This year, the Norfolk Cultural Council (NCC) is distributing $7,200 in grants to 17 individuals/groups and not-for-profit organizations that will provide programming centering around the arts, humanities, history, and interpretive sciences for children, adults, and intergenerational groups.

The Norfolk Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, the Local Cultural Council (LCC) Program enriches the cultural life of all cities and towns in Massachusetts. Led by municipally appointed volunteers, LCCs awarded over $5.5 million statewide this year, supporting 6,000 cultural programs that include a wide range of cultural activities: from field trips to lectures, festivals, music and dance performances, to nature and science education programs. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community. 

Within Norfolk, decisions about which activities to fund are made by a committee of volunteers appointed by the Select Board. In reviewing grant applications, the Norfolk Cultural Council considers the benefit to the community, and the population segments served. The NCC favors programs that have occur in a local venue or are sponsored by a local organization, such as the Senior Center, Norfolk Library, or the Norfolk Lions Club. 

This year’s grant recipients are:

• Matt York: Songs and Stories - The Highwaymen

• Self Help, Inc: Art Education for Young Children

• Rachel Daly: Monday Night Live - Broadway and the Classics

• Julie A. Stepanek: Learn Ukulele

• Davis R. Bates III: A Celtic Celebration: Performance for Seniors and Oceans of Possibilities: A Summer Reading Performance

• Francis Hart: A Cultural and Historical Reflection of the 1960s through the Music of The Beatles

• Jay Mankita: Maker Space Build Along: Chain Reactions!

• Pamela Means: The Power of the Protest Song: Our Shared History & Present Day Struggles

• Norfolk Recreation Department: Norfolk Summer Concert Series

• The Un-Common Theatre Company, Inc: Spring Production – The Addams Family

• Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon: Nature in Your Neighborhood

• Bernadette Stockwell: Norfolk: Do Your Art!

• MUSIC Dance.edu: Hip Hop Dance Chair Exercise for Seniors!

• Neponset Choral Society, Inc: 2021-2022 Concert Season

• LiveARTS: The 2022 LiveARTS Concert Series

• Roundabout Productions, Inc: Summer Musical: Be More Chill

The NCC welcomes new members. The current committee has five members but can have up to 23. No art/music/any other expertise is needed, just an interest in supporting arts and cultural programs in Norfolk and surrounding communities. Please contact the NCC at [email protected] for more information.

In addition to distributing grant monies, the NCC also has sponsored an annual Juried Art Show (held virtually last year), and coordinates art exhibits in the Norfolk Library community room. Check out the virtual art show from 2021 on the Norfolk Cultural Council’s page on https://norfolk.ma.us, under the Government pulldown menu. If you are interested in exhibiting your own or a group’s artwork at the library, please contact us.

Interested in presenting a program in Norfolk? The application process opens in September. Information and forms available at https://massculturalcouncil.org/.