ARLINGTON, VA - Arlington Arts Center (AAC), a prominent cultural anchor in the mid-Atlantic region, based in Arlington, VA has been awarded a $70,000 grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts intended to sustain the next two years of exhibitions and concurrent programming.

Funding from the Foundation will increase AAC's capacity to support and present the work of new artists and spur the development of new initiatives and exhibitions. Programming support of this scale makes new programs possible, like one for rising curators (Instigate. Activate. | new curators, new ideas, now on view), while also furthering the ongoing work of the arts center.

AAC plans to use these funds to enhance the presentation of exhibitions, provide stipends to exhibiting artists, and produce educational materials like digital catalogs and printed brochures, all of which offer a career-shaping experience for the emerging artists who are exhibited at AAC.

Along with existing programs like AAC's semi-annual SOLOS, a series that gives seven artists the opportunity to mount solo exhibitions alongside one another, the Foundation will support original exhibitions featuring the work of more than 70 contemporary artists. Additional shows include PLAY (opening July 2015), an exhibition that explores the role of play and gaming in contemporary art, Creature Connection, and Strange Landscapes (both slated for 2016).

"To be recognized this way speaks volumes about the talent of the artists and the quality of the exhibitions happening here," said Stefanie Fedor, executive director of AAC. "We're so thrilled to be a hub where artists can push boundaries and experiment with a variety of concepts and media. It's an honor to be recognized by such a prestigious national funder like the Warhol Foundation and to be counted among one of many high caliber grantees."

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is considered to be the leading contemporary art grant-maker in the country, and serves contemporary artists by funding institutions like AAC, whose purpose revolves around supporting the creation and presentation of new work by emerging artists. AAC's mission is to create opportunities for artists to make new work in a variety of media ranging from new media, sculpture, installation, performance art, and more.

Funding is based on specific projects, and distributed to institutions determined by the Foundation to produce exemplary exhibitions of contemporary visual arts. AAC is the only organization in the Commonwealth of Virginia to be in the Foundation's 2014 grant-awarding season.