FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Julie Wake, 508-362-0066, ext. 111, jwake@artsfoundation.org
Amount represents increase over last year’s total; 24 recipients will receive funding
January 18, 2018 (Hyannis, MA) – For the second straight year, the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod (AFCC) has increased the amount it has distributed in grants to projects that are strengthening arts and culture in the region.
In this latest round, the AFCC will be funding 24 grants totaling $32,850, up from the $25,000 it distributed last year. “We’ve made a concerted push to boost our fundraising efforts so we can enact real, meaningful change across a broader spectrum of people through our annual grant giving,” AFCC Executive Director Julie Wake said.
Those efforts have allowed the AFCC to not only increase its overall giving, but to increase the number of grantees who benefit from that funding. Last year, 18 artists, businesses, and organizations received grants. This year, that number jumped to 24; the AFCC was able to fully-fund 13 of those requests.
Wake noted that demand for funding has also increased. Last year, there were 36 applicants seeking more than $76,000. This year, there were 51 applicants seeking over $100,000. “We’re seeing a real need from a wide-range of artists and institutions to fund worthwhile initiatives that expose people to the beauty and wonder of art,” Wake said.
As in recent years, she was heartened to see the AFCC fund projects that will utilize arts and culture as a healing mechanism, to empower disenfranchised groups, and to bring together seemingly disparate communities. “There’s a real power the arts can have on us individually and collectively, and I think a number of the proposals we received this year demonstrate that,” Wake said.
This year’s grants include $1,175 that the Alzheimer’s Family Caregiver Support Center will use to fund its multigenerational chorus, whose members include school children, caregivers, community members, and those suffering from memory loss. The Duffy Health Center received $1,000 for a therapeutic art program for homeless individuals at St. Joseph’s House in Hyannis. And Creative Outlets: Finding Your Voice Through Art will conduct a five-month workshop for at-risk youth between the ages of 12-16, exposing them to visual art, writing, theater, music, and more, at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis.
Since 1988, the AFCC has granted more than $1.5 million to nearly 350 individual artists, organizations, and educational institutions on Cape Cod.
Applications for this most recent round of grant funding were submitted in November. A seven-person panel, consisting of AFCC Board Members, AFCC Patrons, and members of the community reviewed submissions. Applicants were notified earlier this month with funds made available immediately.
The following are this year’s grant recipients:
- Alzheimer’s Family Caregiver Support Center, Inc. ($1,175) – Re-Memorable Multigenerational Chorus of Cape Cod whose members include students, community members, caregivers, and those suffering from memory loss.
- Broto: Art & Science Collaborations ($1,000) – The inaugural Broto conference, being held in May in Provincetown, is a joint venture between the Provincetown Art Association & Museum (PAAM) and the Center for Coastal Studies and will focus on art-science collaborations.
- Cahoon Museum of American Art ($1,500) – Streetside, a new annual public art series will feature a large-scale sculpture, created by a Cape-based artist that will be displayed on the front of the museum’s grounds.
- Cape & Islands Workforce Development Board ($1,000) – ArtWorks Program, which pairs up to 40 high school students with local working artists who serve as mentors.
- Cape Cod CAN! ($1,500) – An eight-week art instruction program for over 150 individuals with disabilities and special needs on Cape Cod, resulting in a weekend exhibit/art sale in June at the HyArts Shanties as well as a mosaic featuring John F. Kennedy’s sailboat, Victura, to be permanently displayed at Barnstable Municipal Airport.
- Cape Conservatory ($1,500) – “Sing for Joy” is a free, weekly singing program for individuals living with Parkinson’s disease.
- Chatham Orpheum Theater ($1,000) – A daytime Art and Music Film Series for residents in area nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
- Cotuit Library ($875) – Final year of a two-year series of musical performances and programs in honor of former Cape Cod Symphony Director Royston Nash.
- Creative Outlets: Finding Your Voice Through Art ($2,000) – A five-month workshop in which 20 educators, therapists, and peer mentors will expose 15-20 at-risk students, between the ages of 12-16 years old, to a variety of cultural workshops at the Cape Cod Museum of Art.
- Cultural Center of Cape Cod ($2,000) – Rise and Shine, a program which provides free workshops and one-on-one mentoring to at-risk youth.
- Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School Music Department ($2,500) – Allows all instrumental and vocal students in grades 8-12 to receive extra instruction in the form of private and semi-private group lessons.
- Duffy Health Center ($1,000) – Therapeutic arts program for homeless individuals at St. Joseph’s House in Hyannis.
- Falmouth High School Ceramics ($800) – Students in intermediate and advanced ceramics classes will visit Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary as inspiration for avian-themed ceramic pieces they will create in the classroom. Artwork will be exhibited and sold to raise money for Mass Audubon.
- The Family Pantry of Cape Cod ($1,000) – A summer art program that will allow children to make arts and crafts at the family pantry.
- Fine Arts Work Center ($1,500) – Community Arts Partners in Education (CAPE) which offers free creative writing and visual arts workshops to low- and moderate-income Outer Cape students as well as senior citizens.
- Heritage Museums & Gardens ($3,500) – The museum’s 2018 outdoor sculpture exhibition titled Commemorations, which will run from May through October.
- Judy Laster and John Gamache ($1,500) – The documentary “Made Here: Rebuilding America’s Apparel Manufacturing Industry” which features several apparel makers on Cape Cod.
- Latham Centers, Inc. ($500) – A pianist for 10 rehearsal sessions of the Latham Players, a group of roughly 15 adult performers from the residential program at the Latham Centers.
- Nauset Regional Middle School ($1,000) – A Sustainability Art Show that will allow elementary and middle school students to create artwork focused on the theme of “Sustaining Our Cape.”
- Provincetown Art Association and Museum ($2,000) – The creation and distribution of curriculum; the offering of professional development workshops to educators; and art-making sessions for elementary, middle and high school students, all centered around the museum’s 2017 acquisition of 96 drawings by Edward Hopper and 69 drawings by his wife, Josephine Hopper.
- Rachel Youngling ($500) – Monthly parent/child music program held at Angel House, a family shelter owned by Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) in Hyannis, which serves mothers in recovery and their children.
- Sturgis Public Library ($1,500) – A 12-week introductory fiction writing series for Cape residents ages 16 and older.
- Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill ($1,500) – An expansion of the Center’s Art on Saturdays program for elementary, middle and high school students on the Outer Cape. The newly launched initiative connects science curriculum with the arts.
- Veterans for Peace ($500) – The 23rd Annual Voices for Peace Poetry Contest, a regional competition for students in kindergarten through 12th grade as well as adults.
About the AFCC
The AFCC’s mission is to support, promote, and celebrate the arts and culture of Cape Cod. It fulfills its mission by funding grants, fellowships, and scholarships; by advocating for more awareness on the impact the Cape’s creative economy has on our region and beyond; and by building a strong arts community network through membership.
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