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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2007
Contacts:
Elizabeth White, Community Arts Administrator/Grants Administrator
617-349-4385 or ewhite@cambridgema.gov
Cambridge Arts Council Announces
2007 Grant Recipients
Grant Celebration: Thursday, March 29, 4-6 p.m., City Hall
Cambridge, MA – Cambridge Arts Council (CAC) invites the public to celebrate the 2007 CAC Grant recipients on Thursday, March 29, 4-6 p.m. at Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., 2nd Fl., Ackerman Room. All are welcome to this free reception for the 2007 CAC Grant recipients, and to learn about the exciting array of events and programs that they will present throughout the year in Cambridge.
With a total of $50,000 to grant this year from the City of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, CAC awarded 25 grants through a competitive process. Funding goes towards a wide variety of creative and innovative projects that are of outstanding artistic quality and demonstrate community benefit. The goal of the CAC's Grant Program is to encourage a vital role for the arts in the lives of Cambridge citizens in all of the City's neighborhoods.
The majority of the funding comes from the City of Cambridge, amounting to $35,000. Announcing the recipients, Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves lauded the vitality of the Cambridge cultural community, saying, "There is no place like Cambridge for the arts. Whether you encounter the dance distractions of DanceMonth, or thrill to the talents of the community members who make up the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, or get to know Cambridge in a new way through the video vignettes produced by CCTV, the arts express the unique character of this community. Cambridge is proud to be the only City in Massachusetts that supplements annual state funding with direct support of the CAC grant program."
Cambridge received almost $20,000 in state funding this year. State Representative and Vice Mayor Timothy Toomey applauded the Commonwealth's continued investment in the arts and noted, "We are delighted that Governor Patrick restored monies to Massachusetts Cultural Council that help over 350 cities and towns support projects that entertain, educate, and celebrate their communities. State funding is a vital engine, sparking new initiatives and leveraging other sources of funding. Massachusetts understands that the creative economy is vital to our future."
The 2007 CAC Grant recipients’ projects span from classical music, to film, to site-specific work, creating artistic offerings for everyone to enjoy, all year long, and throughout Cambridge's vibrant neighborhoods. Here’s a sampling of the exciting, upcoming programs:
Tour Cambridge’s dynamic arts, culture, and history with Cambridge Community Television’s (CCTV) Internet-based video map of Cambridge. Visitors to the site will be able to click on points on the map to bring up Quicktime movies related to that location.
Non-dancers from the local community get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to accompany formally trained dancers in a new work by Caitlin Corbett Dance Company, premiering April 27 at Boston University Dance Theater.
The spirit of Johann Sebastian Bach's informal concerts at Zimmerman's Coffee House in Leipzig, Germany comes alive when the Cantata Singers bring the composer’s light-hearted and humorous piece, The Coffee Cantata, into four independent Cambridge coffeehouses.
Children from the Community Art Center, the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, and the Boys and Girls Club of Cambridge will work together to create a documentary, entitled Four Eyes: A Neighborhood Documentary through the Eyes of School Age Children about proposed solutions to problems in their Area IV neighborhood.
2007 CAC Grant Recipients (complete list)
Actors' Shakespeare Project: ASP Neighborhood Projects
Partnerships with East End House, the Salvation Army, and YMCA offering artistic explorations of Shakespeare's plays.
Area IV Youth Center: The Global Citizen Magazine
Cambridge teens at the Area IV Youth Center will create, publish, and market a magazine focusing on their lives and interests.
Artful Endeavors/North Charles: The Cambridge Experience
Creation of a 2008 calendar and greeting cards that captures the "Cambridge Experience," through the work of artists with psychiatric disabilities.
Beyond the 4th Wall: Children’s Theatre Program
An after-school theatre program for children at Graham and Parks school, culminating in a performance for the Cambridge community.
Caitlin Corbett Dance Company: 2007
Support for presentation of new and repertory work in 2007, including performance of work featuring "non-dancers."
