The Iowa Economic Development Authority has announced awards of $1,678,389 from seven grant programs to strengthen the arts, culture and creative industries, and provide Iowans access to cultural experiences.

According to a news release, the state agency approved more than 173 awards to organizations and individuals in more than 60 Iowa communities. The funding came from the following grant programs: Art Project Grant Program, Cultural Capacity Building Grant Program, Cultural Leadership Partners Program, Greenlight Grant Program, Iowa Artist Fellowship Program, Iowa Community Cultural Grant Program and Iowa Screenwriters Grant Program.

The matching grants leverage local and private investment and support creative projects such as arts and cultural festivals, live theater performances, art exhibitions, film productions and community public art projects, the news release said.

Some of the projects include a $10,000 award to the Iowa Bandmasters Association, which will create and gift an original concert band work to the Perry Schools and community, honoring the resilience of Perry’s residents. The Orange City Arts Council will host educator and artist Kuniko Yamamoto to share Japanese art and culture, storytelling, origami and music, and Beth Howard will use a $39,900 award to help produce the documentary film, “Pieowa,” which celebrates the outsized role that pie has played in Iowa’s culture and communities.

The grants are administered by the Iowa Arts Council and Produce Iowa, and the State Office of Film and Media, which are both part of the IEDA. Funding is made possible by an appropriation from the Iowa Legislature and a matching state partnership grant from the federal National Endowment for the Arts.

To view the full list of grant recipients, click here.