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Arts & Cultural Council, New York State Council on the Arts, and Rochester Area Community Foundation Award Community Arts Grants for 2003:
45 Grants in 6 County Area Totaling $122,000
January 23, 2003 Rochester, NY– The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, New York State Council on the Arts, and Rochester Area Community Foundation today announced the 2003 Community Arts Grants. Grants totaling $122,000 will be made to 45 nonprofit organizations and artists from Monroe and surrounding counties. Community Arts Grants are funded by the New York State Legislature through the New York State Council on the Arts, and by Rochester Area Community Foundation. [Complete list of grants attached]
“We are once again very grateful to the State Legislature, and to Rochester Area Community Foundation, for making these awards possible,” said Arts Council Executive Director Sarah E. Lentini. “This funding is essential to a vibrant and exciting cultural sector, which in turn is key to promoting our region.”
The grants are extremely competitive. Four panels of peer reviewers evaluated 107 applications. Each project is evaluated on criteria that include artistic merit, outreach to under-served urban and rural communities, and responsiveness to community cultural needs.
The 2003 Community Arts Grants are awarded in four general categories:
NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS (NYSCA) LOCAL CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE- “EDUCATION THROUGH THE ARTS” – $7,500 in matching grants for 5 schools and cultural groups to develop and implement new arts in education programming that develops partnerships creating interdisciplinary arts programs that are integrated into the study of arts and/or non-arts subjects.
ROCHESTER AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION-COMMUNITY ARTS FUND - $26,000 in funding awarded to 8 arts organizations. Funding for capacity-building projects for arts organizations with budgets under $400,000 in Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Livingston, Genesee, or Orleans counties.
NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS (NYSCA) DECENTRALIZATION FUND - $78,500 in funding for 28 nonprofit organizations arts-related projects or programs in all disciplines that serve Monroe County residents.
NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS (NYSCA) INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANTS- $10,000 distributed in four $2,500 grants to support individual artists with the development of new work that engages the community.
The following community members made grant recommendations:
“EDUCATION THROUGH THE ARTS” SELECTION PANEL: Pat Miller, Executive Director, Genesee Center for Arts & Education; Lois Giess, City Council President, City of Rochester; Ted Canning, teaching artist, McClure Productions; Mary Gentry, Genesee River Valley Program Coordinator, School #30, RCSD; Mary Ann Reisdorf, teaching artist and parent; Katherine Barkeley, former counselor, Alternative Education Center at Josh Lofton, RSDC and former Librarian, Lincoln Parch School #44; and Joseph Bivins, former Principal, School #37 and Charlotte Middle School.
ROCHESTER AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SELECTION PANEL: Elizabeth Hallmark, Artistic Director, Hallmark Danceworks; Nan Hildebrandt, Executive Director, Geva Theatre; Don Jeffries, CEO, Rochester Broadway Theatre League; Kathryn Hollinger, Executive Director, Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for Livingston County; Judy Andreano, Executive Director, RAPA.
NYSCA DECENTRALIZATION FUND SELECTION PANEL: Steven Huff, Publisher/Managing Editor, BOA Editions, Literature; Sandy Henschel, Theater; Roberto Lebron, painter, Visual Art; Leonard Urso, Professor & RIT, Mowris Mulligan Endowed Chair, Rochester Institute of Technology, sculptor, Visual Art; Jeanne Grey, Penfield Symphony, Music; Brian Anglin, Community Affairs Specialist, Town of Penfield, Town Representative.
NYSCA INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS SELECTION PANEL: Dr. Grant Holcomb, Director, Memorial Art Gallery; Nancy Gong, artist and founder, Gong Glass Works, Visual Arts; Thom Ward, Editor/Development Director, BOA Editions, Ltd., Literature; Jean Gordon Ryon, New Place Coordinator, Geva Theatre, Theater; and Allyn Van Dusen, Song Burst, Music.
