Forsyth County arts groups gain state funding boost

The Georgia Council for the Arts sent $1.3 million in competitive grants to 179 organizations across 37 counties, putting Forsyth County and Suwanee arts groups in line for new state support. The agency did not break out individual awards for local recipients, but it said the money will back nonprofit operations, single projects and arts education.

The July 8 announcement split the funding into 90 General Operating Support grants, 57 Project Grants and 32 Arts Education Program grants for fiscal year 2027. Georgia Council for the Arts said the General Operating Support and Project grants are each set at $10,000, while Arts Education Program grants range from $1,000 to $5,000. The grants are funded through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, said the grants are meant to strengthen arts organizations and programming that support communities, downtowns, small businesses and students’ creative skills. For smaller cultural groups, that kind of public money can cover the unglamorous costs that keep performances, workshops and outreach from being delayed or cut.

Local recipients included Forsyth County, the Soorya Foundation for the Performing Arts in Cumming and Georgia Suwanee Performing Arts in Suwanee. The broader Gainesville-area list also included Brenau University, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lanier, Lanier Chamber Singers, Southeastern Young Artists, Pick and Bow Traditional Music School and ConnectAbility, showing that the state money reached groups with very different missions, from education to performance.

Soorya Foundation for the Performing Arts says it was created to preserve, promote and protect Indian traditional performing arts through festivals, classes, productions, workshops and master classes. Its founder, Guru Sushma Mohan, says she has spent more than two decades curating events and has more than 1,500 performances to her credit. Georgia Suwanee Performing Arts describes itself as a nonprofit community arts organization focused on giving youth and other residents high-quality performance opportunities.

The Forsyth County Arts Alliance, another local arts funder, says it has disbursed more than $850,000 in grants since its start in 2005, underscoring how much the county’s cultural calendar depends on a mix of public and private support. For residents in Cumming, Suwanee and the surrounding county line, the state grants help keep that network of classes, performances and education programs operating into 2027.