CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION AWARDS $146,375

August 11, 2008
Karen Crossley, 266-5915
County Executive

Forty-four projects supported with public-private funds The Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission announces the award of 40 project grants totaling $133,175 for community arts, cultural, and local history programs serving an estimated 209,435 area residents. In the Commission’s second competition of the year, county dollars combined with funds from the American Girl’s Fund for Children, Endres Manufacturing Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Madison Community Foundation’s Arts Access Fund, Overture Foundation, and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation will be matched by over $1 million from other sources. The grant recipients follow. James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, $3,000, to support The Underwater Noise of Rain, an installation featuring the artistry of Lane Hall and Lisa Moline whose work merges powerful graphic design with metaphor and a sense of poetry, inspired in part by photographs of microscopic freshwater fauna by Dr. Rudi Strickler. MMoCA, $2,500, supporting the exhibition, Barbara Probst: Exposures, that includes a series of eight large-scale photographs to be displayed in the State Street Gallery. Probst is well-known for juxtaposing multiple photographs of the same subject taken at precisely the same moment, but with very different results. Open Arts Studios, $4,500, for Open Arts Studios 2008, celebrating the creativity and productivity of 150 local artists by illuminating and demystifying the creative process, and welcoming the public into their studios throughout a weekend in October. MMoCA, $2,500, in support of MMoCAKids School Tour Program, to help bring from around the county several thousand students along with their teachers into the museum, expose them to contemporary art exhibitions, and engage their hands, minds and creativity. Children’s Theater of Madison, $4,500, supporting Looking Glass Land: The Misadventures of a Girl Named Alice, a delightful adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s famous story by one of the most talented artists in our community, actor and playwright James DeVita. PlayTime Productions, $2,500, supporting production and presentation of a spirited rendition of the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Snow Queen, for the enjoyment of thousands of children and families in highly accessible venues throughout the county. Madison Repertory Theatre, $3,000, in support of Fully Committed, a play by Becky Mode that showcases the talents of one actor who plays over forty characters. In this entertaining production, the audience is treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the chaos found within a trendy Manhattan restaurant. Madison Repertory Theatre, $4,000, supporting William Inge’s Bus Stop, a classic American play featuring the fears, hopes and dreams of eight ordinary individuals who find themselves stranded together in a Midwestern diner during a blizzard. Opera for the Young, $4,200, for multiple performances of The Elixir of Love, the adaptation of an opera by Donizetti, in locations throughout the county for the enjoyment and participation of primarily senior citizens. Freedom, Inc., $3,000, for Climbing PoeTree’s Hurricane Season: The Hidden Messages of Water, a two-woman, multi-media show interweaving spoken word poetry, sound collage, shadow art, dance, film, and animation to explore the critical issues facing humanity through the kaleidoscope of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Madison Opera, $5,000, supporting Madama Butterfly, one of Puccini’s most beloved works in celebration of his 150th anniversary, set in a spectacular new production by acclaimed Japanese artist, Jun Kaneko. Wisconsin Youth Company, $4,500, in support of the 10th annual Celebrating Youth!, a free, family-friendly public event showcasing the amazing talents, determination, and positive involvement of local young people through arts and performance---a day-long extravaganza with the theme of Up in the Air highlighting flight in its many forms including kites, juggling and aerial dance. TAPIT/new works, $4,000, for The “Mangia Mangia” Project, a new play weaving together tales from Madison’s historic Greenbush neighborhood. It incorporates authentic recipes and discussion connecting culture, cuisine and personal experience. Isadora Gabrielle Leidenfrost, $1,000, to help present to the community a new documentary film, Creating Buddhas: The Making and Meaning of Fabric Thangkas, by local a filmmaker. Simpson Street Free Press, $3,500, supporting Student Art/Art in Schools: Where in Dane County is Simpson Street Free Press?, where reporters will spotlight talented young artists and visit youth art exhibits in schools drawing attention to young people participating in the arts countywide. Wisconsin Humanities Council, $5,000, supporting the 2008 Wisconsin Book Festival with the theme Changing Places, the 7th annual event celebrating books, reading, writing, and literacy. Festival Choir of Madison, $2,000, for Visions of Eternity choral concert opening the season featuring choral gems including historical and modern works, both familiar and unfamiliar, organized around specific themes. con vivo!, $750, supporting its chamber music concert program, German Masters, featuring work by several German composers. Madison Youth Choirs, $3,000, in support of The American Experience, a winter concert series dedicated to the study and performance of pieces representing America’s musical heritage. Dimensions in Sound & The Studio Orchestra, $2,000, for Senior Living Establishments Concerts, a series of concerts