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 View of Haystack School in Summer.–Photo: Dennis and Diane Griggs PDF of this Article (2.5MB)
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CULTURAL FACILITIES ACCESSIBILITY grants were awarded to assist new capital projects and renovations as well as technology projects and/or improvements. This unique opportunity, made possible by the Jobs for a Healthy Maine Bond developed to stimulate economic growth and job creation through investments in the Maine economy, allowed the Maine Arts Commission to fund capital upgrades that the agency could not legally fund otherwise. Now in its second year, this “bricks and mortar” and/or electrons or “tech bricks” funding provided a revenue source for professional, freestanding, Maine arts organizations to carry out physical and/or technology-related accessibility upgrades.
Additional funds in the amount of $30,000 were made available for fiscal year 2008 through the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies Leadership Accessibility Award presented to the Maine Arts Commission in January 2007. For example, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts on Deer Isle received $10,000 to install an accessible bathroom that will meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act at the new Center for Community Programs on Deer Isle.
This site will host a range of exhibits, such as the work of local and statewide groups, work from Haystack’s teen mentor programs, and that of Haystack faculty, as well as community-based residency projects that will bring professional artists to the area to develop new works in collaboration with local residents and area high school students. Two Maine theaters have installed assistive listening systems to improve the quality of the visits by their hearing impaired patrons and several grantees updated sound and lighting systems and introduced new technologies to artistic production values. Over the past 2 years, 19 grants have been made in 15 different communities, totaling $183,000.
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