Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Christina McClelland, Director of Arts and Culture
DATE:	January 5, 2014
CC:	Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
RE:	Authorize submittal of Lawrence Arts Center Our Town Grant Proposal to the National Endowment for the Arts to meet January 15 deadline

Background:

The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission reviewed the attached grant proposal from the Lawrence Arts Center during a December 29 special meeting and has recommended the City Commission authorize its submittal. The proposal is due January 15. The funding opportunity, a National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town: Arts Engagement, Cultural Planning, and Design” grant for the 2016 and 2017 iterations of the Free State Festival, requires a partnership between a nonprofit organization and a local government entity, one of which must be a cultural (arts or design) organization.

The project description is as follows: “In 2016 and 2017, the Lawrence Arts Center will transform the NEA-funded Free State Festival from a largely regional festival to an international one that makes full use of the technological and artistic infrastructure to be built along the 9th Street Corridor as a result of the City and ArtPlace-funded Free State Boulevard Project currently in the planning stage. By integrating the Festival into this cultural district streetscape, the Lawrence Arts Center will ensure that the Free State Festival highlights the people and places, history and culture, that make Lawrence attractive to businesses, tourists, and residents, introducing local artists and other neighbors to filmmakers, musicians, artists, and scholars from around the globe. This opportunity to spotlight the historical iconoclasm of Lawrence, Kansas in the context of 21st century art and ideas will not only increase livability by bringing local and international communities together but will also draw new cultural, social, and economic resources to the area.”

The required 1:1 match of federal funds has currently been exceeded by corporate sponsorships, private donations, and in-kind service, as shown in the attached “Our Town” grant proposal project budget. However, the Lawrence Arts Center, in partnership with the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau, has currently requested $60,000 from the City of Lawrence to support the Free State Festival for this year’s festival (2015), and anticipates a similar funding request of $60,000 per year for both the 2016 and 2017 Free State Festivals.

Requested Action:

Authorize submittal of Lawrence Arts Center Our Town Grant Proposal to the National Endowment for the Arts to meet the January 15 deadline.