The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester administers all Community Arts Grants. This includes developing guidelines and evaluation criteria, promoting the availability of funding, counseling prospective applicants, and managing the peer review evaluation process.
The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester develops, promotes, and strengthens the cultural industry for the benefit of the people of the Rochester region.
The New York State Council on the Arts is dedicated to preserving and expanding the rich and diverse cultural resources that are and will become the heritage of New York’s citizens.
Rochester Area Community Foundation is a permanent, community-based endowment that matches the philanthropic interests of donors with current community needs.
NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS – LOCAL CAPACITY BUILDING
(5 grants totaling $7,500)
Frances Parker School #23 PTA Multi-Art $2,000
Through the use of a multicultural theme, interdisciplinary linkages to the Social Studies and English Language Arts Standards will be made. Throughout the year, students will focus on the different cultures that make up our community. The year’s program will conclude in May with a Multicultural Celebration in which students will showcase and share the knowledge they have gained from these rich experiences.
School #4 Theater $500
Theater empowers students to think in ways that they don’t normally have the opportunity to do in classes. This program will be utilized as a preventive measure against bullying behavior. It is designed to stop bullying at the elementary level by empowering the victims with skills and strategies to defuse the power of bullies. NYS Standards in Arts and in Health, Physical Education and Home Economics, English Language Arts, and Social Studies will be used.
Park Avenue Repertory Dance Company Dance $1,000
Through a cooperative effort of teacher, artist and students, an exploration will be made of the concept of abstraction through activities in visual art (Cubism) and dance (Body and Group shapes, pathways and qualities). Students will be able to articulate abstraction in art and dance through creating a dance, a visual art work, speaking to the concept, and writing about the concept.
Rochester City School District Literature $2,000
In conjunction with the upcoming Writers & Books’ “If All of Rochester Read the Same Book” community initiative, 100 students who attend classes at two alternative and two non-traditional education sites for low-income, at risk youth (ages 16-21) will read Octavia Butler’s literary science fiction novel entitled Kindred. Language Arts and/or Social Studies teachers from each school will form partnerships with featured artists to implement a reading, writing, creative response and visual arts curricula aligned with the NYS Learning Standards. Artists and teachers will engage students in studying the text and help generate the creative work to be celebrated in the Kindred Spirit Festival.
Writers & Books Literature $2,000
A writer and a naturalist will work with a Bioscience specialist, an English Language Arts specialist, Social Studies Curriculum Specialist and students’ questions to create a curriculum for urban middle school students to explore their natural and socially constructed worlds, starting with the role of water formation of the Genesee River Valley geology and ecology, and the impact of indigenous, pioneer settlement and subsequent development.
ROCHESTER AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION –
COMMUNITY ARTS FUND
(8 grants totaling $26,000)
BOA Editions, Ltd. Literature $4,000
for the creation of a Visual Art Library of local visual artists work, which will be used by poets to select cover art for published poetry books. The Library will strengthen BOA's relationship with local visual artists, provide a venue to feature Rochester artists in a literary market, and help facilitate the selection of art for BOA’s publications. BOA Editions, Ltd. is a poetry publishing house that has received national acclaim for its work by identifying, cultivating, and publishing both new and established poets.
Earth and Art Center Visual Art $3,500
for funding to replace its kiln to improve and increase its ceramics program. With the new equipment the Earth and Arts Center will offer visual arts programs for adults and youth in the Greater Rochester area.
Finger Lakes Arts Grants and Services Multi-arts $4,100
for expansion of outreach efforts through its Arts Reference Library in Geneva, New York that will serve the arts community in the Finger Lakes area. FLAGS, a service organization dedicated to increasing support, recognition, and promtion of the arts, plans to purchase materials and subscriptions for its library and develop bilingual materials for ethnic groups.
