For Immediate Release: April 14, 2009
Contact: Jeff Morgan
Public Relations
515.281.3858
Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov
Iowa Arts Council Announces Mini Grant Awards
(DES MOINES, Iowa) —The Iowa Arts Council awarded $21,123 in the March round of Mini Grants to organizations and individuals in Ames, Cedar Rapids, Clive, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fairfield, Kamrar, Iowa City, Marshalltown, Northwood, Pella, Story City and Waterloo, West Des Moines. IAC received 43 eligible applications over the two months with requests totaling more than $53,000. The March awards will be the last given by IAC until July 1.
The Iowa Arts Council works to enrich the quality of life and learning in Iowa communities by encouraging excellence in the arts through leadership, grants and technical assistance. Mini Grant applicants may request up to $1,500 in funding, which they must match.
“The diverse group of projects in this list is exciting,” said Mary Sundet Jones, Iowa Arts Council administrator. “These public funds are truly supporting meaningful projects for artists and communities. The arts are alive and well in Iowa.”
Applications for Mini Grants must be received the first working day of the month before the intended activity begins. More information and application guidelines and rules, as well as grant recipient listings can be viewed at www.iowaartscouncil.org.
Iowa Arts Council MARCH 2009 Mini Grant Awards
Iowa Composers Forum’s Nuts and Bolts Festival
Iowa Composers Forum, Cedar Rapids
$1,500
The Iowa Composers Forum will host a festival in May in Cedar Rapids focusing on business skills needed by composers to make a living; copyright their work; obtain grant funding; and design a Web site. The festival will include a concert of living Iowa composers’ works at a retirement community center.
Willy Wonka Jr.: A Kids-for-Kids Production
Bell Tower Productions, Dubuque
$1,500
Grant funding supports payment for scripts and royalties for the kids-for-kids summer musical. “Willy Wonka, Jr.” is a full-scale production that will be expanded in 2009 to include 150 kids ages 7-18 performing on stage and working backstage in an effort to build confidence, self esteem and reading skills through the art of theater.
Stepping Up Arts
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Iowa, Clive
$1,500
Professional women artists will use IAC grant funds to conduct interactive workshops for 5th and 6th grade girls and their mentors in The Big Brothers Big Sisters program. The project will allow participants to experience different art forms, explore their creativity, and continue their involvement in the arts in their schools, homes and the community.
Music Composition for the short film “Rebirth”
Francesca Soans, Waterloo
$1,500
Rebirth is a 30-minute dramatic film written and directed by artist Francesca Soans. Shot in high-definition video, it explores the experiences of two women in a small town in Iowa. The film is in the post-production phase. Grant funds will pay for well-known Iowa composer Tom Bourcier to compose an original music score for the film.
Sea Shanties: A Singing, Songwriting and Social Studies Adventure
Northwood-Kensett School District, Northwood
$840
The Northwood-Kensett School District will hire Tom Kastle, singer/songwriter/tall ship captain, will perform a variety of sea shanties for approximately 200 students in grades K-6 and conduct two workshops with students in grades 4-6. Songwriting and simple machines will be the topics. This correlates with 4th grade science projects about simple machines and 5th-6th grade language arts and social studies projects on the age of exploration.
IARGUS 2009
Iowa Academy for Russian Music, Arts and Culture (IARMAC), Iowa City
$1,500
IARMAC will organize its fourth International Festival of Russian Guitar (IARGUS 2009), offering lectures, master classes, and concerts on the unique Russian 7-string guitar. Highlights will be the first-time visitors from Russia: Anastasia Bardina, Sergei Rudnev, and Fyodor Kondenko. The concerts and master classes will be professionally videotaped for a TV documentary.
Storytelling at Scandinavian Days
Story City Greater Chamber Connection, Story City
$610
The Greater Chamber Connection of Story City will use IAC grant funds to hire Iowa Arts Council artist Pippa White, who will share stories at Story City’s Scandinavian Days June 5-7, 2009. White was a featured performer in the schools and on stage at the September 2008 STORY! Festival.
