CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION AWARDS $94,536

Forty-two grants supporting arts and cultural activities countywide

with public-private funds

 

The Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission announces the award of 37 project grants totaling $85,347 for community arts, cultural, and local history programs, 2 capital grants totaling $6,189, and 3 special merit awards totaling $3,000.  In the Commission’s third grant cycle of the year, county dollars combined with funds from the American Girl’s Fund for Children, Endres Manufacturing Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., the charitable arm of The Capital Times, Overture Foundation, and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation will be matched by over $1.2 million from other sources.  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.  Grant recipients follow.

Arts-in-Schools

Overture Center, $2,000, in support of Tommy Awards recognizing excellence in high school musical theater and providing educational opportunities with professionals in dance, voice, movement, acting and critique writing for students from multiple schools countywide.

 

Dance

Madison Ballet, $2,500, supporting An Evening of Romance, a Valentine’s Day production presenting the beauty and intimacy of dance, accompanied by local live jazz vocals.

 

Dance Wisconsin, $2,025, for Peter Rabbit’s Ballet, an original production created by local choreographer and musician, artfully retelling four of Beatrix Potter’s charming tales through ballet.

 

Jin-Wen Yu Dance, $3,000, in support of Into Sunlight, a new evening-length choreographic interpretation of award-winning author, David Maraniss’ They Marched Into Sunlight, presenting poetic imagery, historic specificity, and contemporary relevance.

Local History

Westmorland Neighborhood Association, $2,250, supporting Westmorland Neighborhood History Publication, presenting information about people, places and local history.  The Association is one of the oldest neighborhood associations in Madison and will celebrate its 70^th anniversary in 2011.

 

City of Monona, $1,600, for Landmarks Booklet Reprinting, helping Monona Landmarks Commission reproduce resource booklet with updated and new information about local history.

 

 

Multidisciplinary Arts/Culture

Simpson Street Free Press, $3,500, supporting Where in Dane County is the Simpson Street Free Press series, helping bring the world of local history and arts alive for young writers and readers who investigate, explore, and discover the back roads of Dane County.

 

Li Chiao-Ping Dance, $4,000, in support of Take 2:  Multimedia Dance Performances and Screen Dance, a unique program celebrating the intersection of dance and other media arts including film and video, and premiering two new works for stage and screen.

 

Opera for the Young, $2,325, supporting Pirates in the Playhouse, two free performances of The Pirates of Penzance in the Overture Center’s Playhouse, along with theater, music and design workshops targeting youth, in collaboration with Madison Children’s Museum and Madison Youth Choirs.

 

TAPIT/new works, $4,000, supporting Bullying: The Musical, an original production tackling a pressing social issue with a creative approach and an all-youth cast.

 

New Music Everywhere (NEW MUSE), $2,500, in support of a new music ensemble seeking to engage audiences in new ways of interacting with music, through a series of site-specific and multidisciplinary events featuring contemporary music, along with other art forms.

 

 

Music

Madison Symphony Orchestra, $2,500, supporting Spring Young People’s Concert:  Classical Inspirations, offering middle and high school students across Dane County an opportunity to experience live classical music in Overture Hall featuring winners of Bolz Young Artist Competition.

 

con vivo!….music with life, $1,800, for presentation of Stravinsky’s chamber music masterpiece, The Soldier’s Tale, enhanced by actors from American Players Theater.

 

Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, $2,500, for Winterfest Concerts, a collection of performances showcasing the most complex and challenging repertoire of the WYSO season demonstrating talents of young instrumentalists and music educators.

 

Middleton Community Orchestra, $1,050, supporting Summer Concert by a new community orchestra, featuring UW-Madison’s Perlman Trio.

 

Mazomanie Music Conservancy, $2,000, for Another Friday Night at Conservancy Hall concert series including local bands, special guest artists, and open jam. 

 

Madison Youth Choirs, $1,350, supporting 2^nd Annual Madison Boychoir Festival, offering young male singers an exciting day of singing, learning and performing.

 

Madison Flute Club, $500, for Wisconsin Flute Festival, a day-long educational event for flutists and flute enthusiasts including classes and performance.

 

Festival Choir of Madison, $800, supporting From the Heart, a choral musical celebration and performance focused upon the theme of love.

 Wisconsin Chamber Choir, $650, supporting She Is One of Us:  An Exploration of Music and the Natural World, a choral concert featuring Native American composers, poetry, dance, and guest artists.

 

Madison Bach Musicians, $2,100, for Concertos by Bach and Tartini presented in several concerts by a period instrument chamber orchestra.

 

Monona Terrace Community Programs, $2,500, supporting Tunes at Monona Terrace offering free concerts presenting a variety of live music and dancing opportunities.

 

 

Theater

Music Theatre of Madison, $1,500, in support of The Secret Garden, a musical theatrical production of a beloved children’s literary work.

 

PlayTime Productions, $2,500, supporting If the Shoe Fits—A Cinderella Story, presenting an engaging fairy tale by youth actors in over a dozen community venues countywide.

 

Wisconsin Union Theater, $1,500, for The Acting Company Residency by award-winning classical theatre troupe, bringing arts education programs to local students and The Comedy of Errors to local audiences.

