Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association Partners with BEAD on Arts Grant Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2012

For more information, please contact:
Doris Sims, Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association, 349.3582
Miah Michaelsen, Assistant Economic Development Director for the Arts, 349.3534

Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association Partners with BEAD on Arts Grant Program

Bloomington, IN - The Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association (BUEA) in partnership with the City of Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District (BEAD) will distribute funds through a new Bloomington Urban Enterprise Zone Arts Grant Program.

This grant program will support arts projects that are located within the boundaries of the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Zone or that provide documented direct benefit to Urban Enterprise Zone residents (see [http://bloomington.in.gov/buea] for a map of the Zone). The maximum grant award is $4,000 and each applicant may be awarded only one grant. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m., August 15, 2012.

Businesses, organizations and individuals based within the Urban Enterprise Zone are all eligible to apply. While the business or organization's primary purpose may or may not be arts-related, the projects must be arts-related and open to Zone residents and the general public. Although not all project partners are required to be based within the Zone, the applicant and primary beneficiaries of the project must be Zone residents.

Projects funded through this program must demonstrate a high level of artistic quality, provide evidence of professional management and demonstrate a positive impact on and provide value to the Zone and its residents. Exhibits, concerts, performances, festivals, art space development, murals and other public art are examples of the types of projects eligible for funding through the Zone Arts Grant program.

A grant workshop on the new program will be presented at the next BEAD Advisory Committee Monday, June 18 at noon in the McCloskey Room at City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street. Guidelines and criteria for evaluation will be discussed and prospective applicants are encouraged to attend.

Grant award decisions will be made by the BUEA Board at their September meeting.

Guidelines and application for the program are available on the City of Bloomington website at [www.bloomington.in.gov/bead.]

ABOUT THE BLOOMINGTON URBAN ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATION (BUEA)
The Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association provides the means to improve the economic, physical, and social environment for Zone residents and businesses and contributes to economic development efforts in Bloomington's urban core. The Enterprise Zone operates in accordance with Indiana State Code and has created or retained hundreds of jobs and spurred millions of dollars in increased investment.

For more information on the BUEA, contact Doris Sims at 349.3582, or visit [http://bloomington.in.gov/buea.]

ABOUT THE BLOOMINGTON ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS DISTRICT (BEAD)
BEAD seeks to bring the business and creative sectors together to advance commerce and culture, build community and spur economic development. BEAD is a geographically defined, mixed-use cultural district in downtown Bloomington which capitalizes on local and regional assets that are specific to the cultural, economic and social issues of Bloomington. BEAD emphasizes the high concentration of creative assets and related activities to strengthen and enhance the overall economic development of the community while also providing a connective link to a variety of incentives, programs and grants to benefit its major stakeholder groups and users: the community, visitors, the creative, cultural and entertainment sectors, and small business.

For more information on the grant program, contact Miah Michaelsen, Assistant Economic Development Director for the Arts, at michaelm@bloomington.in.gov or (812) 349.3534.

###