WPCNR GALLERIA. From Westchester Arts Council. January 21, 2007: As the government in Albany transitions, Westchester’s New York State Legislators will have the opportunity to discuss their views on the arts with our County’s leading arts administrators during The State of the Arts in New York, a conversation with Dean of the Westchester Legislative Delegation Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and members of the Westchester Delegation. An awards ceremony during which the Westchester Arts Council will announce the recipients of its Arts Alive Grants for 2007 will follow the discussion. The event will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 25, in the Grand Banking Room at the Arts Exchange, 31 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains. For more information, please contact Catherine Bruno at (914) 428-4220 x238.
“Edward Hopper once said that ‘Great art is the outward expression of an inner life of an artist,’” remarks Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, D-Greenburgh and Dean of the Westchester Legislative Delegation. “In the same way, ample government funding for the arts is often the outward expression of the interior mechanics and priorities of a legislature. Hopefully, our discussion on January 25th will give local arts leaders a better appreciation of the dynamics of the budget process and better sense of the prospects for arts funding as Albany moves through a transitional period.”
The event will kick off with introductory comments by New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Chairman Richard Schwartz and Assemblyman Brodsky, and will be followed by a Q & A, during which audience members will have the opportunity to hear what their legislators have to say about the state of the arts in Westchester County. Participants include Adam Bradley, Ruth Hassell-Thompson, Suzi Oppenheimer, Gary Pretlow, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Mike Spano. The public is encouraged to come and listen and to ask questions. The Q&A will be followed by a brief awards ceremony in honor of the thirty three Arts Alive grantees, who represent a wide cross-section of Westchester’s cultural community.
Arts Alive Grants are awarded in two categories. Arts Alive Project Grants, which are funded by the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, provide financial and technical support for Westchester-based organizations and artists at the grassroots level. As the name indicates, these grants offer project support rather than general operating funds. Priority is given to emerging cultural groups, ethnically based cultural activities, and services to areas where the need is greatest. In Y2006, funds totaling $50,000 will be awarded to groups located throughout the county. Arts Alive Artist Grants are funded by the Artist Tier of the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts and provide direct support to artists to create original new work related to the community. The variety of projects that received funding - from outdoor heritage festivals and concerts in parks, to painting workshops for seniors, to community theater productions and fully staged operas- truly show that the arts are thriving in Westchester County. (Complete listing of grantees and their projects follows the press release).
“Arts Alive Grants support cultural activities in communities throughout Westchester, a county with over 1 million residents from various cultures and ethnicities,” says Richard Schwartz, Chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). “Grants also support the creation of new work, related to the community, by local artists. This past year alone, almost $60,000 has been allocated to the Westchester Arts Council through NYSCA’s Decentralization program. I would like to commend the Westchester Arts Council for their dedication and service in working in partnership with NYSCA. Together we hope to continue the tradition of a healthy arts environment for Westchester County.”
“I am gratified that the Westchester Arts Council strongly supports the work of community-based, grassroots cultural organizations,” says Judy Matson, Chair of the Arts Council’s Grant Committee and Director of Corporate and Community Relations for Fujifilm U.S.A., Inc. “By promoting partnerships between Westchester artists and their communities, while encouraging the participation of people of diverse backgrounds, Arts Alive Grants help make the arts accessible and meaningful to every sector of our community.”
Westchester Arts Council, founded in 1965, is the largest, private, not-for-profit arts council in New York State. Its mission is to provide leadership, vision, and support, to ensure the availability, accessibility, and diversity of the arts. In 1998, the Arts Council purchased 31 Mamaroneck Avenue, now known as the Arts Exchange, and has since developed the building as a multi-use resource for artists, cultural organizations, and the community.
Y2007 Awardees: Project Grants
1. Western Hemisphere: The African Diaspora. New Rochelle, with African American Art & Cultural Appreciation Council.
2. Soiree Musicale Concert Series. White Plains, with Soiree Society of the Arts with Alliance Francais de Westchester.
3. Westchester Music of the Month Series. Yonkers, with the Artemis Chamber Ensemble.
4. Facing Life. Yonkers, with artist Lily Schor with Blue Door Art Association.
5. Concerts for 2007. Ossining, with Collegium Westchester.
6. Seen and Heard. Croton-n-Hudson, with Croton Teen Theatre with Croton Council on the Arts.
7. Three Philharmonic Matinee Concerts w/ an Original Composition, & the Annual Concerto Winners' Concert. Bronxville, with Fine Arts Orchestral Society of Yonkers.
8. Free Summer Theater in the Parks. White Plains, with the Fort Hill Players.
9. Times of Our Lives. Greenburgh, with Greenburgh Arts and Culture Committee.
10. Kid's Short Story Connection. Greenburgh, with the Greenburgh Arts and Culture Committee.
11. A New Play on the Theme of Cultural Identity. Yonkers, with Hamm & Clov Stage Company.
12. Four Daytime Chamber Music Concerts. Irvington, with Hudson Valley Music Club.
13. Advocacy Theatre. Tarrytown, with Jewish Community Center on the Hudson.
14. Spring Community Outreach Concert. Yorktown Heights, with Kol Rinah.
15. Singing Harp at St. Mark's. Elmsford, with Singin Harp with Lagond Music School.
16. Mainstage Concert Series. Yorktown Heights, with Mainstage Coffeehouse Foundation Corp.
17. Mohegan Colony Storytelling Festival. Crompound, with Mohegan Colony Association Storytelling Festival.
18. The Songs of Praise: Settings of the Te Deum by Dvorak, Haydn and More. Scarsdale, with New Choral Society.
19. Production of Rigoletto. New Rochelle, with New Rochelle Opera.
20. The Drum Call African Drum and Dance Program Mount Vernon with O'bey Foundation.
21. Asian American Heritage Festival 2007. Millwood, with Organization of Chinese Americans.
22. Peekskill Artist District Open Studios. Peekskill, with Peekskill Arts Council.
23. Original Dramatic Adaptation of William Shakespeare's King Lear. Dobbs Ferry, with Red Monkey Theater Group.
24. The Liar Show. Pleasantville, with Deep End Productions with Richard G. Rosenthal Jewish Community Center.
25. Three Saint Thomas Orchestra 2007 Concerts. Mamaroneck, with Saint Thomas Orchestra.
26. American Renaissance and Holiday Series. Ossining, with Sing We Enchanted.
27. Composers of the Future VI. New Rochelle, with Songcatchers, Inc.
28. 2007 Two-Concert Series. Yorktown Heights, with Taghkanic Chorale.
29. Community Concert Series. White Plains, with Westchester Symphonic Winds.
30. Poetry Slam Coffee House-Live @ The White Plains Public Library. White Plains, with White Plains Public Library Foundation.
Y2007 Awardees: Artist Grants
- Jessica DeMauro of Mount Kisco for the com*mu*ni*ty; a ten part evening length dance performance that explores the fundamental aspects that make up the Westchester community
- Hilda Green-Demsky of Larchmont for Creating an Exhibition of the Bronx River as a Great Community Resource in Westchester
- HEARING SPACE: What Our Ears Can Tell Us about Living Right Here, Right Now; a room-sized sound installation designed to make the residents of Westchester more aware and curious about the local auditory environment by artist Bruce Odland of Croton-on-Hudson.