 

Madison Savoyards, $3,000, supporting Utopia Ltd., a Gilbert and Sullivan satire of corporations, political parties, and proper English behavior. 

 

Forward Theater, $4,000, in support of Going to St. Ives, a moving play focused upon two women who face difficult questions of personal ethics, global politics, and moral responsibility across a wide cultural divide.

 

Four Seasons Theatre, $3,000, for large-scale production of classic My Fair Lady with beautiful Edwardian costumes, full size orchestra, and talented cast of local actors and singers.

 

Madison Theatre Guild, $600, for Souvenir:  A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins, based upon real-life story of New York socialite and tone-deaf diva who rose to cult-status and stardom.

 

  

Visual Arts

Mount Horeb Area Arts Association, $1,500, supporting 5^th Annual Spring Art Tour, a free, 3-day open art studio event showcasing the art of 20 artists living and working in Mt. Horeb area.

 

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, $2,000, for Bringing the World Back Home:  50 Years with the Peace Corps, a multi-venue exhibition of art, textiles, and artifacts collected by Dane County Returned Peace Corps Volunteers during their service across the globe.

 

James Watrous Gallery, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, $3,017, supporting Wisconsin Labor:  A Contemporary Portrait showing selected photographs commissioned by Wisconsin Arts Board in 2007.  Six Wisconsin photographers document Wisconsin workers at work and present a poignant meditation on the nature of work.

 

Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired, $3,000, for Creative Expressions from Inner Vision, a project paying tribute to artwork created by visually impaired artists including youth, in collaboration with Madison Metropolitan School District and Edgewood College.

 

Madison Children’s Museum, $1,280, supporting Artists’ Suite:  Artist-in-Residence Series presenting workshops featuring different art media, led by local artists engaging children and families.

 

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, $3,000, for Shinique Smith:  Menagerie, presenting works on paper, paintings, videos, and three-dimensional works, and also working with local high schools students creating a site-specific work incorporating objects from the Madison area.

 

VSA Wisconsin, $3,000, supporting Call for Art Exhibition, a program featuring a juried exhibition of work by 200 children and adults with disabilities from across Wisconsin, along with field trips and art workshops for area youth.

 

 

 

University of Wisconsin Arts Institute, $5,000, in support of Wisconsin Film Festival, an annual celebration of the power of motion picture to tell stories that educate, inform, illuminate, and inspire. 

 

 

Capital

Wisconsin Heights Players, $1,689, for purchase of children’s theater sound equipment.

 

WORT-FM Backporch Radio Broadcasting, $4,500, for purchase of remote connections equipment.

 

 

Special Merit Awards

Vi Miller Award of Excellence, $1,000, to Wisconsin Youth Company, supporting the annual extravaganza, Celebrating Youth!, and the organization’s commitment to supporting the artistic creativity, talent and aspirations of youth countywide. 

 

The Commission annually designates one grant recipient whose activities demonstrate high artistic quality, strong educational value, and serve children and youth in Dane County communities both within and outside of the City of Madison.  The award is named in honor of the late Vi Miller, niece of William Evjue, wife of The Capital Times publisher, Fred Miller, and long-time officer of The Capital Times Co. and The Evjue Foundation, Inc.  Vi Miller was a very generous contributor to the cultural life of Dane County.  This special award, created in Miller’s memory, honors her devotion to the arts and community service.  The Evjue Foundation, Inc. and Dane County fund it jointly.

 

Liesl Blockstein Award for Distinguished Community Service in the Arts, $1,000, to Madison Mary Lou Williams Centennial Coordinating Committee for presenting our community with Mary Lou Williams Festival Weekend Concerts, along with an amazing array of engaging events and activities honoring Mary Lou Williams spanning nearly a year.

 

The Commission annually designates one grant recipient whose activities link the arts and human services---by offering exemplary arts experiences that either are especially provided for Dane County populations with special needs or promote cultural pluralism and the improvement of local racial and cultural relations.  The award is named in honor of the late Liesl Blockstein, a former member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors and the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission.  Liesl’s devotion to the arts, her interest in educational opportunities, and her commitment to enriching the civic life of Dane County resulted in the creation of this memorial award upon her untimely death in a car accident over twenty years ago.  It is funded from a mix of public and private funds, combined with earned income from a trust fund established in the Office of County Treasurer. 

 

Lynne Watrous Eich Vision and Innovation Award, $1,000, to TAPIT/new works in support of new productions, Food Clues and Bullying: The Musical, affirming Donna Peckett and Daniele Dresden’s creativity in presenting productions and workshops that engage young people in innovative ways.

 

Last year, the Commission created a new special award to help honor Lynne Watrous Eich, Cultural Affairs Commission founder who served in the Commission’s leadership role for thirty-one years.  The award is intended to acknowledge Lynne’s extraordinary contributions and legacy associated with the Commission and with supporting arts and culture in Dane County.  One grant recipient whose activities stand out, demonstrating high artistic quality and evidence of creative innovation and future vision, is selected annually.  The Commission’s private funders and Dane County fund it. 

 

           

            During this year alone, the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission has awarded nearly $350,000 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.