Nearly $900,000 in grants through Seattle’s last 2021 round of Neighborhood Matching Fund awards will power new events at the Central District’s Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, a new arts showcase at Capitol Hill’s Gay City, and a performance series next summer to celebrate Volunteer Park’s new $3 million amphitheater.

“Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center is thrilled to partner with the Department of Neighborhoods to produce the first annual Emerge Arts Cohort and Showcase, a program for BIPOC LGBTQ+ performing artists that offers production support, artistic mentorship, and business and sustainability training,” Bekah Telew, director of development at Gay City said in a statement. “The City’s investment in supporting BIPOC LGBTQ artistic voices in this holistic way is directly responsive to the needs of BIPOC LGBTQ artists, who continue to be disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.”

The matching fund awards include nearly $230,000 in grants across District 3 that will help groups create several new events and the new performance series in Volunteer Park. Continue reading →