CAP Distributes $63,000 to Local Artists for 2009

January 14th, 2009

Each year, Tompkins County's arts council, the Community Arts Partnership (CAP), administers three grant programs with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). For 2009, those programs resulted in the funding of nearly 45 different projects, with a total of $63,000 awarded to local artists and arts organizations, schools and other local not-for-profits. "From dance, music, and theatre to poetry, painting, and sculpture, these grants allow Tompkins County residents to experience a truly amazing range of events," says CAP Executive Director, Brett Bossard. "Thanks to NYSCA's support, we've been able to award almost $750,000 over the past 15 years with just these three programs alone."

The three programs-Decentralization, CAP II, and Arts-in-Education Local Capacity Building grants-are all competitive, and each are decided by a panel of local community members. CAP's Program Director, Robin Schwartz, has been administering CAP's grant programs for 15 years and has the panel process down to a science: "The panelists come well prepared and ready to make hard decisions. We have such an abundance of talented and worthy artists in Tompkins County that choosing who gets funded each year can be extremely difficult."

For 2009, CAP was able to fund 35 projects through the Decentralization grant program with a $46,500 fund. The Decentralization Grant make funds available throughout the County to libraries, arts organizations, towns, villages, community centers and the like for professional arts and cultural projects. Funded projects encompass theatre performances, music concerts, children's programming, dance performances, poetry readings and visual art. Grant awards ranged from $500 to $2,700. The CAP II program was able to award four local artists with grants from a $7,500 fund. CAP II supports the creation of new work of artists whose interaction with communities is an integral part of their art-making. Through the Arts-in-Education Local Capacity Building Grant, four school and teaching artist partnerships received grants ranging from $900 to $2,500 from a $9,000 fund. "LCB" grants are designed to assist schools in developing programs where artists can work directly with teachers to enhance their existing curriculum. All of the grant recipients will be completing the funded projects throughout the year.

Guidelines, applications, and more details about all of the programs and services of the Community Arts Partnership can be found online at www.artspartner.org or in person at their office inside the Clinton House, 116 North Cayuga Street in Downtown Ithaca. 607-273-5072.

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List of 2009 Grant Recipients

1. Decentralization (DEC) Grants
DEC grants for not-for-profit organizations make funds available throughout the County to libraries, arts organizations, towns, villages, community centers and the like for professional arts and cultural projects. Funded projects must be open to and promoted to the general public and take place in calendar year 2009.

Ballet Guild
" Cinderella" at State Theatre

Brooktondale Community Center
Folk concert (Phil Shapiro/Carrie Shore)

Cornell Savoyards
Performance of "The Gallery of Illustrations"

CRESP/Ithaca City of Asylum
author readings

Danby Community Council
Danby Concert Series

Downtown Ithaca Alliance
"Art in the Heart" AND monthy Gallery Nights

Town of Dryden
Dryden Band and Chorus

Freeville Community Council
Dryden concert series

Greater Ithaca Activities Center
Support for teen theater activities

Groton Public Library
Series of performances

Town of Groton
Photography Exhibit

Village of Groton Housing Authority
Art Show as part of Groton Old Home Days

Village of Groton
Groton Summer Concert Series

Ink Shop Printmaking Center
Gallery Exhibitions

Ithaca Children's Garden
Turtle Hatch Day storytelling

Ithaca Community Chorus
Concert Season and VOICES concert series

Ithaca Community Orchestra
Concert Series

Ithaca Concert Band
Concert Series

Ithaca Youth Bureau
Tin Can Fantasy Factory youth theatre

Latino Civic Association
Latino Heritage Month Celebrations

Multicultural Resource Center
Performances at Tutelo Native American Festival

Museum of the Earth
Artist in Residence

Music's Recreation
Casual Classics concert series

Music's Recreation
Sponsor for Women's Work concerts

Newfield Public Library
Children's programming

Running To Places
Theatrical Season of teen theatre

Seventh Art Corporation of Ithaca
Educational programming re: film

Southside Community Center
Teen Theatre and jazz at Juneteenth

Southworth Library
Arts programming at Library

State of the Art Gallery
Exhibit season

Tompkins County Public Library
A year of visual art exhibitions

Trumansburg Area Churches
Sponsor for Trumansburg Chorus

Ulysses Philomathic Library
Programming at library

Unitarian Church of Ithaca
Sponsor for Group Art Exhibit

Unitarian Church of Ithaca
Sponsor for SOON poetry readings

2. 2009 CAP II GRANTS
Community Artists' Projects grants are awarded to Tompkins County artists. CAP II supports the creation of new work of artists whose interaction with communities is an integral part of their art-making.

Rachel Lampert, of Trumansburg, for creation of a large cast movement theatre piece with community involvement.

Wilka Roig, of Ithaca, for a project that combines visual art, interviews and exhibits

Emilie Stark-Menneg, of Ithaca, to develop a series of interdisciplinary workshops

Walter Charles White, of Ithaca, for his Ithaca Sound Maze, musical instruments made from sustainable materials for the public to explore and play.

3. ARTS-IN-EDUCATION LOCAL CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS
The Arts in Education Grants are designed to assist schools in developing and implementing visual and performing arts residencies that are integrated into the core curriculum. Grants are available for teacher/teaching artist partnerships in multi-day school residencies.

BJ Martin, Cayuga Heights and Northeast preK students will work with teaching artist Lisa Tsetse in "D is for Dancing", a multidisciplinary literacy/creative movement initiative

Ithaca High School students and teachers will work with teaching artist Holly Adams on a project called "Marassa and Midnight", a series of workshops that will use narrative and document based history to create theatrical works.

The 4th grade at Newfield Elementary School will work with the Hangar Theatre's teaching artist, Jesse Bush, on "The Biography Project" which combines theatre, research and writing skills.

TST Boces students will work with teaching artist Janet Locke on "Surprised by Inspiration - Making Art for a Public Place", a project that will culminate in posters on TCAT buses.