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Public Arts Commission seeks borough support for state creative-district grant
Summary
The Public Arts Commission said it will submit a letter of intent this week for a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts creative-district designation and grant (up to $50,000); the state requires a minimum local match of 10% of awarded funds and a fuller application would be due after acceptance.
Greg Radford, representing the borough Public Arts Commission (PAC), asked the Smart Growth Committee to support a letter of intent to the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for designation as a creative arts district and a competitive grant award. Radford said the designation lasts five years and the program can provide up to $50,000 annually; program funding requires a one-to-one match and the borough would be expected to commit at least 10% of the amount applied for as a local contribution.
Radford described partnerships with the West Chester downtown business group and the West Chester Foundation and said proposed programming would include performances, exhibitions and year-one stipends for artists, and expansion of community programming at 44 West and other public spaces. He said the PAC will submit a letter of intent on Friday and that, if the borough is accepted, the state will send a packet in November with full application requirements; the formal application would be due in January if invited to apply.
Committee members emphasized that the request is exploratory and that any budget commitment would come later during the application phase and in the context of the borough’s budget priorities. Radford said PAC expects some bureau involvement in program planning but could not yet define exact staff or funding commitments until the state packet is received.
The committee did not make a funding commitment at this meeting; members asked PAC to pursue the letter of intent and to return with a detailed program budget and an implementation plan if the state invites a full application.
