The Workhouse Arts Center has been given a $120,000 Google Grant, which will be devoted over the next year to building awareness of art shows, entertainment, classes and other events listed on www.workhousearts.org.  

"The more people in Northern Virginia that we can attract to the Workhouse, the better,” said Bryanna Altman of SmartWeb Marketing, a Google AdWords consulting services firm. Altman is also a volunteer on the Steering Committee for the Friends of the Workhouse, and helped secure the grant. 

The Workhouse opened in 2008, and is home to art galleries, theatrical performances, a film festival, dozens of artist studios and monthly and annual events. 

“We have an enormous amount of information on our web site where you can find out about upcoming arts exhibitions, buy tickets for a comedy show, our new 'Dinner and a Movie' series, a music or theatrical performance,” said Camela Speer, the Workhouse Director of Marketing. “We want everyone to know that in addition to the outstanding array of art galleries, open artist studios, and exhibitions such as Urban Decay 3, the Workhouse Arts Center is your escape to Arts and Entertainment. We want to become an important destination for education, fun and culture.”

The Workhouse, a 501c3 nonprofit, will manage the Google Grant, which will be dispersed at $10,000 per month. The initiative will promote the mission of the Workhouse by using Google AdWords - advertising on Google’s search page.

In other words, when you're searching for art classes or exhibits on Google, you may see Workhouse Arts Center ads on the same search page.