Dia de los Ninos/Dia de los Libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book)
Marshalltown Public Library, Marshalltown
$935
The Marshalltown Public Library will host Dia de los Ninos/Dia de los Libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book) April 30 to celebrate children and the importance of books and storytelling in their lives. IAC grant funds will help pay for the performance of folktales by Eulenspiegel Puppets and their international partner, Eli Portugal, of Jalisco, Mexico will be shared with a variety of children and families throughout the day.
Artist Attendance at Off the Grid 2009 International Textile Conference
Judy Bales, Fairfield
$800
Judy Bales, fiber artist and public artist, will use IAC grant funds to attend Off The Grid, the 2009 International Surface Design Conference in Kansas City, Mo. The conference will be May 28-June 1, 2009.
2009 CelebrAsian, 7th Annual Asian Heritage Festival
Iowa Asian Alliance Foundation, West Des Moines
$1,500
The 2009 CelebrAsian, 7th Annual Asian Heritage Festival will showcase the traditional heritage and contemporary contributions of 11-15 Asian communities in Iowa through art, food, demonstrations and other interactive and hands on activities. Amateur and professional artists will perform or exhibit their work to the more than 45,000 people expected to attend. Festival date is May 16, 2009.
Enhancing Student Learning Through Arts Integration
Central College Upward Bound Math & Science, Pella
$1,500
Central College Upward Bound will use IAC grant funds to hire artist educator Debby Yellick-Manly to lead students’ learning/application of visual literacy skills in preparation for viewing internationally recognized art works in a major Midwestern museum. Ms. Manly will be an equal partner in an interdisciplinary educator team that develops and tests a project-based model for secondary curricular integration.
“Pratima: Reflections” – An Indian Classical Dance Performance by Nrityagram
India Cultural Association of Central Iowa, Ames
$1,500
With the support of IAC grant funds, The India Cultural Association of Central Iowa will host a performance by an internationally renowned Indian classical dance ensemble, Nrityagram, of its newest production “Pratima: Reflections” Saturday, April 18, during VEISHEA at Iowa State University. This production was commissioned by the Joyce Theater’s Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work. Its world premiere was held in February 2008 at the Joyce Theater, New York.
Flying Pig Barn Dances
Flying Pig Fiddle & Banjo, Kamrar
$1,500
Flying Pig Fiddle & Banjo, a Folk & Traditional Artists Roster band, will use IAC grant funds to help produce barn dances May 2 and June 6 at the Des Moines Social Club with expert live dance callers and music played by Iowa musicians. All dances will be taught and the public invited to participate, all ages, no experience necessary.
Art and Catastrophe: University of Iowa Art History Society Symposium
University of Iowa Graduate Art History Society, Iowa City
$1,200
The University of Iowa Graduate Art History Society (AHS) used grant funds to present its annual symposium, “Art and Catastrophe, the 23rd Annual University of Iowa Art History Graduate Symposium,” April 3-4, 2009. The keynote address was given by David Houston, chief curator of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans.
Evaluation and Consultation in Artist Management
Tom Nothnagel, Iowa City
$1,491
Musician Tom Nothnagle will use Iowa Arts Council funding to consult with Jeri Goldstein, nationally known author of “How to Be Your Own Booking Agent.” Through her technical guidance he will explore new approaches and directions to his career.
From a Growing Community: Iowa’s Homeless Youth
Iowa Homeless Youth Centers, Des Moines
$1,500
Iowa Homeless Youth Center’s first-time project will use IAC grant funds to produce a reader friendly and approachable book to raise awareness and provide homeless youth the opportunity to share their stories with their surrounding communities. The book will be a mechanism to create a dialogue about this issue in communities across Iowa. Danny Heggen, staff writer, has been leading the project.
Custom Framing for Solo Exhibition
Maria Lux, Ames
$247
Maria Lux will use IAC grant funding to assistance with the cost of custom framing for a series of paintings for her solo exhibition at the Gallery in the Round in Ames (June 6 - August 15, 2009). The frames will be built by local artisan Jay Goss during April and May.
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The Iowa Arts Council is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and works to enrich the quality of life for Iowans through support of the arts. Funding for the Iowa Arts Council and its programs is provided by the state of Iowa and the National Endowment for the Arts.