Lynn and Lynnfield are among several North Shore communities receiving support from Essex County Community Foundation’s Creative County Initiative, a regional effort to strengthen arts and culture through strategic local investment.
In Lynn, Raw Art Works has been awarded a Partnership Grant for “Shine on, Lynn!,” a series of youth-created, community-involved public art installations and placemaking projects at various downtown locations. The effort is a collaboration between Raw Art Works, the city’s Planning Department, the Lynn Arts and Culture Office, GE Aerospace, and the Lynn Museum & Arts Center.
In Lynnfield, the Lynnfield Art Guild received a Partnership Grant for its “Village Parklet Project,” which will create three small gathering spaces around town. Each location will feature a Free Little Art Gallery, a Free Little Library and a Free Little History Museum. Partners include the town of Lynnfield, Re-Create Studio LLC, Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School, and the Lynnfield Historical Society.
“These projects reflect what’s possible when creative partnerships take root at the local level,” said Karen Ristuben, program director for ECCF’s Creative County Initiative. “They not only bring people together but help define a shared sense of place.”
The Partnership Grants are part of ECCF’s ongoing $2 million investment in creative people, places and partnerships across Essex County. A total of eight projects were selected for this round of funding, sharing $110,000 to support cross-sector collaboration and cultural vitality.
In addition to the Partnership Grants, ECCF awarded $50,000 in Creative County Special Project grants. Among the recipients is the Boston Comics Arts Foundation, which will bring a hands-on “Comics Camp” to Lynn. The program is designed to empower youth ages 10 to 18 to tell their own stories through comic arts.
For more information on the Creative County Initiative and a full list of grant recipients, visit eccf.org/arts-and-culture.
