Atlanta’s Black creative community is getting some major support.
Email marketing company Mailchimp Intuit recently announced a pledge of $1 million to bolster diverse local arts organizations based in Atlanta. ArtsATL, Dashboard, Living Walls, Moving in the Spirit, RE:IMAGINE, True Colors Theatre, Atlanta Music Project, MODA, Tila Studios and Atlanta Contemporary.
Each organization will be given $100,000 in unrestricted funds to help drive their mission of creative viability. One of the recipients,TILA Studios, a Black women’s artist collective says the funding will help them encourage their community to focus their efforts in the arts.
“As a local creative organization, it means a lot to get support from a local tech giant like Inuit Mailchimp,” said Tiffany Latrice, executive director of TILA Studios said in a statement shared with ESSENCE. “Oftentimes, organizations like TILA, with a specific mission and focus to support underrepresented artists are often overlooked and don’t receive investments from major corporations.”
She added: “We’re not just a creative organization, but we’re also a Black organization, and a creative Black women’s organization at that, so the opportunities to receive funding the way that other businesses or organizations do are not as plentiful. I’m glad that Inuiti Mailchimp sought to invest its money in the local creative community. It means a lot that they see us and support our ambitious vision to uplift and amplify the voices of Black women artists.”
“Creativity is central to Mailchimp’s brand and culture. Small and medium-sized arts organizations are the heartbeat of Atlanta’s creative economy,” said Lain Shakespeare, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship at Intuit Mailchimp in a statement. “Many of these arts organizations are our customers, our partners, and the places where our employees volunteer. We’re proud to help power their prosperity and help grow creative excellence in our hometown.”