CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION AWARDS $122,985
August 16, 2011
Karen Crossley, 608-266-5915
crossley@countyofdane.com
County Executive
Forty-nine grants supporting arts and cultural activities countywide with public-private funds
The Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission announces the award of 42 project grants totaling $104,650 for community arts, cultural, and local history programs, 3 capital grants totaling $7,085, and 4 special Distinctly Dane grants totaling $11,250 in honor of Dane County’s 175th anniversary celebration this year. In the Commission’s Second Grant Cycle of the year, county dollars combined with funds from CUNA Mutual Group, Electronic Theatre Controls, Endres Manufacturing Company Foundation, Dan Erdman, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, Madison Gas & Electric Foundation, Overture Foundation, and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation will be matched by over $2 million from other sources. Grant recipients follow.
Project Grants
Arts-in-Schools
Falk Elementary School, $400, for Falk Falcons Drum Club, using West African drumming to transform students.
Huegel Elementary School, $2,000, supporting African Drumming & Dance at Huegel, a 3-day residency focusing upon drumming and dance in conjunction with a Journey to Hip Hop curriculum in music.
Madison Symphony Orchestra, $4,000, in support of Up Close & Musical, bringing the Hunt String Quartet into early elementary school classrooms to present exciting, interactive lessons inviting students to hunt for musical concepts in classical music’s most popular repertoire.
Opera for the Young, $3,200, for presenting Hansel & Gretel to more than 10,000 children countywide in their schools and other accessible settings.
American Players Theatre, $2,500, supporting Potency of Poetry, an in-school arts residency program utilizing the unique performance skills of APT’s teaching artists to infuse students with enthusiasm and appreciation for words, language and storytelling.
Dance
Madison Ballet, $2,900, supporting Movement in Your World, a creative movement and music program presenting workshops to young children in over 33 Head Start locations countywide.
Li Chiao-Ping, $3,500, bringing back The Knotcracker, a funny and original dance adventure and tangled tale for the engagement and enjoyment of all ages.
Dance Wisconsin, $3,500, supporting Nutcracker Fantasy, a family-friendly, affordable ballet with live orchestra, singers and dancers from the community, and guest artists from Milwaukee Ballet.
Kanopy Dance Theatre, $1,500, in support of the return of Baba Yaga, Kanopy’s masterful take on a Russian fairy tale.
Local History
Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation, $2,800, for Talking Spirits XIII: Forest Hill Cemetery Tour for students and the public bringing to life stories of local Civil War veterans and civilians who contributed to the war effort.
Multidisciplinary Arts/Culture
Russian Educational Association, $1,750, supporting Russian Folk Ensemble presenting Slavic programs at multiple community events.
Wisconsin Humanities Council, $4,000, for the 10th Wisconsin Book Festival offering a wide array of high energy events including free public readings, discussions, workshops and other literary offerings.
Taiwanese Association of Madison, $3,500, in support of Taiwanese Art Week featuring a performance of traditional Taiwanese puppet theater as part of an arts and culture celebration.
Music
Fresco Opera Theatre, $3,000, for Fresco’s Big Top Opera challenging the status quo and offering alternative interpretations of the opera genre.
PEBOGA, $2,500, supporting Fall Gospel Fest presenting an interconnection of energy, music, song, dance and fellowship between national gospel recording artists and Dane County community.
Wisconsin Union Theater, $4,000, for Madison World Music Festival proudly celebrating musical traditions from around the world during three days of free public activities including headliner acts by international artists from around the globe and educational programs including workshops and in-school performances.
Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, $3,500, for Evelyn Steenbock Fall Concerts, season-opening performances where a diverse group of accomplished young musicians display their talents.
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, $3,500, supporting Masterworks Series featuring acclaimed pianist Ilya Yakushev.
John Duggleby, $800, supporting Affordable Musical Programs for Seniors & Disabled Adults bringing musical performances to seniors in accessible settings.
Dimensions in Sound & The Studio Orchestra, $1,750, for Senior Living Establishments Concerts presenting Big Band era and symphonic orchestral music in senior centers countywide.
Madison Youth Choirs, $4,000, supporting Telling Our Story, a year-long music education and performance project including two artist residencies and weekly rehearsals along with multiple performances and outreach activities.
Classical Revolution Madison, $2,000, for Classical Revolution Chamber Music Concert Series, bringing traditional chamber music to unexpected venues---well beyond the marble pillars of traditional concert halls.
Special Edition Trio, $1,200, in support of Outreach With A Song II bringing songs from opera and musical theater to seniors at residential centers and community gatherings.
Madison Opera, $3,000, for Eugene Onegin, a company premiere by Tchaikovsky set in the beauty of 19th century Russia and filled with this composer’s trademark irresistible rich melodies.
Pro Art Quartet, $4,000, supporting Pro Art Quartet: Centennial Anniversary Celebration, composed of the first 4 performances of new works, composer residencies, a lecture series, broadcast and media coverage, a book about the quartet’s history, CD recording, and museum exhibits---truly an extravaganza of activities spanning the year.
