Syracuse’s Near Westside Initiative is a finalist for a share of $15 million given by the national consortium ArtPlace, an organization that works to fund creative projects and bring artists into various communities to bring economic prosperity and vitality to the area.

The NWSI is an organization that is partially funded by Syracuse University. Its mission is to revitalize and invigorate the Syracuse Westside through promoting artistic and cultural development.

Maarten Jacobs, director of the NWSI, said the organization is one of 128 finalists for the grant. He said ArtPlace will then choose 40 organizations to receive the money.

Jacobs said Carol Coletta, president of ArtPlace, approached the NWSI last year about applying for the grant. The NWSI applied about eight months ago, Jacobs said, and did not make it through the next round, so it reapplied in mid-December. Jacobs said 2,200 other organizations also applied for this grant.

Last year, 34 organizations were selected to receive a total of $11.5 million, according to a Jan. 25 article published by The Post-Standard. In New York state, Syracuse and Poughkeepsie are the only areas outside of New York City with organizations that are among the finalists, according to the article.

The final application is due Feb. 15, Jacobs said.

If chosen, Jacobs said the NWSI would receive $500,000, which would be put toward renovating a building located at 115 Otisco St. The 4,000-square-foot, two-story building would be converted into a space for local artists. The top floor would comprise two apartments and the bottom floor would have three studios and a small gallery, Jacobs said.

The space would be used for the NWSI’s Artist-in-Residence program, Jacobs said. The program hosts an artist for one year to work in and improve the Westside art scene.

Jacobs said NWSI hopes to revitalize this particular building because the organization has owned it for a long time, it just hasn’t had the funds to renovate it, he said. The building also coincides with ArtPlace’s mission to bring artists into a community, he said.

Jacobs said he expects to hear about ArtPlace’s final selection in late March or early April.

‘They’ve been good at doing pretty quick turnarounds,’ he said.

Jacobs said he thinks the NWSI’s odds of being selected are very good. He said an ArtPlace employee happened to be in Rochester shortly after the New Year, and she stopped by the NWSI to visit the site, which Jacobs said gave the initiative a ‘huge advantage.’

‘I’d definitely put them beyond 50 percent at this point,’ he said. ‘We’re optimistic, cautiously optimistic.’

snbouvia@syr.edu

Published on January 30, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia