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State awards another Adams grant to AHA!
 For
a third consecutive year, New Bedford’s AHA!
(Art-History-Architecture) project has been awarded a
significant cultural economic grant from the
Commonwealth’s Mass Cultural Council (MCC). The award of
a $60,000 Adams Grant to New Bedford's AHA! Project as
well as $3,000 planning grant to the City of New Bedford
for work on the Creative Economy was announced at a
February 8th ceremony at the UMass Dartmouth Star Store.
Mayor Scott W. Lang, speaking at the awards ceremony
said, “Clearly this is a moment of pride for all the
downtown AHA! partners and the City of New Bedford.” The
City has provided a significant match for the three
Adams Grants.
Also speaking at the ceremony were AHA! Steering
Committee members and staff as well as Christina Hogan,
Program Coordinator, John and Abigail Adams Art Program
at the Mass Cultural Council, and Dan Hunter, Executive
Director of MAASH (Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts,
Sciences and Humanities). They praised what has been
accomplished and looked ahead at the excitement of
continued success and new initiatives in 2007.
AHA! is a collaborative nonprofit project that
coordinates with over thirty arts related businesses and
organizations downtown every 2nd Thursday night. The
project began in July 1999 and presented its 92nd
evening this February marking a significant track record
of continuity and growth. The AHA! concept and the
project’s ongoing ability to present the city’s diverse
range of cultural venues and downtown businesses in a
fresh and compelling way has made it a leading model for
cultural economic projects across the state.
Projects in cities such as Lowell, Hyannis, and Brockton
have looked to the work of AHA! specifically as they
have created their own monthly downtown culture nights.
The MCC has worked closely with AHA! since its start
with a focus on stimulating income and fostering
fruitful partnerships between arts institutions,
businesses, and local governments.
“Many thanks to the generous support of the Mass.
Cultural Council. The creative economy is a critical
component of the city’s overall economy, and we look
forward to doing as much as possible in this vital area
in 2007,” said Matthew A. Morrissey, Executive Director
of the New Bedford Economic Development Council.
To find out more visit MCC at
www.massculturalcouncil.org or AHA! at
www.ahanewbedford.org |
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