Paper Mache
The Great Depression wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy and the suffering felt by families nationwide was devastating. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began a recovery program that employed millions of jobseekers, mostly uneducated men, to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. President Roosevelt created it in 1935 by executive order as a key part of the Second New Deal.
In one of its most famous projects, Federal Project Number One, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. The five projects dedicated to these were: the Federal Writers’ Project, the Historical Records Survey, the Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Art Project. In the Historical Records Survey, for instance, many former slaves in the South were interviewed; these documents are of immense importance to American history. Theater and music groups toured throughout the United States and gave more than 225,000 performances.
The WPA’S first appropriation in 1935 was $4.9 billion (about $15 per person in the U.S., or around 6.7% of the 1935 gross domestic product). The WPA supplied paid jobs to the unemployed during the Great Depression in the United States, while building up the public infrastructure of the U.S., such as parks, schools, and roads. In addition to the arts and culture related jobs, most of the jobs were in construction, which included building more than 620,000 miles of streets and over 10,000 bridges, in addition to airports and housing.
Inspired by the work of the WPA, especially in the arts sector, the state has allocated
$60 million to the California Creative Corps, a post-pandemic workforce development pilot program, through which artists, culture bearers and arts organizations might implement media, outreach, or engagement campaigns that increase awareness for one or more of these program goals:
– Public health awareness messages, such as mitigating the spread of COVID-19
– Public awareness of environment-related issues, such as water and energy conservation, climate mitigation, and emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery
– Civic engagement, such as election participation
– Social justice and community engagement
Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture is part of a five-county team helping administer the Upstate California Creative Corps grant program responsible for distributing $3.38 million in grant funding across 19 counties. The work of the WPA was one of the models for the state in putting this program together to help the arts and culture community recover from the disastrous effects of COVID-19.
The grants range from $5,000 for individuals to $250,000 for multi-county programs. Designed to inspire artists to create projects that address one or several of these four broad areas that can have such a profound effect on all our lives. So, put on your thinking caps, and go to yubasutterarts.org to read the complete guidelines and the application.
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about the grant. The applications will be locally adjudicated. Good luck!