City of Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester Arts Council

The Worcester Arts Council (formerly the Worcester Cultural Commission) is a municipal body consisting of nine members appointed by the City Manager. The Council is charged with promoting the cultural affairs of the City of Worcester; conducting studies and research and publishing reports of cultural activities; advising municipal agencies on cultural matters; and allocating funds received by the Council for cultural projects and programs.

The mission of the Worcester Arts Council is to promote excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretative sciences to improve the quality of life for Worcester residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our City.

WAC Vacancy

The Worcester Arts Council invites persons interested in serving on the board to submit applications to the City's Human Resource Department to fill several existing vacancies. Deadline to apply on/before June 20th. Applicants must be a resident of the City of Worcester and possess a strong passion for promoting, enhancing and supporting arts & culture in the City. Attendance at monthly meetings mandatory as well as additional participation as necessary based on council projects. Return application below to the City of Worcester's Office of Human Resources.

The Council accepts grant applications on an annual basis between mid-August and October 15th, with allocations made before the end of the calendar year. Grants are issued to support arts, humanities and interpretive sciences; visual artists, performing artists, science educators, historians and other humanists; as well as community, business and civic groups, social service organizations, schools, neighborhood centers, and youth, senior and family associations. For 2012, the Worcester Arts Council granted just over $77,000 to some 43 artists and Worcester-based organizations.

In addition to its monthly meetings, held the third Tuesday of each month, the Worcester Arts Council also hosts an annual Community Input Meeting to determine priorities for grant funding, along with Grant Writing Workshops to assist those interested in applying for funds. 

Community Input Survey

The City of Worcester receives an annual appropriation of state funds from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and through the Worcester Arts Council, makes these funds available to the community through a competitive grant program. WAC is soliciting input from the community to identify and set priorities for funding the coming grant cycle. 


Your participation in this survey will allow WAC to better serve the Worcester arts community. Click HERE to complete WAC's Community Input  Survey online.

Congratulations 2012 Grant Recipients!

Worcester Arts Council (WAC) has announced the recipients of funding for the 2012 granting cycle.  WAC awarded a total of $77,720 to 43 Worcester area artists, organizations, and educational institutions. The 2012 allocation includes two $4,000 Artist Fellowships, awarded to individual artists to assist in the funding of their artistic endeavors, which were granted to film director/producer, T. Lashay Parham, and photographer, Louie Despres.

The Worcester Arts Council selected a wide variety of grant recipients ranging from arts education through children’s programs, collaborative projects which promote diversity, public art, music/performing arts, and visual arts. WAC’s nine members reviewed applications in the fall during a series of meetings conducted to evaluate the overall quality of the proposed programs, their public benefit, and viability. Read more here.

A complete list of grants funded for the 2012 cycle can be found here.

 

The Worcester Arts Council gratefully acknowledges the support of the

Contact Person

Ellen Ganley, Staff Administator, 508-799-1400, x241, ganleye@worcesterma.gov.