A new microgrant program initiated by The Woodlands Arts Council awarded $32,420 in microgrants to nine schools and three private organizations or individuals in The Woodlands area Jan. 5, ranging from $250-$5,000 for each project.

The grants are the first awarded through The Woodlands Arts Council’s Dr. David Gottlieb Education Microgrant and The Woodlands Arts Council Artist Microgrant programs. The program took applications from area artists and educators last fall. The Dr. David Gottlieb grant program is intended for public and private school visual and performing arts applicants as well as nonprofits in Montgomery County. The Woodlands Arts Council program is for individual artists who proposed projects to engage with students or underserved adult populations.

Examples of projects include a new kiln, a sketchbook exchange, print-making supplies and iPads for a digital art curriculum, according to a news release.

"With this inaugural year of microgrants, we are expanding The Woodlands Arts Council's ways of bringing art to everyone,” said James Stilwell, president of the TWAC board of directors. “Since its inception, The Woodlands Arts Council has charitably given and spent more than $1.2 million with our outreach and public art programs. In the year to come, we look forward to telling the community more about the impact of these great microgrant projects."

The Woodlands Arts Council also awards several student art scholarships to high school seniors in the Montgomery County area, for which applications are due Jan. 24. More information is available at www.thewoodlandsartscouncil.org/p/programs/studentartscholarship.


In addition to providing enrichment opportunities and programs in the visual and performing arts, The Woodlands Arts Council holds The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival, set this year for April 9-10.