Genesee Center for the Arts and Education Visual Art $5,000
for a consultant to work on the development of a new database system to replace its outdated system. The new web-based system will allow the the Center to focus on its earned and unearned income, maintain better relations with the current donors, and target new potential donors. Genesee Center for Arts and Education provides art services and art education for adults and youth with a strong emphasis on under-served youth in the area.
The Shipping Dock Theatre Theater $1,500*
for InterPlay 2003, an international festival of new plays by three playwrights, which will help build a new audience for its subscription season. Shipping Dock Theatre is committed to presenting challenging plays not otherwise presented in Rochester.
*Esther Usdane Memorial Fund for Community Theater
Wayne County Multicultural Arts Project Multi-arts $2,400
for volunteer training programs with choreographer Anisha Hassan to work with youth and volunteers to become future youth trainers in traditional and West African dance. Wayne County Multicultural Arts Project provides artistic training and community events for Wayne County youth and migrant farm-workers, which combat racism and bridge divisions between cultures.
Rochester Opera Factory Opera $2,500
for administrative staff support to develop planned programs and expansion during 2003 that is designed to increase audience and earned revenues. Rochester Opera Factory is dedicated to developing opera audiences and local performers through regular rehearsals, concerts, performances, and workshops.
Rochester Contemporary Multi-arts $3,000
for an architect's fee to design its first floor mixed-use space at 137 East Avenue. The design will expand its exhibition and educational programming through increased gallery space,a Lab Space for artist members, video/film viewing space, and administrative and conference room space for lectures and group meetings. ROCO is dedicated to fostering and promoting diverse ideas through contemporary art.
2003 COMMUNITY ARTS GRANTS
NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS – DECENTRALIZATION PROGRAM
(28 grants totaling $78,500)
AKWAABA: The Heritage Associates Visual Art $2,500
for artist Athesia Benjamin to engage youth in creating a mural about Austin Steward's "Stride Toward Freedom" for the Austin Steward Memorial at Rochester's Four Points Sheraton Hotel.
Brighton Symphony Orchestra Music $3,000
for a series of nine orchestral concerts at accessible sites in the Rochester area, including two combined concerts with the Rochester Institute of Technology Philharmonia.
Brockport Integrated Service Clubs Organizations/
Cool Kids Multi-Art $3,000
for "Cool Kids in the Park 2003", a free weekly family event series featuring participation-driven arts and cultural programs during summer evenings in Brockport.
Downstairs Cabaret, Inc. Theater $4,000
for the expansion of educational initiatives including adult and youth programming, productions addressing the acceptance of other cultures, and augmenting internship and apprenticeship opportunities.
Education for Peace, Inc. Multi-arts $3,100
for the 14th Annual Peace Conference's "Peaceful SmARTS" project on April 28 & 29 at Rochester Institute of Technology. Workshops using the arts to communicate peace will be led by professional artists for middle school and high school students.
Elizabeth Clark Dance Ensemble Dance $4,000
for a collaboration between The Clark Trio and composer Ward Hartenstein to create a new work of poetic images, original choreography titled "Crickets, Snails, and Lemur Tails."
Everyone's Theatre Company, Inc. Theater $3,270
for "A Festival of One-Act Plays", inviting new playwrights from Monroe County and Western New York to showcase their work at the German House Theater.
Farmers' Library (Town of Ogden) Multi-arts $1,400
for "Tales by Generation", an introduction to the art of storytelling for teens and families in a six-week series of workshops given by professional storyteller Peggy Hogan. Participation will culminate in a performance at the Clyde Carter Memorial Park.
First Community Interfaith Institute Multi-arts $1,500
for artist fees and promotion expenses for the Kwanzaa/First Fruits Showcase 2003, including workshops and performances in African drumming, dancing, poetry, and storytelling.
Genesee Center for the Arts & Education Multi-arts $3,000
for two multidisciplinary arts programs for urban youth at the Right On School and Corpus Christi.
Hallmark Danceworks Dance $3,600
for a concert featuring collaborations with faculty from Syracuse University and RIT, repertory from a Toronto choreographer, and a guest performer from Albany at the Jewish Community Center's Hart Theater.
