SIKESTON - A grant from the Missouri Arts Council will help keep the lights on and the front door open at the Sikeston Depot.
The Missouri Arts Council recently awarded $4,493 to the Sikeston Cultural Development Corporation, the non-profit organization which oversees the Depot. The money is part of $2,321,550 in grants to 297 nonprofit organizations throughout Missouri given in the first phase of its granting for the fiscal year that began July 1.
"The money is needed in order to keep the facility open and engaged in providing cultural events for the community," said Delilah Tayloe, administrator for the Depot. She noted the Depot does not charge an admission thanks in part its volunteers as well as such grants as the one from MAC.
"We depend on the Missouri Arts Council to meet some of those fiscal needs along with donations from folks in the area. These mean a lot to us," she said.
Grants and donations have enabled the depot to provide monthly exhibits and gallery displays. The First Empire Napoleon collection of Dr. James Cooper is on display until Dec. 30. From 1:30-3:30 p.m. Jan. 1 will be a reception opening an exhibit by Barbara Ross and her students.
Urging the public to attend the exhibits, Tayloe called the Depot and other museums "the greatest teaching tools that have ever been invented. We at the Depot are deeply committed to providing a variety of art and cultural events for folks in this area to enjoy."
Funds were granted by MAC to support programs in arts education, arts services, community arts, dance, electronic media, festivals, literature, multidiscipline, music, theater, visual arts, folk arts, minority arts, technical assistance, and touring arts.
Missouri arts professionals and community representatives serve on citizen advisory panels to assist with the granting process.
Also receiving grants in the area were the Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts of Cape Girardeau, $15,436; Southeast Missouri State University, $1,000 for literature and $1,217 for the visual arts; and the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff, $2,573 for the visual arts.