January 27, 2022 – Boise, ID – Boise Contemporary Theater (BCT) is thrilled to announce it has been approved to receive an American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). BCT is recommended to receive $100,000 in funding. The NEA grants are to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic, and may be used to save jobs and to fund operations and facilities, health and safety supplies, and marketing and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation. In total, the NEA will award grants totaling $57,750,000 to 567 arts organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC.
“Our nation’s arts sector has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Endowment for the Arts’ American Rescue Plan funding will help arts organizations, such as Boise Contemporary Theater, rebuild and reopen,” said Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the NEA. “The arts are crucial in helping America’s communities heal, unite, and inspire, as well as essential to our nation’s economic recovery.”
Benjamin Burdick, Producing Artistic Director added, “As one of only four organizations in Idaho to receive funding, we are extremely humbled and honored to accept this gift from the NEA. After nearly two years of the pandemic, BCT and arts organizations around the country are reeling from its effects. This grant is crucial in allowing us to help right our ship, and continue to provide the thought-provoking, contemporary stories that are so relevant to our community, and to continue to do so at the high professional level to which patrons have become accustomed.”
The $100,000 will be spread out over a two-year period to bring in a dedicated Marketing Manager. BCT will also use some of the funds for marketing its MainStage plays, Theater Lab education programs, BIPOC Playwrights Festival, Summer Reading Series and other programs.
“This grant allows us to create a critical staff position with time to find our own funding to continue the position after these initial two years,” added Sheila Hennessey, BCT’s Director of Development.
For more information on the NEA’s American Rescue Plan grants, including the full list of arts organizations funded in this announcement, visit www.arts.gov/COVID-19/the-american-rescue-plan.
For more information on the City of Boise’s Cultural Ambassador, Boise Contemporary Theater, please visit www.bctheater.org.