CT Humanities Awards Friends of Weir Farm with CT Cultural Fund Grant for Post-COVID Recovery

CT Humanities (CTH) recently awarded a $5,400 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant to Friends of Weir Farm National Historical Park. CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants assist organizations as they recover from the pandemic and maintain and grow their ability to serve their community and the public.

As a philanthropic partner of Weir Farm National Historical Park, the Friends will take on a new role for the park’s Artist-in-Residence program starting in 2023. The Artist-in-Residence program will host six artists for one-month residencies at the park from May to October 2023. Weir Farm NHP is positioning this art program to be a leader throughout the National Park Service and tasking the Friends to partner for several onsite residence experiences.

The CT Cultural Fund Grant will allow the Friends to help grow a community around the program and reach new and diverse artists and audiences. In addition to supporting the on-site Artist-in-Residence operations, the Friends will handle marketing and publicity for open studio events to provide an inclusive welcome to the artists and assist with opportunities for the artists to show and discuss their work with an expanding range of local community members. This new broader and more inclusive approach to interacting with the public and visitors will directly benefit Weir Farm’s ability to reach new audiences and continue to grow the capacity of the park.

“This grant will transform our ability to ensure the success of the artists in the first year of this new signature Weir Farm NHP program. We are grateful to CT Humanities for supporting the Friends and this important initiative,” Judy Wander, President of Friends of Weir Farm, said.

Friends of Weir Farm was one of 725 organizations in Connecticut that received a CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant. Totaling more than $8.5 million, these grants are part of a two-year, $30.7 million investment in arts, humanities, and cultural nonprofits by the CT General Assembly and approved by Gov. Ned Lamont. Friends of Weir Farm is also one of over 200 Friends and Partner Organizations to the National Park Service.

This CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant is provided to Friends of Weir Farm from CT Humanities, with funding from the CT State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature.