Grant given to county arts council
By Michael P Buffer
CITIZENSVOICE STAFF WRITER
Luzerne County is giving $50,000 to the Cultural Council of Luzerne County. The grant will help the organization pay a staffer to manage day-to-day operations, and it will allow it to put together a business plan based on a cultural assessment study of the county, which should by done by March, officials said.
The county has provided about $90,000 for the cultural assessment, County Commissioner Todd Vonderheid said. The county gave that grant to the to the Joint Urban Studies Center, which hired AMS Planning and Research of Connecticut to conduct the study.
Vonderheid said the $50,000 grant to cultural council is a “set-up grant” that could lead an annual appropriation to fund the arts. The commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the grant Oct. 18."We will see if the arts community wants to do something long term or not," Vonderheid said. The cultural assessment will identify strengths and weaknesses of the arts in the county, Vonderheid said.
"The arts community is very fractured," Vonderheid said. "There are so many small arts organizations."Shelley Pearce, chairperson of the Cultural Council of Luzerne County, said the $50,000 grant will also be used to improve the council’s Web site and convene a retreat of arts organizations and leaders.
"We will talk about how we can collaborate," Pearce said. "The community leaders have been very clear: arts and cultural organizations need to collaborate to get funding."
The council is "leading the charge" for an arts center in downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pearce said. An arts center would provide space for the visual and performing arts, meetings, lectures and storage, she said.
"Our hope is to have more funds," Pearce said. "As long as the cultural organizations are working together, I think there is a possibility for that."
mbuffer@citizensvoice.comThe Citizens Voice 2006
