Points North Institute has been awarded a $45,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The Rockport institute is among eight organizations in Maine’s First District to receive a portion of $235,000 in federal grants to support the arts.

Points North funds will support the Camden International Film Festival and professional development programming for nonfiction filmmakers and media artists.

“Each of the organizations awarded grants today is working to enrich their communities through the arts,” said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine). Pingree is Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees funding for the NEA. 

“Despite being an incredible tool for economic development, education, and community engagement, the arts have been historically underfunded,” she said. “Through my role on the Appropriations Committee, I continuously fight to secure the federal funding for the National Endowments of the Arts and Humanities that makes these grant programs possible.” 

Grants awarded in Maine’s First District are as follows: 

• $45,000: Alice James Poetry Cooperative, Inc. (New Gloucester, Maine): To support the publication and promotion of books of poetry.

• $15,000: Bowdoin International Music Festival (Brunswick, Maine): To support the chamber music educational institute at the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

• $30,000: Indigo Arts Alliance (Portland, Maine): To support an artist residency program and an associated archive project.

• $45,000: Points North Institute (Rockport, Maine): To support the Camden International Film Festival and professional development programming for nonfiction filmmakers and media artists.

• $30,000: Portland Museum of Art (Portland, Maine): To support a solo exhibition of the work of Passamaquoddy basketmaker Jeremy Frey (b. 1978).

• $15,000: Portland Stage Company, Inc. (Portland, Maine): To support the world premiere production of Manning by Benjamin Benne.

• $20,000: Salt Bay Chamberfest (Damariscotta, Maine): To support Salt Bay Chamberfest's 30th Anniversary Season festival.

• $35,000: Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts (Newcastle, Maine): To support a mentor and mentee artist residency program.

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States.