As CultureWorks celebrates its Tenth Anniversary year, we are thrilled to announce our investment of $1 million in the arts and culture community in Richmond and the Tri-Cities region over the past decade. We received many wonderful applications for the 2020 cycle of our annual Grants Program. Congratulations to each artist and organization for enriching our arts and culture community, especially in the midst of global crisis.

We are excited to share the 2020 CultureWorks Grant Award Recipients. Between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, we will support a wide variety of projects and experiences for eight organizations and eight individual artists. The current round of grant awards totaled $67,150 and were made possible through the generosity of Altria Group, the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, and other individual local arts supporters.

The CultureWorks Grants Program has two focus areas: Building Capabilities and Cultural Equity. Building Capabilities grants support the overall growth of an organization or artist while Cultural Equity grants support initiatives that reach or serve underrepresented populations in the community.

The CultureWorks Grants Program supports our new mission to strengthen artists and arts and culture organizations to drive community health and success. (Click here to learn more about our strategic plan and vision for the region.) Grants this year will benefit the cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg and the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent and Powhatan, and the town of Ashland.

A complete list of the 2020 Grant Awards is included below as well as a few kind messages we’ve received from grantees.

“I’m a young filmmaker of color from Richmond. The CultureWorks artist grant has provided me with an incredible opportunity to acquire equipment that has taken my forthcoming documentary to the next level in terms of quality. Me and my team are so grateful for the doors that this grant has opened. Outside of the funding, the CultureWorks community has welcomed me with open arms.” - Jordan Shanks

“Our 2020 CultureWorks grant has allowed us to be responsive to community needs during this pivotal time. From art material distribution to Hopewell’s youth, free online summer classes for teens, to big scale impacts through public art - not only do we have the means to act, we also know we have the support and resources of Richmond’s most influential arts advocacy organization behind us. CultureWorks’ financial support is of course so important to us, but their willingness to organize, advertise, and simply show-up for the Tri-Cities has been priceless.” - Dr. Eliza Lamb, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Lamb Center for Arts and Healing  

ORGANIZATION AWARDS

Art for the Journey - $7,500

Dogtown Dance Theatre - $4,550

Elegba Folklore Society - $10,000

Ezibu Muntu African Dance Company - $6,100

Lamb Center for Arts and Healing - $5,000

Oakwood Arts - $7,500

Petersburg Area Art League - $4,500

Podium RVA - $3,000

ARTIST AWARDS

Ram Bhagat - $2,000

Ray Fields - $2,000

Dawn Flores - $2,000

Hamilton Glass - $3,000

Federico Infante - $2,000

Jordan Shanks - $3,000

Leigh Suggs - $2,000

James Thornhill - $3,000