Coeur d’Alene Arts & Culture Alliance selected for Thriving Communities Grant
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 10 months, 2 weeks AGO
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The Coeur d’Alene Arts and Culture Alliance on Friday announced it will receive a grant from the Thriving Communities, a federally funded initiative that supports local solutions to environmental and public health challenges.
“This work is about protecting the health and well-being of our community, with arts and culture being the key to unlocking understanding and inspiring action” said Abby Light, executive director of the Arts and Culture Alliance. “We’re grateful to have a chance to build on the knowledge and experience we already have in our area, and to do it with support for community-led solutions.”
The Arts and Culture Alliance will lead the effort in partnership with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, with support from the CDA Arts Commission, CDA Economic Development Corporation, Idaho Water Resources Research Institute and numerous community partners across the arts, culture and environmental sectors.
With this grant, the Arts and Culture Alliance will launch a project focused on cross-collaboration and collective action to bring important issues to light in order to protect the lake and watershed. Through artist-led initiatives, this project will transform how communities understand and participate in water protection efforts, according to a press release.
Beginning in January, The Living Lake Project will launch a call to artists across Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah counties. Visual artists, musicians, performers, writers, photographers, culinary artists and craftspeople will be invited to submit proposals for a hands-on fellowship program.
Selected fellows will work with area experts to learn about the issues related to Lake Coeur d’Alene health and develop creative projects that engage their communities in watershed protection.
The fellowship will honor the lake's deep cultural significance while addressing historic and contemporary environmental challenges.
“This is an exciting project that will help us get our message out about lake health and what people can do to help us in our efforts to protect it,” said Jamie Brunner, Lake Coeur d’Alene management supervisor for IDEQ.
The program is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and administered in the Pacific Northwest region by Philanthropy Northwest.
To learn more about the project, attend the Arts and Culture Alliance’s membership drive at the Coeur d'Alene Regional Chamber from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today.