New grants to help build creative places in eastern Iowa

The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs has announced $1.5 million in grants to help leverage local infrastructure and engaging programs – including two in the Quad Cities region – in an effort to build culturally vibrant communities across the state. 

The grants, announced Tuesday, Jan. 10 by the department, are aimed at cultivating and promoting creative places, growing its economy and workforce, and building capacity for cultural organizations scattered across Iowa. 

Among the local region’s recipients sharing in the $1.5 million in grants are: 

  • Hardacre Theater in Tipton. Cedar County was awarded $348,700 from the Iowa Great Places program. The challenge-matching grant will go toward the long-awaited renovation of the Hardacre Theater. A community icon, the closed downtown theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 
  • The Sawmill Museum in Clinton. The museum received a Folk Arts Learning grant to present an advanced class on Norwegian drakestil wood carving and a beginning class on kroting, led by master artist Rebecca Hanna. The $5,000 grant was awarded by the Iowa Arts council, a division of the department.  

In all, the grants supported about 10 Iowa communities as well as programming grants for several other communities and organizations. 

“Across Iowa, these projects are connecting Iowans to arts, culture and heritage programming and their local communities’ authentic character, Chris Kramer, director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, said in a news release announcing the funding. “They represent the quality of life people value today when choosing culturally vibrant places to live, work and raise their families.” 

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