Scottsdale Arts receives $45,000 grant for Canal Convergence

Scottsdale Arts announced it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts to receive a Grants for Arts Projects award of $45,000.

This grant will support Canal Convergence | Water + Art + Light, a press release explained. This grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects in communities nationwide,” said NEA chair Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D., in the release. “Projects such as this one with Scottsdale Arts strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy.”

“Scottsdale Arts is very excited about both the recognition and support the NEA is giving our signature Canal Convergence public art event,” said Dr. Gerd Wuestemann, president and CEO of Scottsdale Arts.

“With hundreds of thousands of visitors to this free event and an ever-increasing level of ethnic and demographic diversity among our patrons, Canal Convergence is writing a new chapter of cultural engagement in Arizona with spectacular public art as the attraction and deeper engagement around equity and sustainability at its core,” Wuestemann continued. 

Canal Convergence is a free, annual, 10-night event featuring large-scale, light-based artworks from around the world. The artworks are temporarily installed on or around the Arizona Canal at the Scottsdale Waterfront in Old Town every November.

The event also features live music, dance performances, creative workshops, educational tours and other activities. Learn more at CanalConvergence.com.

For information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.