South Florida - Here's a list of the 2015 NEA Grants for Florida. The arts are not an indulgence!
Florida
Number of Grants: 24 Total Dollar Amount: $575,000
Arca Images, Inc.
$10,000 Coral Gables, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Theater & Musical Theater
To support performances of "Lorca en Vestido Verde/Lorca in a Green Dress" by Nilo Cruz. The surrealistic play is set in 1936 "Purgatory" where Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca finds himself after his death and mourns his own execution by the Spanish government. Pulitzer Prize-winner Cruz describes the many facets of the poet's life throughout the play. He includes Lorca's complex relationship with artist Salvador Dali and the challenges of creating art under a military dictatorship. The production will be performed in Spanish with English supertitles and may be directed by Cruz. Educational activities will set the historical context of the work and may include an "Artist Talk" with the playwright, free bilingual theater workshops for local artists, and a question-and-answer session after each performance.
Expanding and Preserving Our Cultural Heritage, Inc. (aka Spady Cultural Heritage Museum)
$10,000 Delray Beach, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Challenge America
To support the Spady Living Heritage Festival and related activities. The event will celebrate African-American culture in South Florida and will include interactive activities such as artist workshops and a concert featuring selected guest artists. Artists under consideration include African-American storyteller Mary J. Kelly and the Sherman Holmes Project, a blues and gospel music ensemble.
University of Florida
$55,000 Gainesville, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Museum
To support "Aftermath: The Fallout of War - America and the Middle East," an exhibition and an accompanying catalogue. The exhibition will examine present conflicts and past histories through artwork about veterans, families, displacement, loss, and environmental dangers. The exhibition will feature fine art and documentary photography as well as video installations by a dozen photographers from diverse backgrounds. It will be accompanied by a symposium with scholars and photographers involved in the exhibition, individual lectures by catalogue authors, workshops for educators, and tours intended to serve students from middle school through college.
Stage Aurora Theatrical Company, Inc.
$10,000 Jacksonville, FL
Some details of the projects listed are subject to change, contingent upon prior Arts Endowment approval. Information is current as of December 1, 2015. Page 61 of 243
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Challenge America
To support the Aurora Jacksonville Black Arts Festival. The festival will feature guest artists, speakers, multi- visual theatrical performances, and post-performance talk-back sessions centered on the theme of Harlem in the south. Stage Aurora is located in the Northside community of Jacksonville, Florida, which is predominately African-American and low-income. .
Bakehouse Art Complex, Inc.
$10,000 Miami, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Artist Communities
To support artist residencies and related activities for visual and media arts. Artists creating new work will be provided with studio space, access to equipment, exhibition opportunities, and professional development assistance, as well as interaction with master artists, curators, and collectors. Artists also will have the opportunity to interact with the public through open studios, critiques, teaching opportunities, pop-up shows, and community activities.
Community Arts and Culture (aka C.A.C.)
$10,000 Miami, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Challenge America
To support a concert series, featuring performances by musicians from different genres of music, and related activities. The series is intended to mirror the community's eclectic cultural mix. Cuban singer-songwriter December Bueno, composer of the 2014 hit song "Bailando," will headline. Other proposed performers include South America's Uma Galera, Miami's AfroBeta, Latin Funk group The Baboons, and Chad Bernstein's Guitars Over Guns, a music education program that showcases youth performers from low-income neighborhoods playing with professional musician mentors.
Historical Association of Southern Florida, Inc. (aka HistoryMiami)
$20,000 Miami, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Folk & Traditional Arts
To support the Miami Street Culture Project. HistoryMiami will conduct fieldwork to identify and document the communal recreational and occupational traditions found on the streets of Miami's various communities. These traditions will include artistic expressions such as murals, graffiti, displays of street vendors, and parades, as well as decorations found on cars and bicycles. The documentation - including interviews, photographs, and artifacts - will be assembled into an exhibit that will share and interpret these traditions with the larger community.
Miami Dade College
$40,000 Miami, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works
To support a multidisciplinary performing arts series. The MDC Live Arts Performance series will present national and international artists such as singer/songwriter Aurelio (Honduras), circus company Casus (Australia), dancer and choreographer Nora Chipaumire (Zimbabwe/USA), contemporary dance troupe Grupo Corpo (Brazil), and multidisciplinary hip-hop theater artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Performances will take place in venues throughout Miami-Dade County.
