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May 4, 2015—ArtPlace America announced The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation today as one of 21 finalist organizations that have been selected from a pool of 261 applications to participate in the ArtPlace America Community Development Investments program. Six organizations will be chosen from the finalists in August 2015 to receive funds.
The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation is leading The SHINE: Jackson, in partnership with Jackson Public Schools, the Mississippi Center for Education Innovation, Story for All and other stakeholders, to ensure narrative and community change through the uplifted voices of young men of color.
The Community Development Investments (CDI) is a one-time program that will support place-based organizations with a primary mission of community planning and development to incorporate arts and cultural strategies into their work. The program will provide each organization up to $3 million in grant funding over three years, as well as access to national creative placemaking experts, a team that will look at the deployment of debt capital, a team to advise on federal grant opportunities, and a team that will focus on research and documentation throughout the program.
“We are thrilled with the quality, depth, and breadth of the 261 applications we received for this program from community planning and development organizations across the country,” said ArtPlace Executive Director Jamie Bennett. “The 21 finalists represent extraordinary opportunities to integrate arts and cultural strategies into the work of organizations that serve as long-term stewards for their communities.”
“The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation is honored to be among the finalist being considered for this grant opportunity. If selected, our current efforts to rebuild the Jackson Medical Mall District will be tremendously enhanced with the addition of the arts and cultural strategies resulting from the financial as well as technical support offered by Art Place.” – Primus Wheeler, Executive Director of the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation.
“The Story For All process uplifts community voices and culture to drive development and, ultimately, policy and systemic change. By projecting community wisdom through high quality art, we honor our communities while creating pathways for ongoing success. We are thrilled to be in a multi-sector coalition that can fully harness this process in Jackson, setting the example for cities across the nation.” – Angela Zusman, Executive Director of Story For All.
Jackson Medical Mall Foundation is part of a diverse finalist pool. The CDI finalists have a wide range of contexts and focuses, from community development corporations to public health organizations to universities working on challenges from housing development to food systems to commercial corridors. Finalists were selected from six defined geographic regions across the country through a review process that included experts in the fields of community development and creative placemaking.
One organization from each of the six regions will be chosen to participate in the program, which will begin in September 2015. The full list of 21 finalist organizations and regions includes:
A community of any size in Alaska:
- Cook Inlet Housing Authority, Anchorage, AK
- NeighborWorks Anchorage, Anchorage, AK
- The Association of Village Council Presidents, Bethel, AK
A community of any size in California
- Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs’ Activities League, San Leandro, CA
- Fresno Metro Ministry, Fresno, CA
- Latino Health Access, Santa Ana, CA
- Little Tokyo Service Center Community Development Corporation, Los Angeles, CA
A nonmetropolitan area community in Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas
- Nogales Community Development Corporation, Nogales, AZ
- Siete del Norte, Embudo, NM
- Zuni Youth Enrichment Project, Zuni, NM
A nonmetropolitan area community in Minnesota
- North Central Economic Development Association, Staples, MN
- Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, Statewide, MN
- Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, Slayton, MN
One or more neighborhoods of Philadelphia, PA
- Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
- Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia, PA
- People’s Emergency Center Community Development Corporation, Philadelphia, PA
- Women’s Community Revitalization Project, Philadelphia, PA
A metropolitan community in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia
- Charleston Area Alliance, Charleston, WV
- Jackson Medical Mall Foundation, Jackson, MS
- Rocky Mount Edgecombe Community Development Corporation, Rocky Mount, NC
- G. Atkins Community Development Corporation, Winston-Salem, NC
Representatives from the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation will join other finalists and ArtPlace grantees and partners at the annual ArtPlace Grantee Summit in Philadelphia this week (May 4-6, 2015). The Grantee Summit will be livestreamed via www.artplaceamerica.org.
About The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation
The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation is a 501 C-3 organization created in 1995 with a dual purpose of providing healthcare for the underserved, and promoting economic and community development in the Jackson Medical Mall District.
About ArtPlace America
ArtPlace America (ArtPlace) is a ten-year collaboration of foundations, banks, and federal agencies that exists to position art and culture as a core sector of comprehensive community planning and development in order to help strengthen the social, physical, and economic fabric of communities. Visit www.artplaceamerica.org for more information.
Press Contacts:
The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation
Erica M. J. Reed
ejohnson@jacksonmedicalmall.org
601-982-8467 Ext: 38
ArtPlace America
Prentice Onayemi
prentice@artplaceamerica.org
(347) 853-7818 x305
