City of Norwich ARPA

CITY OF NORWICH – $500k ARPA FUNDS TO SUPPORT ARTS, CULTURE & TOURISM 

The Cultural Coalition has partnered with the City of Norwich to manage and administer municipal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated for arts & culture, including through grant programs and special projects.

The program is funded with $500,000 of the City of Norwich American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation of funds and is intended to support investments that help our local economy continue to address Covid-19 impact and recovery.

The Cultural Coalition has completed the following:

• From early October 2021 through January 2022, hosted Norwich ARPA for Arts & Culture Zoom Meetings:
  • provided updates and information about municipal funds for arts & culture
  • heard from local arts & cultural organizations, artists and creative businesses about your ideas/needs/projects
  • encouraged, help develop, and catalyze collaborative opportunities
• December 2021 – hired a PT Norwich Arts & Culture Coordinator to serve as a dedicated arts & culture community engagement and program coordinator for the City of Norwich to assist the Cultural Coalition with managing the local ARPA funds.
• May 2022 Opened applications for Norwich ARPA Grant for Arts & Culture
• June 2022 – First Round of Norwich ARPA Grants for Arts & Culture Announced 
• July 2022 – Ad hoc Public Art Committee Formed, creates Norwich Public Art Values Guidelines
• Dec. 2022 – Opened Second Round applications for Norwich ARPA Grants (Project Grants-Round 2 & IMPACT Grants)
• Spring 2023 – Second Round of Norwich ARPA Grants for Arts & Culture and IMPACT Grants Announced
• June 2023 – First Round Grant Reports Due
• October 2023 – Top 3 Concepts Selected for Public Art located at Franklin Square Roundabout (move forward to Full Proposal phase)
• March 2024 – Second Round Grant Reports Due (Project Grants & IMPACT)

To read our full plan for the $500k, Norwich ARP 1% arts RECOMMENDATIONS FINAL 7.2.21.

Cultural Coalition Norwich ARPA Funds At-A-Glance 1.9.23

Norwich ARPA Arts & Culture Update_Summary of Activities (as of 9/30/22)

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NORWICH ARTS & CULTURE COORDINATOR

Sarbani Hazra is the Norwich Arts and Culture Coordinator. Sarbani joined the Cultural Coalition as an arts & culture community engagement and program coordinator for the City of Norwich. Sarbani assists with managing the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that the City has allocated to support local arts & culture. In this new and temporary, part-time position, the Norwich Arts and Culture Coordinator will work with the Cultural Coalition to help manage, implement and administer $500,000 of Norwich’s ARPA funding for arts and culture to support economic recovery and address the impact of the pandemic.

Sarbani is the primary point of contact for arts and cultural entities seeking ARPA funding in the City of Norwich through a grant program designed to develop arts and culture based beautification projects, enhance the positive perception of Norwich, help foster tourism, and coordinate and promote arts, culture, history, and heritage events and activities. In this position, she will engage with diverse BIPOC communities in the City, including youth, students, families, and elderly as part of the Cultural Coalition’s and the
City of Norwich’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism.  Read more…

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READI (Relevance, Equity, Access, Diversity, Inclusion) & Anti-Racism
Equity, inclusion and access involving all populations are critical to the vitality of our neighborhoods, towns and cities. We are committed to supporting and fully engaging diverse members of our communities in arts policy, practice and decision making. – Cultural Coalition and CT Office of the Arts