Schweinfurth Art Center to use state grants to help in pandemic recovery

AUBURN, N.Y. — Schweinfurth Art Center says it will use a total of $50,000 in state-grant funding to help in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) awarded the center $30,000 in operating support and two $10,000 regrowth and capacity grants to restore its folk arts program and to rehire a part-time employee.

Schweinfurth Art Center eliminated both initiatives because of the pandemic, per its Dec. 28 announcement.

“We are thankful for this generous funding from New York State,” Donna Lamb, executive director of the Schweinfurth Art Center, said in a news release. “We are also thankful that state officials appreciate the contributions of the arts to communities such as Auburn.”

NYSCA “applauds” sate government for its “historic” investment of $240 million for the nonprofit arts and culture sector, Mara Manus, executive director of NYSCA, said. “As we continue rebuilding the arts across our New York, Schweinfurth Art Center will play a vital role in the renewal of our state’s economy and creative ecosystem,” Manus added.

The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center is a multi-arts center that opened in 1981 via a bequest from Auburn–born architect Julius Schweinfurth. The art center’s programs include more than a dozen exhibitions each year and educational programs for children and adults, which feature local, national, and international artists.