Holy Rosary Church Visual Art $2,500
for a mural by artist Rick Muto about the history and spirit of the neighborhood on a wall in the Garden of Peace and Life at the corner of Dewey and Lexington.
Ibero-American Action League Multi-arts $2,800
for a one-day "Music, Dance, Culture" Conference of workshops in Afro-Caribbean music, dance and mask-making, culminating with an evening performance hosted by Movida Dance Company and featuring other local artists during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Madrigalia Music $697
for a concert lecture for the "2003 Rochester's Treasures" concert, featuring music by Rochester composers, at the First Universalist Church in Rochester. The concert lecture will explore the relationship between Rochester’s rich musical life and its architectural treasures.
Memorial AME Zion Church Multi-arts $3,000
for a series of art workshops for children ages 8-18 during Black History Month. Workshops will show children how to create their own works of art, display their work, and promote themselves as artists.
Metal Arts, Inc/Artisan Works. Literature $2,700
for the New Visions Literary Program to host two readings featuring accomplished authors with the goal of uniting literary and visual arts communities.
Moonbeam2Earth Project, Inc./
Grace United Methodist Church Music $2,342
for three community performances of an original children's musical, "It's a Kid's Life", with a cast and crew of 25 children, ages 8-14, from the Driving Park area.
Musica Spei Music $1,855
for a performance of Renaissance vocal music at St. Anne Church in June 2003 which will be recorded in preparation for a compilation CD.
Off-Monroe Players, Inc. Theater $3,300
for the musical production of "The Yoeman of the Guard" by Gilbert and Sullivan including six evening and two matinee performances at Salem United Church of Christ.
Park Avenue Repertory Dance Company Dance $2,000
for artist fees and project expenses to present interactive creative dances at the Park Avenue Festival, the Memorial Art Gallery Clothesline Festival, ArtWalk events, and Kid Fest.
Puerto Rican Youth Development and Resource Center Crafts $4,000
for "Proyecto Artes Culturales", a ten-week visual arts program for teens with community artist mentors.
Rochester Bach Festival Music $1,450
for "Fifty for Fifty", a seven-concert series between 2003-2005 featuring fifty of J.S. Bach's major cantatas.
Rochester Opera Factory Opera $3,000
for a full production of a complete one-act opera such as "Pagliacci" by Leoncavello in original language with supertitles.
Rochester Step-Off Educational Foundation, Inc. Multi-arts $2,800
for artist Reenah Golden to work with high school students in a series of creative workshops exploring poetry, spoken-word performance, and book discussion on Friday nights.
South West Area Neighborhood Association Music $3,000
for the SWAN Community Band to take music lessons and perform in the area at community events.
The Colleen Hendrick Dance Theater, Inc. Dance $3,000
for workshops for the Youth Project to learn an authentic African dance with drum and song that will be performed in the community.
The Rochester West Indian Festival Organization Crafts $2,600
for artist fees and costume materials for "Caribbean Culture: The History and Creation of Festival Costumes".
Town of Rush
Summer Youth Program Theater $2,100
for twenty-five youth in the Summer Youth Program to work with a theater professional to produce a theatrical performance.
INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANTS
(4 grants totalling $10,000)
Barbara Fox Visual Arts $2,500
For the creation of four paintings entitled "Considering Old Age", displayed at SOTA and NTID.
Leslie Grant Photography-Literature $2,500
For "The Lay of the Land", a book of photographs by the artist and the employees of the American Rock Salt Hampton Corners Mine.
Herbert L. Katz Theatre $2,500
For the development of a one-man show, "Up By Your Bootstraps", a 45-minute performance representing a personal life journey challenged by chronic clinical depression.
Rain Sadkane Performance $2,500
For "Unveiling Myths and Realities", a multi-media performance piece at the University of Rochester addressing themes of Orientalism.
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