Cambridge Arts Council: Public Art Youth Council
The Arts Council will recruit local high school students to form a Public Art Youth Council to create programs and events that invite youth to deepen their understanding of art in public spaces.
CCTV: Creating a Video Map of Cambridge
Support for creation of a web-based video map of short documentaries that showcase unique aspects of Cambridge.
Cambridge Symphony Orchestra: Sunday Concert Series
A community orchestra made up of amateur musicians presents four public concerts for their Sunday Concert Series, including recent work by Joan Tower.
Cantata Singers: The Coffee Cantata Project
The project brings J.S. Bach's piece, The Coffee Cantata, into four independent Cambridge coffeehouses, recreating the spirit of music making at Bach's own "Zimmerman's Coffee House," where he often rehearsed and performed.
Central Square Business Association: ArtsCentral 2007
A two-day arts festival with over one hundred artists participating in a uniquely engineered mix of business and arts that celebrates Central Square's vibrant and diverse artistic community.
Central Square Theater: Central Square Theater Marquee
Commission of a sculptor to create a marquee for the new Central Square Theater.
Community Art Center: Four Eyes
Support for film documentary about the Area IV neighborhood of Cambridge created by school age children from the Community Art Center, the Margaret Fuller House & the Boys and Girls Club.
Composers in Red Sneakers: New Music Concert Series
Support for one concert by composer organization at Longy School of Music. Concert will feature 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner Yehudi Wyner, who will give a talk for the audience.
Dance Complex: DanceMonth
A city-wide celebration of the movement arts during the month of May that increases the public awareness of the level of excellence in the local dance community.
Deborah Henson-Conant: Inviting Invention
Henson-Conant will fuse performance and science through a series that explores creativity featuring MIT scientists at the Cambridge Science Festival.
Institute for Infinitely Small Things: The City Formerly Known as Cambridge
A community research project inviting the public to propose names for the streets, icons and landmarks of Cambridge.
North Cambridge Family Opera Company: Festival Chorus
150 Cambridge-based children and adults will give three free performances of the U.S. premiere science oratorio "Lifetime" as part of the Cambridge Science Festival.
Lisa Perdomenico: Future Artisans of the Community
Support for project about the importance of art in early childhood education by exhibiting children's work at Out of the Blue gallery.
Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra: Back to Classical
The program supplements the high school music program by providing free instrumental lessons, chamber music coaching, lecture demonstrations, and an annual open rehearsal at CRLS.
Prometheus Dance: The Elders Ensemble in Concert
Support for presentation of the Elders Ensemble, a performing group of ten post-professional dancers ages 60-84, with one free performance for senior citizens.
Prospect Hill Academy Charter School: Sweet Mother Tour
High School students will participate in interactive workshops and performances with Sweet Mother Tour, who uses hip-hop culture to challenge perceptions of popular culture and develop creative expression.
PASS Grants
The grant program also includes funds to subsidize the purchase of
tickets for Cambridge youth to attend cultural events. Over 1,100 students will benefit through field trips sponsored by the Cambridge Public Schools and the Agassiz Neighborhood Council.
The 2007 Grant Review Panel consisted of 15 Cambridge-based arts professionals who were nominated based on expertise in the arts and involvement in the Cambridge community. Panel members were: David Borrus, Emily Browder, Kelley Donovan, Brenda Cotto-Escalera, Rudy Hypolite, Ayisha Knight-Shaw, Mark Olson, Catherine Pedemonti, Tracy Slater, Ann Steuernagel, Danny Swain, Mila Thigpen, Kathi Tighe, Julia Werntz, and Gail Pettiford Willet.
Download Press Photos.
For 300 dpi photos, choose "Download large version.”
Learn more about the CAC Grant Program or call 617-349-4385. The deadline for the 2008 CAC Grant proposals is October 15, 2007.
The CAC Grant Program is funded by the City of Cambridge and receives an annual allocation from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
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