Bread and Roses Missouri to Receive $10,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

Bread and Roses Missouri is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Challenge America award of $10,000. 

This grant will support “The Caregiving Project,” a touring theater production and an accompanying visual art workshop that uplifts people who do the work of caring for other people. The play will be written by Mariah Richardson, based on the collected stories of caregivers, and directed by Jacqueline Thompson. Companion visual arts workshops for caregivers will be led by Luisa Otero Prada. The touring production and art workshop will be available in the summer and fall of 2024. 

The grant to Bread and Roses Missouri is one of 257 Challenge America awards nationwide - totaling $2,570,000 - that the NEA announced as part of its first round of fiscal year 2024 grants.

“The NEA is delighted to announce this grant to Bread and Roses Missouri, an organization that is helping contribute to the strength and well-being of the arts sector and local community,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “We are pleased to be able to support this community and help create an environment where all people have the opportunity to live artful lives.”

“We are thrilled and deeply grateful to receive our first grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The award reinforces the importance of the work we do to celebrate the lives of workers and their families through the arts,” said Emily Kohring, Executive Director of Bread and Roses Missouri. 

The emotional impact and economic hardships that caregivers experience have reached the crisis point for working families in the U.S. Professional caregivers are among the lowest-paid workers in the country; one in six lives below the poverty line and some must work a second job just to make ends meet. The unpaid work provided by family caregivers is valued at an estimated $600 billion.*

“The numbers only tell part of the story,” Kohring noted. “We’re committed to amplifying  the voices of caregivers in our communities through the creation of an original play and visual arts workshop.”

For more information, and to find out how you or your organization can get involved in "The Caregiving Project," contact Emily Kohring at director@breadandrosemo.org