ArtWeek has announced that it welcomes back Music Drives Us Foundation (MDU) as a partner for their upcoming spring festival. Fifty recipients will be selected to receive a $200 performance grant to support the presentation of their event during ArtWeek, up from 10 total recipients in 2018. ArtWeek, presented by Highland Street Foundation and produced by the Boch Center, runs this year from March 1 to 10.
Events submitted before the February 21 deadline that meet the following criteria will automatically be considered for a Music Drives Us award: the event must be accepted by ArtWeek as an official event; it must be free; and it must be a music and learning-based event. Since ArtWeek is celebrated statewide, events from across the Commonwealth will be eligible. Grant recipients will be selected by Music Drives Us and notified in late March.
“We are so grateful to have a partner like Music Drives Us that is as passionate as we are in making arts and culture accessible to all,” said Joe Spaulding, President and CEO of the Boch Center. “By making these awards available across the Commonwealth, Music Drives Us is making an important investment in the value of creative communities and we are grateful for their support.”
“ArtWeek presents the perfect opportunity to support local artists and organizations in our communities at a grass roots level to promote affordable and equal access to the arts for everyone,” said Ernie Boch Jr., Founder of Music Drives Us.
ArtWeek is an award-winning festival that features hundreds of creative experiences that are hands-on, interactive, or offer behind-the-scenes access to arts and culture. In 2019’s festival, 90% of all of ArtWeek’s 600+ events were either free or under $25 for admittance and took place in all of Massachusetts’ six regions: Greater Boston, North of Boston, South of Boston, Cape & Islands, Central Massachusetts, and Western Massachusetts.
The final deadline to submit an ArtWeek event is Friday, February 21. Applications can be found at artweekma.org.
ArtWeek works to spotlight how the creative economy is thriving in Massachusetts by offering unique and affordable neighborhood-based events. The festival provides experiences in dance, folk and traditional arts, fashion, media arts, spoken-word, poetry, writing, contemporary visual arts, music, opera, theater, design, film, and much more. To learn more about the festival, visit www.artweekma.org.