WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman (both D-Conn.) announced earlier this month federal grants in excess of $500,000 for various artistic and cultural projects around the state, including community theaters, museum exhibitions, artistic development and scholarly research.

“The arts enrich our lives and communities,” Sen Dodd said. “Both as a measure of our economic vitality and cultural diversity, these grants will reward the people of Connecticut many times over.”

“Connecticut’s rich cultural and artistic landscape just got a little richer,” said Sen Lieberman. “I am heartened to see that the NEA continues to underwrite everything from opera to community theater to translations of foreign literature. We can learn many of life’s most enriching lessons through the arts.”

Among the programs due to receive funding are Hartford Stage Company, the New Haven-based Connecticut Players Foundation, Greenwich’s Bruce Museum, and the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center.

Grants will also go to Connecticut based organizations which pay a national role in the arts, such as the National Theater for the Deaf, the Eugene O’Neill Memorial Theater, and Yale University.

The grants were awarded through the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.