Anchorage-based Carr Foundation

Announces $150,000 Donation to the

New Juneau Arts & Culture Center (New JACC)

The Carr Foundation, based in Anchorage, Alaska, sent word last Friday to Nancy DeCherney, Executive Director of the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council (JAHC), that it has awarded $150,000 to support construction of the New Juneau Arts & Culture Center.   The New JACC, as it is popularly known, is slated for construction beginning next year and will feature a 300-seat theater, community hall, art gallery, studio space, art shop, seminar room, and a café, as well as office space for local arts organizations.

The project, a variant of which has been discussed for more than 40 years, has seen a groundswell of support from local donors.   Capital Campaign Committee co-chairs Annie Calkins and Bud Carpeneti report that nearly 100 Juneauites have either donated or pledged $10,000 or more to the new center.   That support has attracted the attention of major donors outside of Juneau, including the Carr Foundation.   The Carr Foundation was established in 1990 in Anchorage and is dedicated to the arts, education and social services.  In notifying JAHC, the Foundation declared:   “We are very excited for you and the community of Juneau – what an asset this arts and cultural center will be for all Alaskans and visitors to Juneau.”

Partnership Board Co-Chair Peter Jurasz noted, “We are very grateful that our fellow Alaskans  believe in this project and are willing to invest, knowing that the returns will benefit not only the people of Juneau, but all Alaskans, as well as the millions of people who visit Alaska’s Capital City.”