Frederick, MD - The Frederick Arts Council released a magazine featuring the artwork of dozens of artists and arts organizations as a result of receiving funding that was made possible by a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Grant to Local Arts Agencies (LAA) awarded in the amount of $500,000 to the Frederick Arts Council for sub-granting.

The Frederick Arts Council awarded a record number of grants and stipends to arts organizations and individual artists last year. The publication Frederick Artists Create & Activate Now: Impact of the FAC/NEA C.A.N. Recover Awards provides a snapshot of some of the artistic productivity that resulted from this grants program.  The images and testimony in this publication is a record of highlights of what resulted from the C.A.N. Recover grants.

“We are excited to document some of the wonderfully creative artwork that resulted from this unique influx of support for the arts in Frederick,” said Louise Kennelly, Executive Director of the Frederick Arts Council. “There is no recovery engine as effective as the arts to restore a sense of joy and optimism, to contribute to a community’s vibrant economy, and to propel a collective sense of healing.”

The awards were designed to support arts organizations and artists in Frederick County who were impacted by the Coronavirus. Artistic activities were supported to strengthen our county’s—and the nation’s— cultural infrastructure. The magazine shares testimony of how the subgrants helped restore the local community’s cultural infrastructure, benefiting arts workers, artists, and audiences. The magazine, linked here, was designed by Pulse Publishing. The magazine can also be found on the Frederick Arts Council’s website.