The Renaissance House, a retreat for artists and writers in Oak Bluffs, has received its first grant from the Sustainable Arts Foundation to fund a full, one-week scholarship to a resident and their child.
Renaissance House is located on Myrtle Avenue in Oak Bluffs. The program offers writers and artists “alone time” to create works of art in a supportive and inspirational space. The grant is designed to give a parent the ability to complete the program while their child attends day camp or another activity.
This year’s grant will be during the week of July 4.
The program gives writers time to work together in a workshop and alone. There are several workshops and guest speakers, along with chances to explore the Island.
“The retreat provides the time in which to create new works or finish existing ones. Renaissance House is one of the few retreats designed for issue-oriented writers, writers of color and writers of social justice,” Abigail McGrath, founder and director of Renaissance House, said in a press release. “The program is offered to artists who do not have the luxury of time.”
Applications are now being accepted for the 2019 program as well as for the scholarship. “We look for those outside of the mainstream of commercial writing,” McGrath said. “We look for the truck driver who is a closet poet, the single parent with three jobs just to stay even, the 9 am to 5 pm secretary who knows more than her boss but must keep her intelligence hidden. Our alumni are maids, factory workers, filmmakers, Ph.D. candidates, journalists, etc.”