Local nonprofit AthFest Educates will receive a $30,000 Art Works grant to support the 2020 AthFest Music & Arts Festival, which takes place June 26-28th in downtown Athens. Overall, the National Endowment for the Arts has approved 1,187 grants totaling $27.3 million in the first round of fiscal year 2020 funding to support arts projects in every state in the nation, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Jill Helme, AthFest Educates Executive Director, says: “The AthFest Educates Board and the AthFest Planning Committee are incredibly honored to be awarded the NEA grant for AthFest 2020. The award is a testament to the importance AthFest plays not only in our community, but also in our state, and to the thousands of volunteer hours committed each year to making it happen. The majority of the award will be used to allow us to hire bands that were out of our price range previously. AthFest has always paid every musician who play the festival, and with this grant we’ll increase that rate for every artist. We will also use the award to increase some of the production aspects to make AthFest more enjoyable and comfortable for attendees. We are delighted and we thank the National Endowment of the Arts for honoring AthFest in this way.”
The Art Works funding category supports projects that focus on public engagement with, and access to, various forms of excellent art across the nation; and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.
“The arts are at the heart of our communities, connecting people through shared experiences and artistic expression,” said Arts Endowment chairman Mary Anne Carter. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support projects like AthFest.”
AthFest Music & Arts Festival is a three day, free outdoor festival showcasing Athens’ creative culture, including music on three outdoor stages, an artist market, and KidsFest. The festival includes a Club Crawl, with a dozen local venues hosting ticketed shows including dozens of bands, genre showcases and DJs. Attendees can partake of all the Club Crawl shows by purchasing a wristband. AthFest also includes related events including the Flagpole Music Awards Thursday June 25th.
MEDIA CONTACT: Rachel Allen media@athfesteducates.org