Studio H year 1 students at the grand opening of the Windsor Farmers Market (which they designed and built).

We are excited to announce that our Studio H high school design/build program in Bertie County, North Carolina, has been awarded an Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts! The $40,000 grant will help fund the second year of Studio H, which offers students high school and college credit, as well as paid summer jobs to design and build full-scale architecture projects for their community’s benefit. We are honored to be on the prestigious list of grant recipients this year. For more about the Art Works program, please read the full press release below.

Studio H was also profiled last week on the National Endowment for the Arts’ Art Works blog. Read the feature, “Spotlight on Studio H,” which includes photos of last year’s chicken coop and farmers market project, here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Project H Design receives NEA grant to support Studio H

Grant part of NEA announcement of 863 grants and $22.543 million in funding nationwide

WINDSOR, NORTH CAROLINA—The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman today announced that the agency will award 863 grants to organizations and individual writers across the country. Project H Design is one of the grantees and will receive $40,000 “to support Studio H, a community design/build and public education program in rural Bertie County, North Carolina.” The 863 grant awards total $22.543 million, encompass 15 artistic disciplines and fields, and support projects in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

From Studio H:

Studio H is a public high school “design/build” curriculum that sparks rural community development through real-world, built projects. Through an intensive year-long high school design curriculum, 16 high school students design and build a contextually responsive and socially transformative architecture project to house programming that benefits the public. By learning through a design sensibility, applied core subjects, and industry-relevant construction skills, students develop the creative capital, critical thinking, and citizenship necessary for their own success and for the future of their communities. Over the course of one calendar year, students earn high school and college credit, and are paid a summer wage to build the community project they have spent the year designing and prototyping. This past year, we designed and built some crazy chicken coops for families in need, and a 2,000-square-foot farmers market pavilion for our hometown of Town of Windsor, North Carolina.

“Art Works is the guiding principle at the NEA,” said agency Chairman Rocco Landesman. “And I’m pleased to see that principle represented through the 823 Art Works-funded projects included in this announcement. These projects demonstrate the imaginative and innovative capacities of artists and arts organizations to enhance the quality of life in their communities.”

“Being an Art Works design grantee is an enormous honor, and great opportunity to be a part of a larger movement that uses design and creativity for social benefit,” said Project H Design founder Emily Pilloton. “We hope Studio H will continue to grow as a program for youth in Bertie County and beyond, thanks to the support and partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts.”

In March 2011, the NEA received 1,686 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $84 million in funding. The resulting funding rate of 49 percent of eligible applications reflects both the significant demand for support and the ongoing vitality of the not-for-profit arts community despite current financial challenges. Art Works grants are awarded based on the applications received by the NEA and how those applications are assessed by the review panels.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA web
site at arts.gov.

Sincerely,

Project H Design
PO Box 1231
Windsor, NC 27983

www.projecthdesign.org
www.studio-h.org

Contact person: Emily Pilloton, Executive Director
emily (at) projecthdesign (dot) org