MINNEAPOLIS: Arts Midwest, one of six nonprofit regional arts organizations in the U.S., has announced that 30 Midwestern arts and culture organizations have received new COVID-19 relief grants from them through the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, totaling $1.5 million in support. Selected from over 500 nominations, the chosen organizations will each receive between $50,000 and $55,000 as a one-time investment.

With the fund’s goal of investing in “historically under-resourced arts and culture organizations” throughout the country as they work through the pandemic, 22 of the funded organizations are led by and serving people of color and/or Indigenous communities, and 11 are based in rural areas. Grants can be used for the organization’s most pressing needs and opportunities.

“These organizations play a critical role in the civic and economic vitality of our communities and are core to our quality of life in the Midwest,” said Torrie Allen, president and CEO of Arts Midwest, in a statement. “We are proud to be partnering with our state arts agencies, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and our fellow U.S. Regional Arts Organizations on this recovery effort and are humbled by the continued need for support within and beyond these communities.”

The United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund began in June after the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation allocated portions of a $10 million emergency grant to each of America’s six Regional Arts Organizations, a collective of place-based nonprofit arts service organizations. Decisions on how to allocate Resilience Funds were led by arts leaders of color and rural culture-makers from across the Midwest, in addition to representatives from Arts Midwest’s nine partner state arts agencies.

Recipients include Chicago’s Congo Square Theatre, St. Paul’s Theater Mu, and Cleveland’s Karamu House, and Cleveland Public Theatre. A full list of recipients can be found on the Arts Midwest website.