The Village of Arts and Humanities just won an ArtPlace grant to build a ‘civic power studio’

The Village of Arts and Humanities is ending 2017 on one heck of a high note.

The North Philly arts and culture nonprofit just got word it’s receiving $500,000 over the next two and a half years from ArtPlace America’s 2017 National Creative Placemaking Fund.

The winnings will fund the creation of a Civic Power Studio, a place-based project that will turn two vacant rowhomes into a “multi-media creatorspace” for neighbors, law enforcement, artists and others to “collaborate on new public safety strategies rooted in care rather than control.”

“This project was born within the community and manifested through trusted relationships built over many years. For The Village, this is the hallmark of equitable creative placemaking,” said Village ED Aviva Kapust. “We are deeply humbled and honored to have received this award for a second time from our partners and funders at ArtPlace.”

ArtPlace is a national funding collective that encourages the use of the art in community planning and development. Its 2017 round of funding totaled $8.7 million for 23 projects, out of 987 applications.

Two other Philly nonprofits were finalists for its 2017 grant: Women’s Community Revitalization Project, for a gentrification-focused theatre project, and Drexel University’s Writers Room, for the construction of a community arts center. In 2016, West Philly nonprofit People’s Emergency Center won $100,000 for its “Public Safety in the Promise Zone” project.

The Village won an ArtPlace grant in 2014 for its SPACES artist-in-residency program, which culminated last year. Earlier this month, the Village also won an unrestricted $50,000 grant from the Barra Foundation alongside 42 other Philly-area nonprofits.

Read about all the 2017 ArtPlace grantees here.