2023-24 Grants Completed

Every year, the La Pointe Center for the Arts applies for a grant from the Wisconsin Art’s Board. Once the amount is received, the LPC matches the grant dollar for dollar, allowing for grants opportunities in our community. LPC relies on donations from businesses and individuals to make granting money available available and possible to artists, like the 2023-24 recipients, Jami Halder and Lydia Caswell.

Jami Halder – Build a Bank for Youth

If you were lucky enough to wander into the La Pointe Center (LPC) Art Gallery during May, you would have noticed a wildly colorful clay menagerie. Jami Halder, one of the 2023-24 grant recipients, worked her magic with fifteen students from the La Pointe School. Even though her project was hand building piggy banks, students made whimsical animals including a dinosaur, cat, dog, and bird.

According to Jami, the project was seamless. She was able to work well with the La Pointe School and Wood’s Hall. Jami also received a grant from Wood’s Hall which deferred the cost of tuition for the class.

Jami is already thinking about what is next. Thank you Jami!

Lydia Caswell – Unpublished Writers

Lydia has spent the year focusing on securing the tools needed to continue her artistc growth and development of her novel. As part of her grant, Lydia held three writing workshops for interested writers of various backgrounds to share writing resources and learn from one another’s writing and publishing processes.

This first workshop consisted of breaking the ice around writing and sharing work in a supportive space. Participants had the opportunity to respond to writing prompts, share, and receive positive and constructive feedback. Each participant had a unique writing response in style, tone and background, despite responding to the same prompt.

The second workshop featured Broche Fabian, a senior marketing manager from Sourcebooks who has twenty years of experience in the book industry along with owning an independent book store and performing freelance editing. Broche shared her wealth of knowledge on what writers new to publishing should know and what they can expect as they navigate through the the entire writing process. She provided a thorough and insightful discussion about timelines, editors, agents, types of books, types of publishing and author’s rights.

The final workshop offered time for participants to to write, with time given to discussing and sharing ways to foster and support writing in a busy life. Lydia discussed how to sustain the craft as a creative person and what she has learned and found helpful in her writing process.

We wish Lydia the best as she completes this writing endeavor on her way of becoming a published writer.