in a variety of venues featuring a 15-piece big band performing dance music from the 20s to 60s. Wisconsin Union Theater, $5,000, supporting Madison World Music Festival, presenting a multi-day, free program of performances and outreach events celebrating musical traditions from around the world. Friends of the Overture Center, $3,000, in support of Overture After Work, a series of concerts featuring free musical entertainment including roots of blues to world music performed by local and regional artists. Madison Symphony Orchestra, $2,000, for Heartstrings, a program of interactive performances by a string quartet for audiences composed of individuals with special needs and disabilities. Madison Symphony Orchestra, $4,000, supporting Up Close & Musical, bringing classical music via the Hunt String Quartet into the classrooms of elementary schools throughout the county. Madison Symphony Orchestra, $3,000, in support of Concerts with cellist Alban Gerhardt and maestro Chosei Komatsu performing Aaron Copland’s An American Overture, the Elgar Cello Concerto, and The Planets by Gustav Holst. Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, $1,500, for WYSO Steenbock Fall Concerts inaugurating a new season of music presented by highly talented and motivated youth musicians. Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, $4,000, for the Halloween Concert, a family-friendly program featuring fun and accessible orchestral music, entertaining guest artists, stage theatrics, and other special activities designed specifically to engage children. Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, $3,500, supporting WCO Masterworks with violinist Kyoko Takezawa performing Violin Concerto in e minor by Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 2 by Beethoven, and The Good Humored Ladies Suite arranged by Tommasini. Jin-Wen Yu Dance, $3,500, for Refiguring A/musing, a multicultural program featuring new and classic work that celebrates the beginning of Jin-Wen Yu’s second decade in our community. Overture Center for the Arts, $5,000, supporting Luna Negra Dance Theater Residency, offering multiple community activities by Luna Negra, an extraordinary dance troupe that bridges traditional Latin dance, contemporary ballet, and modern dance, and exemplifies cross-cultural connections. Kanopy Dance Theater, $3,000, for Autumn Heart Concert, featuring a set of modern dance works including two premieres created by local and national choreographers, costume and lighting designers. Stoughton Area School District Library Media Program, $5,000, in support of Diversity in Wisconsin-A Book Festival, a celebration of reading, writing, listening, and literature discussion featuring two authors in residency: Kashmira Sheth and Catherine Murdock. Sauk Trails Elementary School, $4,500, for Exploring our Future Through Our Past—Stained Glass, an artist residency involving Rick Findora who will help students create a stained glass window to be permanently installed in the school’s entryway. Monona PTO and Winnequah Elementary School, $5,000, for Winnequah Elementary School Tile Mural, a school-wide and community project whereby students will create a large, ceramic tile mural led by artists Jeanne and David Aurelius to be permanently installed within the school. Lowell Elementary School, $2,000, supporting In Our Neighborhood: Lowell School in Picture and Song, a school-wide artist-in-residence project involving songwriter Stuart Stotts and photographer Glenn Trudel. Sun Prairie School District, $5,000, for Commission POSSIBLE---The Patrick Marsh Project, a composition and composer-in-residence project engaging Patrick Marsh Middle School music students with nationally recognized composer and musician Samuel R. Hazo. Opera for the Young, $725, supporting performances of The Magic Flute at Thoreau Middle School. Madison Children’s Museum, $4,500, for Hmong at Heart Field Kit Expansion supporting the creation and distribution of additional highly successful field kits associated with the museum’s Hmong at Heart Exhibition countywide. Madison Area Concert Handbells, $1,000, in support of Enriching Music Appreciation Through Hand Chimes/Hand Bells, an outreach program bringing hand chimes and hand bells into schools, engaging children in music making, and offering a final performance for music enjoyment and appreciation. Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation, $3,500, for Talking Spirits X: Forest Hill Cemetery Tour, providing dramatic living history experiences for students and the public featuring professional actors on site and including cemetery history and art. In addition, the Commission approved four capital grants totaling $13,200 for equipment purchases and building improvements. Capital grants awarded to small arts organizations with funds provided to the Commission by the Overture Foundation are matched dollar-for-dollar by the recipients with dollars from other local sources. Recipients follow. Madison Children’s Museum, $2,300, for creation of new marketing display units for outreach. Town of Rutland, $2,400, for continued restoration of Rutland Center Church. Verona Area School District, $5,000, to assist with purchase of a grand piano. PlayTime Productions, $3,500, to assist with purchase of a van to transport sets to performance sites. In 2008, the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission will award $455,000 in public-private funds to nonprofit groups, schools, individuals, and municipalities for arts, cultural, and local history programs. Application deadlines are February 1, June 1, and September 1. For more information, contact Karen Crossley, Cultural Affairs office, City-County Building, Madison, 608-266-5915, or see www.culturalaffairscommission.com.