Engage Kingsport awarded $272,400 Tennessee Arts Commission Grant
Engage Kingsport was awarded a $272,400 grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission to help address the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the arts and the arts community in Kingsport.
The grant funds will go to assist several partner organizations in Kingsport for projects and programs they were unable to do during the pandemic. Kingsport also plans to use a portion of the funds on several of its initiatives, including the Sculpture Walk and a new arts festival in 2024.
Engage Kingsport is a non-profit organization that works with Kingsport Cultural Arts to connect, coordinate and engage the public with a creative community. This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP5534 awarded to the State of Tennessee by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
“Receipt of this grant is a huge boost to the ability of Engage Kingsport and Kingsport Cultural Arts to promote and support the arts in our region,” said Jim Begley, President of Engage Kingsport. “We have plans to create a marketing focus on active participation in the arts, provide much needed maintenance to public art and continue to provide unique art experiences throughout the year.”
A reception will be held in the lobby of City Hall (415 Broad Street) at 5 p.m. on November 15 to announce how the grant funds will be dispersed to various arts organizations and arts related initiatives. The event is free and open to the public.
During next week’s reception, Kingsport officials are also planning to make two special announcements regarding the arts.
- The unveiling of the new website, logo and branding materials for Kingsport Cultural Arts.
- The results of a recent economic impact study on the arts by Americans for the Arts.
Founded in 1960, Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading non-profit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. The organization recently released its latest study – Arts & Economic Prosperity 6, which illustrates the economic and social impact of the nation’s non-profit arts and culture industry.
According to the study, in the Greater Kingsport area, the arts industry generated $30.3 million in economic activity in 2022 – $7.4 million in spending by arts and culture organizations and an additional $22.9 million in event-related expenditures by their audiences.
That economic activity supported 521 jobs, provided $16.3 million in person income to residents and generated $5.4 million in tax revenue to local, state and federal governments.
“The study confirmed what we have known for a long time. The arts are a significant driving force in Kingsport’s economy,” said Kristie Leonard, special events and cultural arts manager for the city.
To view the entire Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 study, visit aep6.americansforthearts.org.