Performing Arts Center Trust, Inc. (aka Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts)
$40,000 Miami, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Music
Some details of the projects listed are subject to change, contingent upon prior Arts Endowment approval. Information is current as of December 1, 2015. Page 62 of 243
To support the presentation of orchestral concerts by the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Featured as part of the Masterworks Classical Music Series, the guest artists are pianists Jeremy Denk and Jean- Yves Thibaudet, violinist James Ehnes, conductors Peter Oundjian, Stephane Deneuve, and Giancarlo Guerrero, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Programming will include the premiere performance of a new work by Israeli-American composer Avner Dorman, and will be augmented by pre-concert lectures, a young musicians workshop and a composer's forum for local college students with Dorman, and community engagement activities.
FUNDarte, Inc. (aka FUNDarte)
$25,000 Miami Beach, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works
To support Out in the Tropics, a contemporary performing arts series. Presentations will include performances by theater company La Saraghina de Stalker (Spain), Flamenco choreographer and dancer Juan Carlos Lerida (Spain), and music group Toshi Reagon & BIGLovely. Engagement activities will include panel discussions, master classes, artist mentoring sessions, and post-performance discussions.
Miami City Ballet, Inc.
$60,000 Miami Beach, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Dance
To support the creation and presentation of George Balanchine's "A Midsummer Night's Dream Re-Imagined." As envisioned by Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez, the company will perform Balanchine's choreography to the original Felix Mendelssohn score, however the ballet will be set in a completely different space and time- Miami's ocean floor. The company will engage Michele Oka Doner to create sets and costumes and Tarell Alvin McCraney for dramatic direction. Community outreach and engagement opportunities will include free and reduced tickets, open rehearsals, and panel discussions to accompany the performances.
New World Symphony, Inc. (aka New World Symphony)
$60,000 Miami Beach, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Music
To support the Musician Professional Development Program. Under the artistic direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, the program will utilize performances, coaching, and community outreach activities to prepare young artists for successful musicianship in the orchestral field. More than 100 conductors, composers, soloists, and orchestral/chamber musicians will train and mentor more than 80 young musicians on aspects of musical technique, audience engagement, communication skills, orchestral auditioning, stage presence, and health issues unique to musicians.
Rhythm Foundation, Inc.
$25,000 Miami Beach, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works
To support Dance Band Night, a participatory music and dance series. Each night in the series, a different regionally based band will play music for a specific social dance, such as swing, salsa, samba, tango, or ballroom. Before the band performs, professional dance instructors from local studios will give a lesson so participants may learn the evening's dance.
South Florida Art Center, Inc. (aka ArtCenter South Florida)
$20,000 Miami Beach, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Visual Arts
Some details of the projects listed are subject to change, contingent upon prior Arts Endowment approval. Information is current as of December 1, 2015. Page 63 of 243
To support a residency program and related activities for contemporary artists. As many as twenty-five artists from approximately ten countries will receive access to studio space and production facilities, career development support, teaching and exhibition opportunities, and administrative and technical support. A visiting artist program will include travel and housing, studio space, and production support. Residents' work will be shared with the community through exhibitions, studio crawls, performances, and artist talks.
Atlantic Center for the Arts, Inc.
$25,000 New Smyrna Beach, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Artist Communities
To support artist residencies and related activities. Interdisciplinary residencies will provide mid-career and emerging artists a chance to work with master artists. The master artists will determine the focus of the residency session and set the criteria for the competitive application process for their potential resident artists. Former master artists have included poet Richard Blanco, writer Rick Moody, and visual artist Mildred Howard. In addition, the center will support a summer creative writing residency for teens with mentorship from veteran writers of varied genres.
College of Central Florida (aka fmrly Central Florida Community College)
$10,000 Ocala, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Challenge America
To support "Stickwork," a site-specific, outdoor sculpture constructed by artist Patrick Dougherty. The artist will visit the city of Ocala and the Appleton Museum of Art, drawing inspiration from the environment and working with the community to develop his final project, which will be built on the museum grounds. In addition to this site-specific work, Dougherty's work (drawings, video, and photo documentation of his past projects) will be on display in the museum during the project period in this mostly rural, north central Florida community.
Association of the Performing Arts of India, Inc. (aka APAI)
$10,000 Pembroke Pines, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Challenge America
To support a performance and lecture-demonstration featuring Indian classical music. Sitar player Krishna Mohan Bhatt will be accompanied by tabla player Anindo Chatterjee, Saraswathi Rangnathan on the veena (a traditional Indian stringed instrument), and percussionist Ganapathi Ranganathan. The proposed lecture and performance will engage students from diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds who are participating in the South Florida Youth Symphony and students from high schools and colleges throughout the community.
