ARTWEEK Partners with Music Drives Us to Offer Artist Grants

Produced by the Boch Center, ArtWeek today announced it has partnered with Music Drives Us to provide artist grants for events during its spring 2017 festival. The following five individuals will receive a $1,000 performance grant from Music Drives Us to support their participation in the spring ArtWeek festival (April 28 - May 7): Eli Pabon-Szebeda, host of BOMBAntillana - From Bomba to Hip Hop; Rebecca Strauss, host of Harmony & Hope: Responding to Violence with Music; Karen Kalafatas, host of Kids Really Rock Watertown; Vincent King, host of the Newbury Street Music Crawl; and Kyler Taustin, host of Songs for a New World at Assembly Row.

"We are extremely grateful to Music Drives Us for making such an important investment in ArtWeek and for supporting artists across our community," said Josiah A. Spaulding, Jr., President & CEO of the Boch Center. "Our growing partnership with Music Drives Us and the Boch Family is providing more opportunities to showcase and elevate our creative economy, which we're very excited about!"

"We are proud to support the innovation of ArtWeek Boston," stated Ernie Boch Jr., founder of Music Drives Us and CEO of Boch Enterprises. "Music Drives Us is committed to supporting performances that grant free access to the audience and combine education with entertainment. Cultural festivals such as ArtWeek are integral to the fabric of our society. Congratulations to the inaugural recipients of the Music Drives Us ArtWeek Performance Grants!"

Presented by the Highland Street Foundation, ArtWeek is an award-winning bi-annual festival that features unique and creative experiences that are hands-on, interactive or offer behind-the-scenes access to artists or the creative process. From April 28 - May 7, ArtWeek will host its largest creative festival ever-offering more than 250 unique events across much of Eastern Massachusetts. Participants can experience dance, folk and traditional arts, fashion, media arts, spoken-word, poetry, writing, contemporary visual arts, music, opera, theater, design, film, and much more. ArtWeek events will now be held in more than 70 neighborhoods and towns, including the Cape and Islands. More than 60 percent of this season's events are free and all are affordable, making the arts more accessible to everyone.

A complete calendar of ArtWeek events can be found here. For more information, visit artweekboston.org.