Rural and Community Art Project Grant

To invite local artists of all levels of expertise to share their art with the community, to engage local merchants to offer their window space for exhibits, and to bring exciting exhibits to the community and out-of-town visitors to enhance their appreciation and enjoyment of the arts. Measurable project outcomes are 60 or more adult artists, 80 or more student artists, 400 or more pieces of art on display, 40 or more participating merchants offering window display space, and art sales of $3,000 or more. Over the years, we hope the Ely ArtWalk will help strengthen the winter tourism economy and provide more opportunities for artists to live and work in the Ely area. Indicators of success will include growing lodging taxes collected in February, positive feedback from the merchants who provide display space, growing sales by artists during the event, and increasing numbers of artists participating each year. The Ely ArtWalk organizing committee routinely tracks the number of adult and youth artists, the number of artworks on display, the number of participating merchants, and total sales. It also conducts surveys of participating artists and merchants each year at the close of the event to collect feedback on several measures of satisfaction. Artist feedback is incorporated in the planning process for future events. Lodging tax collections are tracked and provided by the Ely Chamber of Commerce.