Florida Studio Theatre, Inc. (aka Florida Studio Theatre)
$10,000 Sarasota, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Theater & Musical Theater
To support the development and production of "For the Ages." Artistic Director Richard Hopkins will collaborate with commissioned playwright K.J. Sanchez and her New Jersey-based theater company American Records on a multi-year cultural initiative on aging. The initiative will produce a docudrama comprising interviews with community members and experts on the subject of ageism, a more prevalent issue as American culture appears to put more value on youthfulness and the young. The theater will empower its audience by creating a play that directly addresses their struggles with aging and will create a theatrical event that will serve as a conduit for conversation, understanding, and social change.
Thomas Armour Youth Ballet Inc.
$25,000 South Miami, FL
Some details of the projects listed are subject to change, contingent upon prior Arts Endowment approval. Information is current as of December 1, 2015. Page 64 of 243
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Arts Education
To support the Dance as a Vehicle for Success project. The year-round program will provide free, weekly classes to students focused on developing ballet, tap, and Horton Modern technique and repertory and will help prepare them for auditions to middle and high school dance magnet programs. The Horton technique, developed by Alvin Ailey's trainer Lester Horton, incorporates multicultural dance elements such as Native American, Balinese, and Afro-Caribbean, and emphasizes flexibility, strength, coordination, and dramatic freedom of expression. During the summer months, youth will participate in field trips and classes, including conditioning, vocabulary, and ballet history. Students will be provided with appropriate dance clothing and jazz, tap, ballet, and pointe shoes. The program serves students in four Neighborhood Outreach Centers in underserved neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County.
African Caribbean Dance Theatre, Inc. (aka ACDT)
$20,000 Tallahassee, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Folk & Traditional Arts
To support the Annual Florida African Dance Festival. The festival is a conference featuring African immigrant artists from Guinea, Senegal, Mali, and the Republic of the Congo presenting dance and drum workshops as well as a public performance. Students will learn the dance vocabulary, rhythms, and cultural significance of dances and drumming from the African nations represented by the instructors. A special dance workshop for children is planned, as well as a health care forum that will address some of the diseases (such as high blood pressure and diabetes) that disproportionately affect the African-American community.
Artist Series of Tallahassee, Inc. (aka The Artist Series)
$10,000 Tallahassee, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Challenge America
To support an artist-in-residence outreach program led by a classical music ensemble, the Carpe Diem String Quartet. Project activities will include performances, as well as real-time online streaming of music workshops held in Title I primary and secondary schools in Leon and rural Gadsden Counties. The quartet will also present a workshop in an assisted living facility, a master class for advanced string students, and a public concert held in Opperman Music Hall at Florida State University.
Tallahassee Ballet
$10,000 Tallahassee, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Challenge America
To support an artist residency by choreographer and dancer Christopher Huggins. The residency by the former Alvin Ailey dancer will include setting his choreography into a performance with the Tallahassee Ballet, performances at area cultural venues, master classes, and lecture demonstrations for Title I students in area school districts. The school lecture demonstrations will emphasize African-American history in ballet. .
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (aka Straz Center)
$20,000 Tampa, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works
To support the Cultural Intersections performance series. Featured artists including Black Violin, tabla musician Zakir Hussein (India), and the Parsons Dance Company will perform at the Straz Center. Irish musicians and dancers Celtic Nights, as well as globalFEST's Creole Carnival featuring songwriter Brushy One String (Jamaica), samba band Casuarina (Brazil), and vocalist Emeline Michel (Haiti), also will be presented. Engagement activities will include master classes, lectures, and school visits.
Some details of the projects listed are subject to change, contingent upon prior Arts Endowment approval. Information is current as of December 1, 2015. Page 65 of 243
Norton Museum of Art (aka Norton Museum of Art)
$40,000 West Palm Beach, FL
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Museum
To support the exhibition "New Women: Four New York Modernists, 1910-35." The exhibition will examine for the first time the parallel careers of Marguerite Zorach, Florine Stettheimer, Helen Torr, and Georgia O'Keeffe. All four artists were working in New York at the beginning of the 20th century. Approximately 60 paintings, works on paper and textiles will be presented, allowing the public to directly compare and contrast the different styles. A scholarly symposium, docent-led tours, and lectures are planned, along with the production of a full color catalogue.