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Neighborhood arts and cultural events supported through city investment

Forty neighborhood arts festivals and events will receive funding through our Neighborhood & Community Arts (NCA) program. The program will invest $48,000 ($1,200 per organization) in events taking place throughout the city over the next year. We received 71 applications for the program; of the 40 funded projects, 14 represent organizations that have never before been funded by the office and 23 specifically serve immigrants and communities of color.

“Seattle’s neighborhoods are home to a wealth of cultural events that forge connections and create community,” said Randy Engstrom, interim director of the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. “We’re pleased to support creativity at a grassroots level and help build community through arts and cultural participation.”

The varied slate of neighborhood events includes the 9th Anniversary of 206 Zulu, a national hip hop/urban arts summit celebrating Latino, Asian and African American visual arts, musicians and dancers; Word Play, an LGBT-targeted spoken word poetry festival; Beacon Rocks!, a half-day celebration with concerts, dance performances, haiku competition and more; and the Filipino American History Month celebration, featuring new chorale music and a traditional Filipino string orchestra.

A number of the supported programs are festivals that take place through Festal at Seattle Center including the Tet Festival, Pagdiriwang – Phillippine Festival, Festival Sundiata Black Arts Fest, Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival, Hmong New Year, 7th Annual Evening of Sevdah, Spirit of West Africa and the Piestas Patrias Community Celebration.

NCA supports neighborhood groups that produce recurring festivals or events that promote arts and cultural participation, build community and enhance the visibility of neighborhoods through arts and culture.

Go here for a complete listing of events and festivals funded for 2013.

Image: Pista sa Nayon Festival, funded through Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs’ Neighborhood & Community Arts program, 2012. Photo by Jenny Crooks.