EAST LANSING, Mich. — The East Lansing Art Festival (ELAF) and All-of-us Express Children’s Theatre (AECT) have been awarded Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) grants this year totaling $33,500.
The grants were awarded through the MCACA review process and were two of 559 applications to compete for Fiscal Year 2017 funding.
East Lansing Art Festival
The ELAF was awarded a $21,000 MCACA grant, which will help support the two-day arts and cultural event that takes place on the weekend preceding the Memorial Day holiday weekend each May in downtown East Lansing. Ranked as one of the top 100 art festivals in the nation by Sunshine Artist magazine, ELAF brings approximately 180 renowned artists and an estimated 70,000 art lovers to Greater Lansing each year. The festival is a rite of spring in the region and is known for exhibiting the highest caliber fine art and fine craft from across North America. The 2017 festival will take place May 20-21.
"The MCACA grant award makes it possible for us to continue to host a free, high-quality festival for the community, featuring arts and cultural enrichment for visitors of all ages,” said ELAF Director Michelle Carlson.
All-of-us Express Children’s TheatreAECT was awarded a $12,500 MCACA grant, which will help support its mission: to offer young people of all backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles the opportunity to produce professional quality plays, study many aspects of the dramatic arts and develop many valuable life skills while providing outstanding entertainment to the community. Through the AECT Guild Program, youth participants learn valuable life skills through an education in all areas and aspects of theater. AECT brings four major productions to the Greater Lansing community each year with the help of hundreds of local youth from throughout the region.
"All-of-us Express is honored to be the recipient of a MCACA grant once again this year,” said AECT Program Coordinator Kathleen Miller. “These funds provide us with the opportunity to continue to enrich the lives of our participants, their families and the community."
The MCACA peer review process allows for each grant application to be competitively considered by a panel of in-state and out-of-state arts and culture professionals. This ensures the taxpayers, who support this project through legislative appropriations, and all other visitors or residents in Michigan will have access to the highest quality arts and cultural experiences.
A complete list of grant awards around the state is available by visiting www.themedc.org/arts.