RISCA hands out $128K in latest grant round to promote the arts

THE R.I. STATE Council on the Arts awarded $128,212 in grants at its December 2013 meeting, including 10 arts fellowships and project awards for educational and community arts development.
THE R.I. STATE Council on the Arts awarded $128,212 in grants at its December 2013 meeting, including 10 arts fellowships and project awards for educational and community arts development.

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. State Council on the Arts awarded $128,212 in grants to Rhode Island schools, community centers and artists in its December 2013 round, the agency announced Wednesday.

The 57 grants and fellowships awarded included one Investments in Arts & Culture grant of $1,400 to the Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy in Warwick. The Investments in Arts & Culture grants support organizations that produce annual programs in the arts and have received RISCA funding regularly for at least three years.

Jon Caserta of Pawtucket received a $6,000 Design Innovation Grant to develop a Web-based video player for long-form, content-rich videos such as interviews, symposia, lectures and documentaries. The video player would serve as an alternative to popular video players like YouTube and Vimeo, designed specifically for educators, artists, academics and government institutions, Caserta said.

RISCA also awarded eight Arts Access Grants, which are small awards of no more than $2,500 to fund new ventures and occasional arts programs that don’t qualify for Investments in Arts & Culture grants:

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  • Alliance Francaise of Providence: $2,500 to support four concerts featuring French choral and instrumental music.
  • Educational Center for the Arts & Sciences in Providence: $2,500 to support ECAS International Theater Month, an annual series of performances, workshops and seminars in March.
  • Environmental Council of Rhode Island in Providence: $2,500 to support the seventh annual procession through the streets around Mashapaug Pond.
  • Rhode Island Latino Arts in Providence: $2,500 to support an art exhibition featuring authentic Puerto Rican wood carvings.
  • Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Warwick: $2,500 to support a theater performance developed by members of Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships relating their experiences as survivors of domestic violence.
  • Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South County in Wakefield: $2,500 to support the Music at Lily Pads concert series in South County.
  • Barrington Preservation Society: $1,312 to support an exhibition by visual artist Deborah Barona showcasing Barrington’s historic industries.
  • Ocean State Theatre Co. in Warwick: $1,000 to support a student-outreach project that actively involves students in theater through a performance of “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

The bulk of grant awards went to Project Grants in Education, which support artists and cultural organizations collaborating with schools and other educational institutions to develop student programs and extracurricular activities in the arts:

  • Central Falls High School: $4,000
  • DownCity Design in Providence: $4,000
  • Vartan Gregorian PTO in Providence: $4,000
  • Groden Network in Providence: $3,000
  • International Charter School in Pawtucket: $3,000
  • Susan Ballenger of Westerly: $2,500
  • Dan Butterworth of Providence: $2,200
  • Meeting Street in Providence: $2,200
  • Providence Housing Authority: $2,100
  • Connecting for Children and Families Inc. in Woonsocket: $2,000
  • Raising Hope Inc. in Providence: $2,000
  • Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center in Providence: $1,900
  • Jenks Jr. High School in Pawtucket: $1,400
  • The Greene School in West Greenwich: $750
  • Rhode Island Improv League in North Providence: $750
  • Family Service of RI/Mt. Pleasant Academy in Providence: $600
  • Rhode Island 4-H Club Foundation Inc. in South Kingstown: $600
  • Ella Risk School/Central Falls School District: $500
  • Martin Luther King Elementary School in Providence: $500
  • Providence Career & Technical Academy: $500

Ten Rhode Islanders received individual fellowships, highly competitive grants designed to recognize and support artists doing exemplary work and enable them to set aside time to pursue their creative goals:

  • Fellowship in Choreography: $5,000 to Ali Kenner-Brodsky of Providence, and $1,000 to Danielle Genest of Newport.
  • Fellowship in Drawing and Printmaking: $5,000 to Ernest Jolicoeur of Scituate, and $1,000 to Eleanor Sabin of Providence.
  • Fellowship in Music Composition: $5,000 to Kirsten Volness of Providence, and $1,000 to Paul Phillips of Cranston.
  • Fellowship in New Genres: $5,000 to Megan McMillan of Pawtucket, and $1,000 to Quintin Rivera Toro of Providence.
  • Fellowship in Painting: $5,000 to Bob P. Dilworth of Providence, and $1,000 to Kirstin Lamb of Providence.

Eighteen other individuals received Project Grants for Individuals, a program through which RISCA supports artists who seek to produce, perform, teach or share their work with the public. Projects can include coordination of community arts events, public performances, arts workshops, creative collaboration, and exhibitions.

  • Avi Joseph David of Providence: $4,500
  • Esther Solondz of Providence: $4,000
  • Franny Choi of Providence: $3,000
  • Jeremy Jude Radtke of Providence: $3,000
  • Jamie Jewett of Providence: $2,500
  • Cathren Lee Housley of East Providence: $2,000
  • Erik Reuland of Providence: $2,000
  • Heather Ahern of Providence: $2,000
  • Kirsten Volness of Providence: $2,000
  • Betsy Miller of Pawtucket: $1,500
  • Ed Osborn of Providence: $1,500
  • Kendall Moore of Richmond: $1,500
  • Nancy Ann Richardson of Cranston: $1,500
  • Rachel Ida-Beth Balaban of Middletown: $1,500
  • Julien Touafek of Providence: $1,000
  • Walker Mettling of Providence: $1,000
  • Laura Raquel Cetilia of Providence: $500

The next deadline for RISCA Arts Access Grants, Project Grants in Education, Project Grants for Individuals, and fellowships and folk-arts apprenticeships is April 1. Applications will be available online beginning the first week of February. For more information, visit www.arts.ri.gov.

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