In partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts, the nonprofit Community Arts Partnership (CAP) of Tompkins County helps fund programs that provide county residents and their children with access to programs designed to develop a deeper artistic eye or even a passion for literature.
They recently disbursed funds from the State Arts Council’s 2024 Statewide Community Regrant program for three different grant programs they sponsor in Tompkins County: CAP’s Grants for Arts Programs, the Artist in Community Grant, and the Arts Education Scholarships for Students.
Tompkins County local artist programs and organizations such as libraries, towns and villages received 75 grants totaling $200,000 for their art projects in 2024. CAP has administered over $6.8 million through multiple refinancing programs over the past 30 years.
The Downtown Ithaca Alliance received some funding for pop-up performances on the Commons, as did three libraries, the Groton Public Library, the Southworth Library and the Ulysses Philomathic Library in Trumansburg.
“The amount we were awarded this year helped fund two interactive, educational and fun programs: the LilyPad Puppet Theater and the REV Theater Summer Outreach Tour,” said Laura Mielenhausen, director of the Ulysses Philomathic Library, on Friday. “We host these programs under our tent and invite everyone in our community to participate, including campers from the City of Ulysses recreation program. 147 people participated in these two programs.”
Other programs that have received funding include the Rootstock Performances at New Roots Charter School, performances at the Freeville Fiber Festival, and recreational events in Dryden, Groton, Newfield, and Ithaca. The full list of recipients can be found at artspartner.org.
Erika Mallin, executive director of the New York State Council on the Arts, said the Community Arts Partnership provides important support to the state’s creative sector by ensuring that arts and culture funding reaches those artists and program directors who need it most.
“This unprecedented funding amount is the largest in the history of our community’s NYSCA new grants and represents a continued investment in artists and the larger community,” Robin Schwartz, CAP’s grants and programs director, said Wednesday in a statement from the nonprofit. “These grants fulfill an important mission of the Community Arts Partnership, which is to make arts and culture accessible to all and to foster a creative culture that reflects the diversity of our community.”
