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Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester Announces 2001 Culture Builds Communities Grants
The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, in collaboration with the City of Rochester and Citibank, announces $50,000 in project support through the Culture Builds Communities Program. The Arts Council will distribute five grants, ranging from $5,000 to $14,000, to neighborhood organizations.
The purpose of Culture Builds Communities is to enable artists to work with neighborhood residents to support neighborhood pride through participatory projects that result in the creation of a lasting work of art that celebrates the neighborhood.
Commenting on the awards, Arts & Cultural Council Director Sarah E. Lentini said, "The Rochester community is endowed with an incredible amount of cultural capital. We are so fortunate to be able to support the initiatives of residents who are interested in developing it for the greater good of their neighborhoods."
The Arts & Cultural Council began the program with the City and Citibank four years ago, and funded 18 projects totaling $150,000 in 1998, 1999, and 2000. For a complete list of previously funded projects, access the Arts Council web site at www.artsrochester.org/artscouncil.htm.
The Culture Builds Communities Selection Panel included: Norine Jones, Citibank; Vickie Bell, City of Rochester; Sarah E. Lentini/Ginna Moseson, Arts and Cultural Council; Roberley Bell, artist and professor, RIT; Peter Bibby, artist and community representative, The Community Place of Greater Rochester; Elizabeth McDade, arts organization administrator, Pyramid Arts Center.
The 2001 projects are as follows:
Frederick Douglass Community Development Corporation
Award: $7,500
Artists: Paulette Davis, Calvin Hubbard, and Frances Hare
Location: not site specific
Project director: Delores Jackson Radney, (716) 436-6453
Artists will create community ritual objects related to the African-American cultural holiday, Kwanzaa. The art objects will be created during the six-day celebration in 2001. Attendees will be able to add design elements to Francis's ritual tablecloth, and weave on the Mkeka so that they become community heirlooms.
ArtWalk
Award: $11,500
Artists: Betsy Weber with additional artists TBA
Location: ArtWalk, along University Avenue between Russell Street and N. Goodman Street
Project director: Douglas Rice, (716) 256-3336
Community members and artists will collaborate to enhance the environment along ArtWalk with mosaics on street lighting poles. Artists will keep a regular weekly schedule of working hours when the community will be invited to participate and learn about the process involved.
South East Arts Development
Award: $11,700
Artists: to be selected by jury
Location: "Second Story" about Monroe Avenue, including an exhibition and publication of book
Project director: Vicki Lewin Ryder
A year-long participatory project that will culminate in the publication of a book, which will be a collection of photographic images depicting architecture and the activity above Monroe Avenue's street level. Professional and amateur photographers will be invited to submit works, which will be developed into a public exhibition.
Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association
Award: $5,300
Artist: Guy Chiazza
Location: Center of the UMNA Gateway Garden at the corner of Laburnam Crescent and Monroe Avenue.
Project Coordinator: Jennifer Sanfilippo
A gateway theme will form the basis of the proposed sculpture to welcome people to the neighborhood. The artist will organize a treasure hunt for the children of Corner Place (after-school program). Children will be invited to find objects related to the action of opening; these objects will then be incorporated into the sculpture. Signatures of participants will be engraved in the sculpture, which will be maintained by UMNA Executive Committee.
K.N.E.W. Ways Arts Project; North East Block Club Alliance
Award: 14,000
Artists: Shawn Dunwoody, Allison Roberts, Michael Watts, and Arturo Hoyte
Location: Free standing mural in the atrium of Mary McCleod Bethune School #45.
Artists will create a freestanding relief mural dedicated to community enrichment. The piece will be interactive, expressing the ideas, creative themes and strategies for further community development. Found objects from the area and textured relief panels will encourage viewer engagement with the piece.
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