Madison Music Collective, $1,200, for Fall Concert Series, presenting the music of various and accomplished jazz musicians in a live settings to our community.
con vivo!….music with life, $750, supporting 10th Anniversary, presenting a live chamber music performance of 2 quintets by Mozart, celebrating a milestone year for the organization.
Candid Concert Opera, $2,000, for The Barber of Seville, providing free opera performances in a concert format within accessible venues.
Monona Terrace Community Programs, $4,000, supporting Concerts on the Rooftop, offering free musical concerts with local bands, dancing, food and socializing.
Madison Bach Musicians, $2,700, for Music of the Bach Family Concerts & Outreach, with a period chamber music orchestra performing masterworks from the 17th & 18th centuries composed by members of the Bach family.
Theater
Children’s Theater of Madison, $2,400, in support of The American Girls Revue spanning history from 1764 to 1944, bringing to life the stories of American Girl characters onstage.
Mister Marconi’s Memory Vault, $500, supporting An Evening of Memories, presenting live classic revivals of radio programming from the challenging times of the Golden Age, the 1930s and 1940s.
Four Seasons Theater, $1,200, for The Great American Songbook, encompassing the first 50 years of American popular music.
Playtime Productions, $2,500, supporting WWW.OZ, a wacky, weird and contemporary production of a classic tale in multiple, family-friendly venues countywide.
Madison Theatre Guild, $1,100, for Up, a play by Bridget Carpenter—a quirky, bittersweet tale about an American family trying to escape the boundaries of everyday by harnessing the power of imagination.
Forward Theater, $3,500, in support of The Farnsworth Invention by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin---a Wisconsin premiere and collaboration with UW-Madison Department of Theatre and Drama.
Visual Arts
VSA Wisconsin, $1,500, for Gallery Exhibitions, a program featuring artwork created by Wisconsin artists with disabilities throughout the year in the organization’s new gallery space.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, $3,500, for Houdini: Art & Magic, combining historical artifacts with contemporary art inspired by the physical audacity and celebrity of magician, escape artist and showman extraordinaire Harry Houdini.
James Watrous Gallery, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, $3,000, supporting The Art of JoAnna Poehlmann & Lee Weiss, a celebration of two Wisconsin artists who both are keen observers of the natural world and known for their innovation and accomplished technique in watercolor and drawing.
Cherokee Middle School, $1,000, for Honoring Imagination, an ambitious urban art exhibit displaying artwork created by students from several local middle schools on billboards around Madison.
Chazen Museum of Art, $3,500, supporting Harvey Littleton Contemporary Glass Studio 50th Anniversary Exhibition, among the first temporary installations to be mounted in new Chazen Museum of Art expansion facility---marking the 50th anniversary of the studio glass program launched at UW-Madison by Professor Harvey Littleton, the first such program on an American college campus.
Habitat ReStore, $1,500, for Habitat ReStore Salvage Art Show presenting beautiful artwork created from salvage in multiple spaces throughout Madison and the county.
Capital Grants
Verona Area Community Theater, $2,645 for purchase of equipment enhancements for costume department.
Town of Rutland, $3,000 for historic church renovation.
Four Seasons Theatre, $1,440 for purchase of new keyboard for rehearsals and performances.
Distinctly Dane Grants
A special grant funding opportunity honoring Dane County’s 175th Anniversary Celebration in 2011 (see www.danecounty175.org). Focus is upon our sense of place and belonging and identity as expressed by Dane County voices. These grants showcase Dane County’s distinctive qualities, highlight and grow local assets, and nurture local creativity.
Madison Children’s Museum, $2,000, for The Hmong Garden on Madison Children’s Museum’s Rooftop Ramble, highlighting Hmong culture and food production while linking to the tradition of the Dane County Farmer’s Market with a showcase garden featuring edible plants and vegetables that museum visitors can taste, touch, and smell.
Madison Music Makers, $5,000, for Dane County: Past & Present A Multi-Media Concert Series, bringing together the diverse Music Makers students with various historical cultures of our greater community, playing with local professional performers, and also having the opportunity to study the history, music and culture of several Dane County locales.
Dimensions in Sound & The Studio Orchestra, $3,350, for History of Dane County Through Music, bringing 175 years of Dane County history to life with narrative and visuals to accompany the music in a two-hour show presented at six locations throughout the county.
Dance Wisconsin, $900, for Solitude: The Poetry of Ella Wheeler Wilcox Brought to Life Through Dance, a musical dance piece choreographed by Chelsey Dahm presented in a studio performance at Monona Academy of Dance, in New Works Concert at Mitby Theater, and at school residencies.
This year, the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission will award approximately $300,000 in public-private funds to nonprofit groups, schools, individuals, and municipalities for arts, cultural, and local history projects and programs. Three grant cycles each year have application deadlines of February 1, June 1, and October 1.
Last year the Commission introduced a web-based, online grants management system including grant applications accessed, prepared, submitted, and reviewed electronically. The system is highly customer friendly and offers cost savings, efficiencies, and evaluation tools not formerly available.
For more information, see www.culturalaffairscommission.comor contact Karen Crossley, Cultural Affairs Commission Director, Room 421 City-County Building, Madison, 608-266-5915.