Maine Artist Launches Project On United States Artists

A Portland artist is vetted by a national arts nonprofit and can now raise funds, which are tax deductible, for a bold new art project. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) December 18, 2012 - Portland artist and photographer Ann Tracy has launched her first project on USA Projects. The first micro-philanthropy site dedicated exclusively to accomplished artists working in the United States, USA Projects is a unique online community where anyone can discover original projects from some of today's most innovative artists and make tax-deductible donations to support their work. With a funding success rate of over 75%, USA Projects has helped accomplished artists from thirty states realize their artistic projects with support from more than 14,000 unique donors. (http://www.usaprojects.org/project/3_graces_project_for_environmental_awareness)

"3 Graces for Environmental Awareness" is the name of Tracy's new project which must raise needed funds by December 31st. Her aim is to recreate the famous Three Graces paintings throughout art history as a series of photographs of 21st century women which will be printed onto canvas and hung as tapestries in a solo show in Portland Maine before looking for other venues. Tracy hopes the art will remind people that we all have a stake in healing the environment by our actions.

The Three Graces, or Three Charities, of Greek mythology were Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. They were the goddesses of joy, pleasure, grace, beauty, festivity, adornment, dance, and song. Daughters of Zeus and the sea-nymph Eurynome, they were also the attendants, or handmaidens, of Aphrodite and Hera and protectors of vegetation.
In addition to being accepted into the US Artists Project, Tracy is a member of the Maine Artists Collaborative whose work is shown at Constellation Gallery, 511 Congress St. in Portland, as well as the Digital Arts Guild based in San Diego. In addition to her background in the performing arts and photography, Tracy has been involved in creating digital art and video since 1998.

As a program of United States Artists, the nonprofit grantmaking and advocacy organization for artists, USA Projects is uniquely aware of the needs of the artist community and provides an active support network and education program for artists. Donations simultaneously support artists' projects and the nonprofit mission of United States Artists: to invest in America's finest artists and to illuminate the value of artists to society.

USA Projects is also the only microphilanthropy site that offers a patent-pending Match Fund program that gives any individual, group, organization, foundation, or corporation the ability to create a matching fund, specify their criteria, and automatically identify and apply funds to appropriate projects. In total, more than $350,000 in matching funds has been committed from donors since the program's launch.

The site features artistic projects in eight categories: architecture and design; crafts and traditional arts; dance; literature; media; music; theater arts; and visual arts. Each artist sets his or her own fundraising goal and deadline. The public can browse, learn about the artists and their backgrounds, and follow or donate to any active project that inspires them. Supporters can give as little as $1 or as much as they would like and receive a tax deduction as well as exclusive project "perks" offered by participating artists. If a project does not reach its fundraising goal by the deadline set by the artist, the artist does not receive any funding.

All of the artists seeking funding on USA Projects have been recognized for the caliber and impact of their work. Eligibility is currently open to honorees and grantees from prominent international, national, regional, and local organizations, including the USA Fellows program. Additional qualifying organizations are added on an ongoing basis. National partner organizations include American Composers Forum, Film Independent, Creative Capital, Franklin Furnace, National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC), National Performance Network (NPN), Penland School of Crafts, the Pollack-Krasner Foundation, and Rhizome. Regional partner organizations include the Arkansas Arts Council, Artist Foundation of San Antonio, Austin Film Society, California Community Foundation, Fleishhacker Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Maine Arts Commission, McKnight Foundation, North Carolina Arts Council, PEW Center for Arts & Heritage, and South Carolina Arts Commission. Seed funding for USA Projects was provided by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

About United States Artists
United States Artists (USA's) mission is to invest in America's finest artists and illuminate the value of artists to society. Through the USA Fellows program, which annually awards 50 unrestricted grants of $50,000 to outstanding performing, visual, media, and literary artists across the country, USA has put $15 million in the hands of artists in the six years since its founding. USA has extended its mission beyond the successful USA Fellows program with the launch of USA Projects, an online community where people can connect with, learn about, and support America's greatest artists and their next creative breakthroughs. Through the USA Fellows program and the expanded reach of USA Projects, USA continues the work of advocating for living artists and providing a community where they can connect with the public and each other.
For further information, please visit www.usaprojects.org.

For more information or images, please contact:
Ann Tracy
916-804-6095
anntracy51 ( @ ) gmail dot com

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