Nashville Metro Arts awarded $85,000 grant for Creative Connect

Nashville, Tenn. – Nashville receives an $85,000 grant to produce the Creative Connects project in Madison, Tenn. Metro Arts, the Mayor’s office, as well as the Financial Empowerment Centers, will work together to provide better housing and more opportunities for Nashville’s creatives.

The National Endowment for the Arts provides grants such as the Artworks: Creative Connect grant in order to assist communities in studying art and supporting artists. Of the $64.3 million provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Nashville’s portion will be used for the growing professions of creatives and artists. The funds provided by the grant will be used to educate creatives currently living in metro Nashville on housing, business planning, workspace. This pilot program will bridge the gaps between creative artists, freelancers, metro Nashville neighborhood, art organizations as well as non-art organizations.

What is a “creative” one might ask? A creative is a person who makes a living or earns income from the arts such as “artists, graphic designers, filmmakers, musicians, and actors.” In technology age, creatives have also come to include the likes of digital artists, video bloggers, and writers. According to the Metro Arts of Nashville, in Davidson County alone, over 20% of the workforce consists of creatives and freelancers.

"Light Meander - Nashville Public Art" by Brent Moore is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The Madison Creative Corridor community will be the first to benefit from the Creative Connect grant. Mayor Megan Barry has implied that this grant will help Nashville and the surrounding areas to build affordable housing and work spaces for creatives to utilize.

A collaboration of both artists/creatives and non-art organizations will bridge the gap between soloproneurs, who are businesses owners who run their businesses alone, and large organizations.

Nashville residents, especially creatives and freelancers, could use housing and work space assistance. According to the 2015 US Census, Nashville’s population has grown by 50,000 people in the past 5 years – and during those 5 years, only 54% of the city’s residents have had adequate housing. Rent prices around the metro area are increasing, which is making it even harder for creatives to find adequate housing on their own.

The grant awarded to Metro Arts will allow Nashville to create co-working spaces, such as those in the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. These workspaces can be rented out to individuals to provide them with internet connection, entrepreneurship resources as well as a clean working space to do business.

Thanks to the assistance of the National Endowment for the Arts, Nashville has a chance to create a great artistic environment for its residents that will help the city continue to be known as a place that welcomes creatives.