(APPNW) – “We are excited to enter into this new partnership arrangement with the City of Bloomington and the Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District, and believe they are well positioned to serve the cultural needs of the region,” said IAC Executive Director Lewis C. Ricci. “As a division of local government, BEAD brings a unique perspective on the impact the arts have on community and economic development.”
Regional Arts Partner organizations must be nonprofit or public organizations that meet IAC criteria for providing services to multiple counties in their geographic region. Organizations are awarded a grant to meet key service delivery in their regions. These include community arts programming, regional services, and arts organizations and project re-granting. Funding for each region is based in part on population and geographic size of the region.
Region 8 includes Brown, Greene, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan and Owen counties. “The City of Bloomington and BEAD recognize the importance of having regional representation and input into the programs and services provided by the IAC,” said Miah Michaelsen, Assistant Economic Development Director for the Arts, for the Department of Economic and Sustainable Development. “We are happy to serve Region 8 through this transitional period and will work with the IAC to identify and connect with additional partners to provide arts and cultural services to the region’s constituents.”
The IAC’s decentralized Regional Arts Partnership provides key core services such as arts planning, technical assistance and information referral, and arts organization and project re-granting. Regional Arts Partners annually provide grants to more than 300 community-based arts organizations and cultural programming providers statewide.