CULTURAL COUNCIL OF PALM BEACH COUNTY
Cultural Development Fund
Small and Emerging Organizations, Community Cultural Projects
Recommended Grant Awards for FY 2015-2016
Grant Period: October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Cultural Development Fund is distributed to small and emerging Palm Beach County based cultural organizations to enhance and expand their cultural programs. Funds are also recommended to other community-based nonprofits where there are cultural projects targeting children within the County, especially underserved populations, and/or organizations that preserve cultural heritages and traditions through the arts and create opportunities for all Palm Beach County residents to experience culturally diverse programs and events. A total fund of$180,000.00 is budgeted for the FY 2015-16 grant period.
Community Organizations with Cultural Projects:
For the Children, Inc.$4,566
For the Children, Inc. offers an afterschool Multicultural Arts Program (MAP) that places an emphasis on visual and non-visual art programming in order to build self- esteem and improve students’ interest in learning. For the Children, Inc. works collaboratively with organizations such as the Lake Worth Playhouse and the Greater Chamber of Lake Worth to help students build confidence and leadership abilities as well as improve academic life skills. This organization serves over 200 students between the ages of 3-18 in the community surrounding downtown Lake Worth. 99% of students that participate in the MAP program are of an ethnic minority and receive free or reduced lunch in school. Grant dollars will be used to fund the MAP program.
Cultural Organizations, Level One:
Boca Raton Community Chorus d/b/a The Boca Raton Singers$2,283
The Boca Raton Community Chorus will be using their grant dollars to put on two major concerts. In December the Chorus will be doing its annual Music and Candlelight Concert and another major concert is scheduled for May.
The Taras Oceanographic Foundation$2,347
Taras Oceanographic Foundation will offer the Ocean of Notes Concert Series as part of their Edu-Tainment programs. The concert series provides people across all income levels with an opportunity to experience live performances while learning about the important research and conservation work done by Taras. The 2015 Ocean of Notes Concert will take place on Friday, December 4th at the Borland Center in Palm Beach Gardens. Grant dollars will be used to cover the venue rental.
Puppetry Arts Center of the Palm Beaches, Inc.$2,411
The Puppetry Arts Center will bring the art form of puppetry into community venues to allow its multi-generational audiences an up close experience with dedicated artists of a unique genre. Performances will include “The Director’s Choice” series and two travelling shows featuring the Center’s volunteer performers. These performances will illustrate the reasons behind the wide appeal of this timeless cultural innovation. Funding will pay for artists’ fees.
Martin Luther King Jr. Coordinating committee of West Palm Beach, Inc.$2,425
The MLKCC holds events in January and throughout the year to serve two purposes: one, to expand the cultural programs for students centered around the principals by which Dr. King lived his life; and two, to utilize, introduce and promote the use of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park, that has become a focal point of many celebrations as it emerges as one of the major cultural sites in Palm Beach County. Over 100 businesses, organizations and individuals remain co-sponsors.
Caribbean American for Community Involvement in Florida, Inc.$2,432
Caribbean American for Community Involvement in Florida, also known as CAFCI will use funding for three different programs: 1) Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in January 2016; 2) Cultural Diversity Day in May 2016; and 3) Youth Talent Showcase in August 2016. These events are unique in the western part of the county and serve people from Belle Glade to West Palm Beach, Jupiter, and Boynton Beach. CAFCI promotes the importance for all citizens of multicultural and ethnic backgrounds to experience, participate, and develop an understanding and appreciation of its diverse community. CAFCI will use the grant money for keynote speakers and marketing and advertising.
Philippine American Society, Inc.$2,460
The Philippine American Society holds an annual Philippine Summer Festival which is held on the first Saturday of June at the South Florida Fairgrounds. It is the cornerstone of this organization’s cultural programming. This festival commemorates the Philippine independence from a 300- year rule of Spanish Colonizers and is celebrated by Filipinos all over the world. The event is for everyone -- 25% of attendees are non-Filipino. An average of 3,000 people attend.
Glades Historical Society, Inc. d/b/a Lawrence E. Will Museum$2,477
Zora in the Glades celebrates the 30-year relation Zora Neale Hurston had with the Glades region of Palm Beach County. An anthropologist who trained with Margaret Meade and Ruth Benedict under Frank Boaz, the “father of American anthropology” at Barnard College and Columbia University, she first traveled to the Glades for folklore research in the 1920s.The museum provides exhibits and programs that explore Zora’s interplay with the Glades. Grant money will be used towards the costs of two public presentations.
Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches$2,503
Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches produces the longest running, traditional Messiah concert in the area which has become a holiday ritual for an increasing number ofPalm Beach County residents. The funds from this grant enable this organization to recruit and contract the best instrumental musicians and soloists. It is the Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches hope that its audience members come away from these performances with greater appreciation for classical music and live music in general.
Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County, Inc.$2,574
The YOPBC offers a complete learning and orchestral experience for its members. Members take weekly classes as well as occasional Master classes. They take part in one of four orchestras for performance experience, advancing to participation in chamber ensembles. Grant dollars are used to compensate conductors and instructors.
Delray Beach Chorale, Inc.$2,609
The Delray Beach Chorale will use its grant funds to put on two major concert series: two winter concert produced in December and two spring concerts produced in April. With the Delray Beach Chorale’s Artists in Residence and Apprenticeship program, it offers young artists the opportunity to learn and perform with a cultural performing arts organization. The grant request will be used to cover a portion of their instrumentalists costs.
Friends of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge$2,631
This organization will use its funding for a free, one- day event, Everglades Day, that helps people better understand the world- renowned Everglades ecosystem. This event attracts an average of 3,200 people from as far away as Puerto Rico and Canada. The theme concept may change from year to year, but the ultimate objective is always the same: educate residents about the Everglades by employing science, art, music, nature and interactive demonstrations. Festivities generally include expert speakers and presenters, hands- on activities and dozens of representatives from nature-focused organizations distributing information.
April is for Authors Foundation, Inc.$2,659
April is for Authors is an event that enables students to interact with writers about creative writing and reading. Authors will give presentations about writing inarea schools. It is a free event, serving thousands of school aged children. This organization will use its grant money to cover travel costs for the authors coming to Palm Beach County in 2016.
Inspirit, Inc.$2,701
Inspirit is an organization that strives to bring the joy of live music and cultural experiences to people living in restricted environments. Inspirit serves about 3,500 people, regardless of their age or backgrounds, who are residing in institutions, who are starved for cultural experiences and are unable to leave their place of residence. Inspirit arranges approximately 10-14 performances per month to visit these institutions hiring local performers of all ages and musical backgrounds. Performances last approximately one hour and are usually highly interactive. The people that Inspirit serves are confined to institutional settings and are isolated from society. Reaching these individuals with live entertainment helps raise their morale and relieve the boredom, loneliness, and despair that are so often a part of institutional life. This organization uses its grant money to pay for artistic services.
Cultural Organizations, Level Two:
Multilingual Language and Cultural Society$4,580
MLCS presents foreign movies in their original language (with English subtitles) once a week at their center located in downtown West Palm Beach. The movies are free and the events are open to the public. MLCS presents mostly European movies, both documentaries and short films, in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, etc.More of a ‘Movie Club’ than just a regular movie, all films are preceded by introduction and followed by a discussion.
Artists Showcase of the Palm Beaches$5,048
Artists Showcase of the Palm Beaches offers a year-long program for students called The Two Centuries of Multicultural Art Program, which meets twice a week after school. The program teaches a historical perspective of African American’s and multicultural artists’ creativity and contributions to the fine arts from slavery to the early Twenty First Century. Artists Showcase of the Palm Beaches will use its grant dollars for art teachers, supplies, trips to local museums, artist lectures, and a graduation ceremony for its students.
Cultural Organizations, Level Three:
Palm Beach Book Festival$6,773
Palm Beach Book Festival will host a two-day event in West Palm Beach beginning April 1st with celebrity author panels. The second day features more panels as well as “meet and greets” with the authors. The program is open to the public and all ages are welcome. Grant dollars will go towards venue rentals on Clematis Street.
Palm Beach County Surfing History Project, Inc.$6,841
Palm Beach County Surfing History Project is creating unique aluminum photo panels that are durable and will last for many years in an effort to bring the history of surfing in Palm Beach County and the local area to people for years to come. The grant dollars will be used for the creation of new panels which will enable them to refresh their current exhibit and also provide them with the flexibility to have more than one exhibit showing at the same time.
Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts, Inc.$7,062
The Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts plans a “Sandcasting for Kids” program involving 3 glass artists who will explain the materials used in sandcasting as well as the science behind the art of glass making before conducting hands-on workshops. The children will also learn about glass production. Grant dollars will be used for materials, guest artists, and marketing.
Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden, Inc.$7,079
Mounts Botanical Garden will host a large-scale sculptural art exhibition to engage visitors and allow them to experience the landscape in a new way using 500,000 LEGO® bricks in a project called “Nature Connects.” There will be 15 sculptures and 13 displays. It’s an interactive exhibit to provide a fun and meaningful vehicle for exposing children and their families to the integrated systems and delicate nature of their natural environment. Grant funds will support the appearance of Sean Kenney, the creator of Nature Connects.
The Middle School of the Arts Foundation, Inc.$7,079
The grant will fund Artist-in-Residence Laura Graham in the Theater Department, and Artist-in-Residence ShakendraMoorer in the Communications Department at Bak Middle School of the Arts. In the upcoming year, the Theater Department will perform at least three full-length plays and two showcases, providing free or low-cost cultural programming to hundreds of members of the community.Bak’s Communications Department offers two showcases which are open to the public, and Ms. Moorer will continue to coach Bak’s award winning Step Team, which performs at many venues in and around Palm Beach County.
Sol Children Theatre, Inc.$7,215
Sol at Slattery allows children to explore the theatre and their own creativity in a structured way. At the same time, the children have a definite end goal; rather than just being in a class or participating in a showcase, the children have the opportunity to produce a show, one that is both age appropriate and fun for the participants and the audience. This year, the two Youth (4-6 years old) shows will be short musicals based on fairy tales, the Tween show (7-9 years old) will be “Disney’s Jungle Book Jr.” and the Teen show (10-14 years old) will be “Shrek Jr.”Moneys from this grant will be used to help defray costs associated with the hands-on teaching of the program.
Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, Inc.$7,317
The Ninth Annual Festival of Trees at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens will be held December 4 – 16, 2015; this year’s theme is The Joy of Holiday Traditions, Celebrating Family Heritage. Meticulously planned and organized, the 1.7 acres of ANSG are transformed from their tropical paradise to “a northern winter wonderland” featuring more than 25 trees that are sponsored by area patrons and businesses and professionally designed by interior and floral designers and artists.
Friends of Sandoway House Nature Center, Inc.$7,402
Friends of Sandoway House will use its grant dollars to hire teachers for its Junior Naturalist Program. This environmental education program now has a new outreach program which allows classes to come to the nature center for little or no cost. Sandoway House provides environmental education programs to 6,000 students a year, many of which are at risk. Children who may have never had the opportunity to experience environmental awareness now have the chance through a low cost/ no cost Jr. Naturalist program.
Delray Beach Playhouse, Inc.$7,487
The Delray Beach Playhouse Children’s Theatre produces quality live theater with children each summer. Using professional set designers, they construct original sets for their productions. Children work with professional directors and choreographers. The children in the cast and backstage gain a real understanding of what live theatre is all about. Delray Beach Playhouse, Inc. offers special payment plans and/or scholarships for those families who could not otherwise afford the camp, but have talented and eager children wanting to be in the show. Grant money will be used for professional services, marketing, and advertising.
Resource Depot, Inc.$7,556
Resource Depot turns waste into wonder through creative reuse, benefitting arts and education in Palm Beach County. Beyond providing alternative art and education supplies, Resource Depot brings “art with an environmental twist” to the public through field trips, community events, exhibitions, and hands-on workshops. The Open Vessel Project is a temporary art installation that complements Resource Depot’s mission by providing an experiential exhibition of transformative reuse. The project will convert an underutilized outdoor space at Resource Depot’s facility into an interactive art piece that incorporates several artistic disciplines, all constructed with reclaimed materials from Resource Depot’s warehouse and discards from the local community.
Flamingo Clay Studio, Inc.$7,573
Sculpting Young Lives in Clay is a program of collaboration between Flamingo Clay Studio and the Art Department/Art Students of Lake Worth High School. This grant will provide for an introductory approach to this student population through in-house classroom projects, adequate introductory supplies, regular workshop visits to our clay studio and educational presentations of the myriad possibilities of wall creations that exist throughout the world. The funding will be used for classroom and studio supplies and tools to be used exclusively by these students.
Delta Heritage Foundation$7,573
The Delta Heritage Foundation offers clinics and workshops for youth and adults of various ethnic backgrounds to provide them with the opportunity to participate in cultural activities and to develop an appreciation for the diversity of our community. It provides an outlet for artistic expression, as well as recognition of how a diversity of music throughout history has enriched our lives. Grant funds will go towards artist fees, space rental, program facility, advertising, and printing