Nate Olson, who practiced street performing as a performance artist who started as an adult; violinist, vocalist, and composer Tara Novak, who recorded demos and music videos for two new projects; journalist James Rinker, who obtained a camera lens for a photo project documenting the medical and social aspects of transitioning one’s gender; graphic designer and skateboard builder Michael Anfuso, who purchased a 3D printer to produce a new modular skateboard mold; multi-disciplinary artist Hallie Driscoll, who will put the grant towards a mixed media embroidery workshop series for the community; and retired Film Studies professor Lawrence Benaquist, who hired a video editor to work on a promotional video for a documentary on Jewish sculptor and concentration camp survivor Esther Topaz.
Tara Novak’s band Ishna by Shaylyn Grace Photography
We are slowly uploading all of the videos to our websites and social media, using them not only as booking tools but also to help build our following online. The cost and time to produce these materials can be very prohibitive. The support from Arts Alive makes a difference, as does the support from everyone in our community! - 2023 Mini Grant Recipient Tara Novak
For the 2024 Mini Grants program, Arts Alive aims to raise $2500. More information on the program can be found at monadnockartsalive.org/mini-grants. More information on past projects and supporting Arts Alive during NH Gives can be found online at www.nhgives.org/organizations/arts-alive. Updates on Arts Alive’s and other local arts organizations’ participation in the 24-hour fundraiser will be posted to social media.
