Grant-funded arts projects across the Adirondacks
- Lauren Yates
- Sep 17
- 3 min read
Examples of major capital projects around the Adirondack region
By Lauren Yates
Published Adirondack Explorer
The following are examples of major capital projects around the region that depend on state grants to make them happen. For more on this topic, look for an article from a recent issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine coming to site this weekend.
Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts (ALCA)
Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts is a multidisciplinary arts center founded in Blue Mountain Lake in 1967—just moved its entire operation less than a half mile down the road to the former Potters Resort on state Route 30 in Blue Mountain Lake. ALCA opened its new location May 23.
ALCA raised $2 million in grants from local and regional foundations, as well as pledges from donors, in less than one year—$1.6 million to purchase the turnkey property and $400,000 for a new arts endowment. ALCA development general director Jean-Marie Donohue said all pledges came through. ALCA’s former property is now on the market for $469,000.
The new arts center will offer housing for artists-in-residence, a taproom and an expanded gift shop with local makers on consignment, and it will host more galleries, arts workshops, lectures and concerts.
Craigardan
Craigardan, a nonprofit that blends interdisciplinary arts residency programs with community farming on more than 320 acres in Elizabethtown, is expecting to break ground this October on phase two of a four-building expansion. Founded in Keene in 2016, Craigardan has been planning expansions to its Elizabethtown campus off state Route 9N since moving there in 2019.
Craigardan won $740,000 in New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) grants to help fund phase one and two of the expansion, along with private donors, bridge loans and foundation grants. The new center will support a new culinary facility that will welcome chefs from across the world with a teaching kitchen that offers cooking classes to the community; a new full gallery space to display local and resident artists’ work; a community class space for artist and scholarly talks for the community; and workshops for writing, pottery and more.
Craigardan hosts 70 artists-in-residence every spring through fall. The new facilities will allow Craigardan to open year-round.
Pendragon Theatre
Pendragon Theatre, a professional theater in Saranac Lake, is building a new $10 million facility on Woodruff Street—part of the village’s state Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) overhaul tucked in between the new RiverTrail Beerworks and Historic Saranac Lake’s newly renovated Trudeau Building. The new and expanded Pendragon is expected to open for the summer 2026 season; in the meantime, the theater will hold performances at its longtime location on Brandy Brook Avenue.
The project received $2.5 million in seed funding from the Saranac Lake’s $10 million DRI grant in 2018, then another $2 million from a Restore NY grant in 2023 and $300,000 from a DEC Smart Growth grant in 2024, as well as broad support from approximately 850 donors and help from the Cloudsplitter Foundation, the Charles R. Wood Foundation, the Stewart’s Shops/Dake Family foundation and other family foundations.
Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center
Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Centerin Onchiota is preparing to expand its museum and arts center. Two anonymous donors partnered with the Adirondack Land Trust to purchase the 333-acre lot next to the museum’s current lodge, a 70-year-old family business that has grown since it was incorporated as a nonprofit in 2020. The organization is planning to fundraise and seek more donations to build the new center, which will allow for year-round operations.
“We have folks from around the world stop by during the summer season, and local schools and universities bring classes to learn about the original inhabitants of the area. I believe our work helps alleviate some of the misconceptions about Indigenous people and allows for a better understanding of cultures,” said museum director David Fadden. “Being the only Indigenous center in the Adirondacks, we draw many who visit the mountains and want to learn the complete story and history of the area.”
Caroga Arts Collective
Caroga Arts Collective received an $850,000 NYSCA grant in May 2024 for construction of a year-round artists’ lodge.
Tupper Arts
Tupper Arts has purchased and started renovations at the historic Adirondack State Theater, which is currently showing films, with plans to add live performances to the venue. Tupper Arts received a $693,000 DRI grant in 2022 for renovations to the theater.
Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LPCA)
Lake Placid Center for the Arts is planning a major renovation in September, backed by a $7.5 million NYSCA capital grant. The renewed multidisciplinary arts center will help LPCA, founded in 1972, replace its aging facilities and meet increasing demand for workshops, music and theater performances as well as youth and adult art classes.
To view this full article on Adirondack Explorer click HERE
