Double Edge Awarded NEA Our Town Grant, Named ArtPlace Finalist

Creative Placemaking is an evolving field of practice that intentionally leverages the power of the arts, culture and creativity to serve a community's interest while driving a broader agenda for change, growth and transformation in a way that also builds character and quality of place.

Partners from across sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities. Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates landscapes, improves local business, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired.

In recognition of its distinctly imaginative approach and long-term commitment to "creative placemaking" in its rural town of Ashfield in western Massachusetts, as well as on tour, Double Edge Theatre is receiving national recognition by the two leading granting programs in the field of creative placemaking.

First, the National Endowment for the Arts has recommended Double Edge for a grant of $50,000 to work with the town of Ashfield to analyze past growth patterns and collectively chart a path forward. The NEA received 274 eligible applications for Our Town this year and will make grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. The Our Town Award is a distinguished award and recognition of meaningful community impact.

Second, Double Edge is also one of 70 finalists for ArtPlace America's 2017 National Creative Placemaking Fund (NCPF). ArtPlace selected these 70 proposals from 987 applications, making Double Edge Theatre's project one of just 7% of the projects across the country to be chosen, from a country filled with important community development visions.

As part of the project approved for NEA Our Town support, Double Edge will conduct an in-depth impact study alongside community conversations to map the socio-economic and cultural impact of Double Edge Theatre on Ashfield & Ashfield on Double Edge Theatre. This study will underscore the key drivers of successes thus far, and enable the incorporation of these findings into an ongoing strategy for sustainable deployment of arts and cultural activities. In addition, Double Edge will use these findings to create the final design of the Farm Center, renovations of historic barns and buildings to respond to growth, expanded programming, and participation by local artists, community members, and visiting artists. These programs would inform Double Edge's newly launched five-year Harvest Campaign, forwarding the growth, sustainability, and impact of the theatre on communities rural and urban, near and far.

"The arts reflect the vision, energy, and talent of America's artists and arts organizations," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as Double Edge Theatre, to cultivate vitality in their communities through the arts."

"Creative Placemaking is a new and slightly foreign phrase to me," mused Founder/Artistic Director Stacy Klein. "Since I founded Double Edge 35 years ago, our mission has been about creating great art and creating what I call, a living culture. Culture, democracy, art, a song, entrepreneurship -- it's about participation. Culture must root and blossom, like a flowering tree?... and when it does, all sorts of things happen. We are proud of our work, our community, and now this incredible recognition."

For ArtPlace's National Creative Placemaking Fund, Double Edge Theatre has proposed the project "Collective Imaginings," during which the Double Edge ensemble will work in conjunction with its local partners to transform unused farm buildings/land into public spaces for art, agriculture, and dialogue; driving economic growth, and proposing a united local identity. This would fulfill a key portion of Double Edge's newly launched five-year Harvest Campaign forwarding the theatre's overall growth and sustainability.

ArtPlace's is a highly competitive national program, investing money in communities across the country in which artists, arts organizations, and arts and culture activity help drive community development change across 10 sectors of community planning and development: agriculture and food; economic development; education and youth; environment and energy; health; housing; immigration; public safety; transportation; or workforce development.

"The National Grants Program is actively building a portfolio that reflects the full breadth of our country's arts and cultural sector, as well as the community planning and development field," said ArtPlace's Director of National Grantmaking F. Javier Torres. "Knowing that these projects, and the hundreds of others who applied, are using arts and culture strategies to make the communities across this country healthier and stronger is inspirational."

"We believe that these projects, when added to our tremendously strong portfolio of demonstration projects, will inspire, equip and connect members of the arts and culture field, the community planning and development field and those who are working to make healthy and equitable communities creatively across the country," said ArtPlace America Executive Director Jamie Bennett.

"Just being a finalist is already an amazing feat," said Co-Artistic Director Matthew Glassman. "We are very proud to be in this cohort and to be recognized for the work which for us has been going on for so long. If we are so fortunate to receive this award, our Harvest Vision, which takes us to our 40th Anniversary year -- will be off to an auspicious start."

Double Edge Theatre, an artist-owned organization, was founded in 1982 by Stacy Klein. The ensemble applies vigorous physical training and the principle of an artist's autonomy to create work intimately woven with the community. In 1994, Double Edge moved from Boston to a 105-acre former dairy farm in rural Ashfield, MA, to create a sustainable artistic home. In 1996 Argentine actor, puppeteer Carlos Uriona joined DE and wove into the ensemble his community-based street theatre. Today, the Farm has become an International Center of Living Culture, including performance, international touring and artist collaboration, year round theatre training, conversations, convenings, greening and farming initiatives, and a popular indoor-outdoor traveling spectacle which takes place alongside the hills, pastures, river, and gardens of the Center. A highlight of 2017 is the Ashfield Town Spectacle, which involved the whole community, a celebration throughout the town inspired by the spirit of Direct Democracy.

Double Edge Theatre creates performance cycles based on identity, including the Women's Cycle, the Song Trilogy, the Garden of Intimacy and Desire, and the Chagall Cycle, with its signature Grand Parade, inspired by the life and imagination of Russian-Jewish artist Marc Chagall. Double Edge is currently creating the Latin American Cycle, an exploration of the artistic acts, culture, and magic realism of societies of struggle and dictatorship. This fifth cycle includes Cada Luna Azul, premiered in 2015 in a traveling version at DE's Farm (reprised in 2016); and the touring versions in 2016 in Jamaica Plain, MA and Springfield, MA. In March 2018 the Ensemble will premiere the indoor performance of the Latin American Cycle, Leonora and Alejandro, la maga y el maestro, undeniably immersing itself in the current cultural and socio-political realities through the eyes of artists Leonora Carrington and Alejandro Jodorowski.

Photo Credit: Mark Saperstein

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