BETHLEHEM, Pa. — ArtsQuest has been awarded $82,500 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community's Neighborhood Assistance Program.
ArtsQuest will use the grant money to expand its arts programs for middle and high school students, along with free programs for residents with physical, sensory and other challenges.
Kassie Hilgert, CEO and President of ArtsQuest, announced the news at a media conference held at the Banana Factory on Tuesday.
Supporting arts education
Part of the funding will go towards the expansion of ArtsQuest's after-school programs, Artsmart and Teen Takeover, which are housed inside the Banana Factory, 25 W. Third Street.
"A big part of the grant is that we'll be able to double the number of students that are impacted through our partnership with Bethlehem Area School District," Hilgert said.
"Those programs help to foster interest in dance, visual arts, performance art, media arts, spoken word, and more."
The grant will also allow for the organization to expand its educational programs at the Banana Factory, specifically for residents with physical, sensory and mental impairments.
"This funding will support audio tours, so people who want to come through and there may be a visual disability and they need that description," Lisa Harms, director of Visual Arts and Education, said.
"We will also be able to expand our touch collection, which is geared towards people with sensory sensitivities that may want to have that tactile experience with a particular work of art."
Diversity in cinema, mobility at Musikfest
Also part of the grant: to promote diversity and inclusion in the arts, ArtsQuest will host a free curated cinema series.
"We'll offer four different film series and educational events that are reflective of the diverse community we have here in the Lehigh Valley," Hilgert said.
The NAP grant will also allow ArtsQuest to purchase pathways that will make Musikfest more accessible for people using wheelchairs and strollers.
"This funding will help us to acquire grass mats. These are heavy duty roll out matting to provide a slip-resistant pathway for anyone who may have mobility challenges," Hilgert said.
"This is especially important at Musikfest, which on the North side can be challenging to get around."
It's about the idea that we're trying to set this up for a generation to help thousands and thousands and thousands of more people get into the arts, have access to the opportunities associated with the arts, and we want to have that lifelong arts appreciation. Like, just the realm of arts in a lot of places can be exclusionary.
"It's about the idea that we're trying to set this up for a generation to help thousands and thousands more get into the arts."Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds
At the event, Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds mentioned the importance of arts education, mainly in the school district.
"One of the things that is lost sometimes when we talk about Musikfest is what that educational mission is of ArtsQuest and its relationship with the school district. We like to say that our strongest bond is the with Bethlehem School District, but I think [ArtsQuest] could probably say that too," Reynolds said.
"It's about the idea that we're trying to set this up for a generation to help thousands and thousands more get into the arts."
