Waltham Cultural Council awards 50 grants for arts and culture programs

By BETTY BARRER
Waltham Times Contributing Writer

The Waltham Cultural Council recently announced the recipients of its fiscal 2025 grants, news that puts a spotlight on the city’s rich cultural life, vitality and diversity. 

Many of the 50 grants support popular annual events such as Riverfest, Concerts on the Common, the Watch City Steampunk Festival, Open Studios, Pride Fest and Farm Day at Waltham Fields Community Farm. 

Some are for smaller-scale, offbeat projects like a bike rack art contest and the Waltham Public Library’s graffiti sneaker workshop for teens. 

Other grants go to projects supporting diverse artists and creators as well as access to arts and culture. African Cultural Services received support for its story magazine and a music and dance performance series. Radio Uganda received a grant for its summer splash. A bilingual storytelling program and Waltham Family School’s project to help Waltham’s immigrant families gain access to the arts are also grant recipients. 

Support is also given to the musical “I am Autistic, I am Fantastic” and weekly projects for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. One grant pays for free days at the Discovery Museum for families with children with disabilities. 

Helping children learn about Waltham’s diverse community and engage in the arts are other major themes. Grants are going to the Whittemore, Plympton and McDevitt public schools for events that teach about different cultures and to Waltham Dual Language School for an Immersive storytelling project. The Waltham Boys & Girls Club received funding for its See Me in the Community program. A paper bag puppet set from Somerville’s Ethnic Arts Center will help children learn about their heritage. 

Music education is also a focus. Among this year’s grant recipients are programs providing musical composition classes from New Harmony Line, music enrichment and an introduction to string instruments. 

Another recipient is a business fair which will give children the opportunity to launch their own startup businesses. 

The Waltham Land Trust’s winter animal program also received support.

Additionally, the Waltham Cultural Council awarded grants to a wide-ranging list of music and dance projects for all ages, from concerts by Waltham’s own philharmonic orchestra to a classic country revue and a choir festival. The Waltham Farmers’ Market concert series received support, too, as did contemporary environmental music, a tribute to international female composers and songwriters, and popup concerts of new music. Dance programs receiving support are a showcase of arts and culture through dance and a storybook movement workshop. 

The Chamber of Commerce’s interactive art fair at Gore Place also received a grant. 

Another grant recipient is Waltham News Alliance, the publisher of the Waltham Times, to support coverage of local arts.

Several grant-winning programs will be held at the William F. Stanley Senior Center: a hip-hop chair dance series, a workshop on Silk Road art, a concert by the Watch City Singers and a lecture on influences of African American and Native American folk music on European and American music.

Waltham’s history is highlighted by grant recipients Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, to examine Waltham’s history in manufacturing harpsichords; Waltham Museum for its Saturday series; and the Waltham Historical Society for its Sanderson lecture series.
Grants are funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which provided about $32,000, and the City of Waltham, which provided $10,000, according to Eileen Peng, chair of the Waltham Cultural Council. The full list of grants can be found here.