By Dakota Antelman, Marlborough/Hudson Editor
Hudson – Ten local programs and groups received extra money for upcoming arts and education efforts, this month, through a series of grants from the Hudson Cultural Council.
Announced Feb. 23, these payments total just over $14,000 dollars. Collectively, they’ll fund special operations of groups like the Assabet Valley Camera Club, the River’s Edge Arts Alliance and the Hudson Public Library.
“The pandemic has underscored the value of cultural programming and help[ed] us realize the importance that art, music, and other cultural and educational offerings have in our lives,” State Representative Kate Hogan said in a press release, Feb. 23. “We now, more than ever, long for the social, emotional and other connections these experiences provide.”
The Hudson Cultural Council is a local organization operating under the umbrella of the statewide Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC).
Each year, the MCC allocates millions of dollars in grant money to then hand off to local Cultural Councils for distribution.
Some of this year’s Hudson grant winners have snagged funding before. Others, like the Hudson Cultural Alliance, are relative newcomers to this informal community.
The Alliance is particularly using its money in a high profile effort to buy the now vacant Hudson Armory from the state for use as a performing arts center. This grant win comes after organizers have touted their fundraising capabilities in repeated conversations with town Select Board members.
“The Town of Hudson has the opportunity to preserve this significant historic asset and repurpose it for community benefit,” the Cultural Alliance has written of this project on its website.
In addition to the Assabet Camera Club, River’s Edge, the Hudson Public Library and the Cultural Alliance, the list of 2021 Cultural Council grant winners in Hudson includes the Assabet Valley Chamber of Commerce, Discovery Museums, the Hudson Cultural Alliance, the Hudson Recreation Department, Sounds of Stow, Symphony Pro Musica and the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden.
As money flows from the state into local communities, the nearby Marlborough Cultural Council has also reportedly chosen its grant recipients. In an email to the Community Advocate, Feb. 28, the Council said it will publicly release that list before the end of March.