CITY'S COMMITMENT TO ARTS SHOWS IN GRANTS PROGRAM
Many of the arts and cultural activities that engage Phoenix children and adults are supported the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture’s Grants Program. Though this program, the city of Phoenix distributed a total of $988,089 in several grant categories to help fund local non-profit cultural organizations and schools during 2004-05.
The Grants Program provides financial support, which must be matched dollar-for-dollar by the recipient organizations, for programs which directly benefit citizens of Phoenix through broad public access to diverse arts and cultural experiences. Grant award recommendations are made by panels comprised of arts professionals, educators and community members with a variety of professional and cultural backgrounds.
Approximately half of this year’s grants funding, $493,814 is allocated to provide General Operating Support grants to 17 prominent cultural organizations with established histories of creating an artistic foundation for the city of Phoenix. These organizations, such as Ballet Arizona, the Phoenix Boys Choir, and the Heard Museum, offer a range of educational programming and outreach opportunities to Phoenix residents of all ages.
Ballet Arizona, one of
82 local cultural organizations and schools to receive funding through the
Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture, is seen in their recent production of
Ave Maria.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor, courtesy of Ballet Arizona.
Complementing the General Operating Support grants, Capacity Building grants are three-year awards that assist organizations in establishing themselves as secure and growing participants in the Phoenix arts and cultural community. This funding provides support for several emerging groups to build the organizational and administrative infrastructure. In 2004-05, $5,000 Capacity Building grants were awarded to each of six groups including Rosie’s House, which provides free music instruction and instruments on loan to children in low-income and high-risk communities, and the Nebellen Dance Company, which performs club and underground dance styles in traditional dance concert format.
The Office of Arts and Culture, in conjunction with the Civic Plaza Theatre Division’s Phoenix Stages, provides $250,000 in Rental Support grants to nine local groups to assist them with costs related to performances at the Phoenix Stages facilities - Herberger Theatre Center, Orpheum Theatre and Symphony Hall (currently under renovation).
Community Arts Project grants provide funding to specific projects that foster creative development, cultural diversity, social change, and/or increased access to the arts. This year, 49 groups have received a total of $136,888 for programming such as the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections’ Artist-in-Residence program, and Art Awakenings’ programs to provide creative avenues to adults with mental illnesses.
Arts in Education grants, which are awarded to both schools and cultural organizations that work with schools, provided a total of $77,387 to 13 groups and 18 schools to support programs that make the arts an essential and fundamental part of the school curriculum. These grants foster programs that build students' skills and understanding in making art, art in context and art inquiry, reflecting the Arizona Arts Standards. Arts Education grants support artist projects, residencies, after school arts programming and teacher training as part of a project involving Phoenix schools.
The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture’s Grants Program supports a variety of arts organizations and activities, ensuring a diversity of cultural experiences for Phoenix residents and visitors.
