Shaheen tours Claremont Creative Center following $2.3 million grant distribution
CLAREMONT, N.H. — Sen. Jeanne Shaheen was in town on Tuesday morning to listen to some jazzy jams and tour the Claremont Creative Center, which recently benefited from a $2.3 million grant that she helped secure that will go toward phase two of a building project.
“It’s great and has so much potential,” Shaheen said of the center located at the historic former location of the Claremont National Bank at 56 Opera House Square. “It’s really going to be exciting to come back and see it finished.”
Shaheen and a room full of members of the community got a chance to listen to the sounds of GRAMMY Award winning violinist Ernesto Villalobos and bassist Erick Alfaro of the Villalobos Brothers, and Stevens High School sophomore Cody Butson on piano. The trio played a few tunes as the crowd made their way to the seats, and they even worked in an unnamed number that Alfaro wrote specifically for the day when Shaheen arrived.
The $2.3 million in Congressionally Directed Spending is for building renovations and upgrades for educational purposes, focused on the youth in Claremont and the surrounding area. The funds she secured are part of $103 million for projects and priorities across the state that she pushed for.
Claremont Creative Center Executive Director Melissa Richmond was on-hand to give Shaheen the tour and also speak about what goes on at the center. She said that these funds will specifically go toward the second phase of renovations, which involves putting in an education center on the top floor, professional artist center on the middle floor, and a culinary center on the bottom. This is a long process, and expects that it will be completed in a year or so.
Shaheen, who has experience playing the clarinet, said she values what the arts bring to the community in a variety of facets. The Claremont Creative Center is a spot for educational enrichment, a chance to see quality music and performing arts, and also be an economic driver for surrounding restaurants and businesses, she noted. She said she was delighted to be able to help support the center, and happy to see that the funds she pushed for were being put to good use.
“This is a great project to restore an architecturally significant building,” she said. “Also having the opportunity for children to be able to benefit from music and take advantage of the space, and when out have students like Cody, you can see what a difference it makes for them. Also there’s the economic benefit. Having something in the center of Claremont that can attract people in walking distance is really impressive for the community.”
Shaheen explained that they try to get out information to stakeholders across the state, including non-profits and municipalities, to apply for the grant. That day she spoke to Chief Brent Wilmot about funding for the dispatch center, she said.
Shaheen is a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee of Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.
Projects are reviewed by Shaheen’s office and are distributed to the Appropriations Committee, who decide which organizations to fund. It then has to go through both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for approval.
The senator sat alongside Richmond, Claremont Development Authority Board member Tom Rock, and Mayor Dale Girard to speak with the public who gathered before the musicians. The audience consisted of stakeholders invested in the center, as well as other interested community members.
Shaheen said the arts contribute to the economy in communities and allow children to get involved. She pointed out that the pandemic showed that having an outlet to the arts and being able to participate and listen to music is vital.
Richmond founded the Claremont Creative Center in 2008 and it has come a long way since. She explained that it started as a concert series but it became clear early on that in order to have a “robust relationship” with music in the community, they needed to dive into the educational aspect. In 2011 the Youth Arts Enrichment Initiative was created for this purpose. There is no financial barrier to anyone due to donations funding their projects.
The former location was in a gorgeous church in West Claremont, but logistically it was not working for their needs, Richmond explained. Ten years ago, they created a partnership with the CDA, as they knew the city couldn’t financially contribute. By teaming up, they brought fundraising together. This was put on hold due to the pandemic, but since then have gained fantastic business sponsors. The space has been occupied since May 1, but there is still a lot to be completed. This is where funding like this grant comes in.
Richmond said there are plans for a humanities program in the fall, have the Off Broad Street Players there, working with the Opera House and Dartmouth College, and more.
“We are now in a different universe where we can actually do what we need and hire the people we need,” Richmond said. “It is becoming a true community creative space.”
