Jackson Arts Council receives $150,000 grant

JACKSON, TN (WNBJ) - The Jackson Arts Council announced today that they were awarded a $150,000 dollar grant to help the arts and the cultural sector recover from the pandemic.

“Well, the arts in Jackson and the arts everywhere were significantly affected by COVID,” said Lizzie Emmons, the Executive Director with the Jackson Arts Council.

Lizzie Emmons with the Jackson Arts Council explained why the arts community was so affected by the pandemic.

“A lot of the arts and culture programs rely on people coming to participate in an arts event to enjoy an arts event together. A lot of the activities that we do in arts require not to be masked. It is really hard as musicians to play a concert together when we all have to gather,” said Emmons.

The grant money comes from the American Rescue Plan.

“This grant we have received, specifically this $150,000 grant is American Rescue Plan money that was given the National Endowment for the Arts to distribute all over the United States. We knew were eligible as a local arts agency to receive this funding, so we applied. We were one of three organizations in the state of Tennessee to receive it. The other two are Knoxville and Memphis.” said Emmons.

The Jackson Arts Council explains who is eligible to apply for the grant.

“This funding is for us to grant out to our community. We are allowed to distribute these 501C3s, nonprofit organizations, units of local and state government, institutions of higher education, and individual artists are eligible to apply,” said Emmons.

The grant funding is available for Chester, Decatur, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, and McNairy counties.

These applications will open in early 2022.