(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Sept. 27, 2018) - - - The Columbia State Community College Pryor Art Gallery recently received a $2,000 Arts Build Communities grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission.

The grant funding will aid the gallery in providing inspiration and relationship-building opportunities to students and the community at large through exposure to the arts through a multi-disciplinary approach. By providing these opportunities to constituents in a predominately rural region where access to the arts is sometimes limited, this project can help break down barriers and expose new audiences to the work of artists and, potentially, open their minds to broader thinking and experiences.

"We are pleased to receive this grant for yet another year," said Michele Wilkinson, Columbia State Pryor Art Gallery curator. "This grant will assist us in continuing to promote awareness of the Pryor Art Gallery and providing quality art exhibits for our local communities."

The goal of the Pryor Art Gallery is to continue to offer opportunities for citizens throughout the southern Middle Tennessee region to engage with and learn about art of various types and to provide an opportunity for artists, both professional and amateur, from the region to gain exposure and recognition.

The ABC grant program is designed to provide support for arts projects that broaden access to arts experiences, address community quality of life issues through the arts, or enhance the sustainability of asset-based cultural enterprises.

The Tennessee Arts Commission was created in 1967 by the Tennessee General Assembly with the special mandate to stimulate and encourage the presentation of the visual, literary, music and performing arts and to encourage public interest in the cultural heritage of Tennessee.

The mission of the Tennessee Arts Commission is to cultivate the arts for the benefit of all Tennesseans and their communities.