Wayland Cultural Council closes 2026 grants, weighs three sponsored projects

WAYLAND — January 21, 2026 — Wayland Cultural Council closes its 2026 grant cycle and lines up three local projects for direct sponsorship. Chair Pallavi Nagesha told members Jan. 21 that all award letters are out and final paperwork is filed with the Mass Cultural Council; an $850 Scottish festival grant will not be used and rolls into the 2027 cycle. The council has roughly $1,035 in project funds and about $350 in administrative funds, and is weighing a town-pool mural responding to past hate graffiti, a rail-trail bench with the historical commission, and Scarlett Hui's "Echoes of Liberty" exhibition at the Wayland Museum. Member Naresh Mysore pressed for a unifying theme, saying "we should have some theme that the team agrees on"; members favored history and community tied to Wayland's 250th. Member Mariam Libdi proposed holding the spring grantee reception at the new Council on Aging building as a public information session.