photo by: Nick Krug

Concert-goers funk out to the music during the Free State Festival Wednesday, June 24, 2016, outside the Lawrence Arts Center. Attendees of the free show were treated to a performance from legendary funk artist George Clinton and P-Funk as well as The Phantastics.

The Lawrence Arts Center has received a $50,000 award from the National Endowment for the Arts, joining 63 other communities nationwide to garner Our Town grants from the NEA.

Our Town grants support “creative placemaking projects that help to transform communities into lively, beautiful and resilient places with the arts at their core.” According to a news release from the Lawrence Arts Center, the NEA received 240 applications for the grants in 2016, and will award grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000.

The funds will support the Lawrence Arts Center’s Free State Festival in 2017 and 2018. In partnership with the city of Lawrence, festival programming in 2017 and 2018 will entail a new focus on global arts and culture, the Arts Center announced.

“Highlighting the people and places, heritages and culture, from around the globe that make Lawrence, Kansas unique, Free State Festivals 2017 and 2018 will bring local and international artist communities together,” the news release read. “Doing so, Free State Festivals 2017 and 2018 will not only increase livability in Lawrence but also draw new cultural, social, and economic resources to the area for the benefit of the entire community.”

The 2016 Free State Festival will take place June 20 through June 25 in Lawrence. For more information, including ticket sales, visit www.freestatefestival.org.