New Hampshire Theatre Project Receives Arts Job Grant

New Hampshire Theatre Project of Portsmouth is among 12 New Hampshire arts organizations that have received Arts Jobs grants. The grants are paid for through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and distributed through the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. In New Hampshire, 42 jobs are being preserved with the help of these grants.

Governor John Lynch and the Executive Council approved the Arts Jobs grants Wednesday. "We are very pleased that in a small way we have been able to help save jobs in New Hampshire's vital arts community," said Department of Cultural Resources Commissioner Van McLeod. "These organizations are an important part of not only their communities' well being but the state's as well. They provide a major economic engine that will help us all as we work our way out of these difficult economic times."

New Hampshire Theatre Project's grant of $20,000 will be used to underwrite administrative salaries. Artistic director Genevieve Aichele says, "In this struggling economy, soliciting funds to support general operations is more difficult than ever. The ARRA grant gives us a foundation on which to re-build last year's loss of important underwriters and sponsors."

The State Arts Council received $293,100 in grants to save jobs in the arts workforce. The funds are part of a $19.8 million appropriation funded through ARRA. The NEA awarded the funds directly to state and regional arts agencies to respond to the unique needs of arts organizations around the country that are struggling to remain viable in the economic downturn. In New Hampshire, this first round of funds, a total of $230,000, was awarded by the State Arts Council through a competitive grant program called Arts Jobs: Putting New Hampshire to Work. 42 organizations applied for the grants.

The NEA Web site offers a Recovery page at www.arts.gov/recovery with updates on Recovery grants, agency reports, and other information.