Central Carolina Community Foundation Awards $39,000 in Grants to Arts Organizations
February 7, 2013
COLUMBIA, SC – February 7, 2013 – Central Carolina Community Foundation recently awarded grants to four nonprofit organizations that serve the arts community in the Midlands. The grants are provided through a competitive process from three different funds that are managed by the Foundation: the Pierrine & Hootie Johnson Fund, Pied Piper Fund and Nell V. Mellichamp Fund.
The purpose of the Pierrine & Hootie Johnson Fund is to support premiere cultural arts in the Midlands, while the Nell V. Mellichamp Fund promotes music education and youth. The Pied Piper Fund seeks to support a variety of projects including art, music, dance and youth activities. Since 1987, the total amount of grants awarded from these three field-of-interest funds is $540,668.
The grants awarded to arts organizations include:
Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties: $9,000 for capacity building, board marketplace and scholarships.
The Cultural Council will fund a three part project: 1) offer a series of capacity building workshops for arts administrators and employees/volunteers of arts organizations; 2) establish a Board Marketplace to identify and train potential board members for arts organizations; and 3) provide scholarships for workshop participants to further their professional development through other workshops or conferences.
Columbia City Ballet: $10,000 for the educational outreach program for Holiday Celebrations and the spring production of Snow White.
The Educational Outreach Program (EOP) presents two sets of ballets annually. This coming season, the Columbia City Ballet will present twenty EOP performances of two major productions: Holiday Celebrations Around the World, and The Making of Snow White: From Start to Stage. Teachers and students register for the ballets and are sent curriculum packets created specifically for each production, including the original story of the ballet, and a history of stagecraft and various forms of dance in general. All of the information is presented in a guided format so that teachers are able to utilize the guides — even if unfamiliar with ballet — in their classrooms before their trip to the Koger Center. At the ballet, the groups enjoy $5.00 pricing for seats that would normally cost $45 to $55 each.
The Columbia Museum of Art: $10,000 for Impressionism from Monet to Matisse
Impressionism from Monet to Matisse is a collection of approximately 50 works by some of the most famous names of French Impressionism, including Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Paul Cezanne to name but a few. Not since the Museum’s record breaking 2009 exhibit, Turner to Cezanne, has such a collection of fine masterworks been on view in our community. Monet to Matisse offers the Midlands community and those that travel to the area an opportunity to trace the evolution of modern French painting through the most revered artists of that period. This exhibition represents some of the most important artists of the past two centuries, and a strong cross-section across stylistic lines.
South Carolina Philharmonic: $10,000 to purchase 6,500 soprano recorders for use in the Young People’s Concerts: Orchestra Sings
During the 2012/2013 season, the South Carolina Philharmonic (SCP) will implement its largest and most interactive Young People’s Concert to date. For its second year, the SCP will partner with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Institute in an interactive curriculum and concert experience for students and seniors throughout South Carolina. Students and seniors will each receive a soprano recorder and learn recorder basics, and they will learn about the instruments and sections that make up an orchestra. The students and seniors will participate in group exercises and perform musical pieces, culminating in an interactive concert held at the Koger Center for the Arts in which they will play with the SCP. Participants will receive instruction throughout the year by Nationally Board Certified Teachers, home-school educators, community volunteers, and the SCP’s Education and Outreach Director.
Asked about the Pierrine & Hootie Johnson Fund grant, SC Philharmonic Executive Director Rhonda Hunsinger said, When the children walk into the Koger Center for our Young People’s concerts, their excitement is palpable. Then, when they raise their recorders to join the orchestra, there is a huge sense pride and accomplishment. As one child said to me after the performance, when asked if she enjoyed the concert, ‘I was one of the performers!’
Norree Boyd-Wicks, Executive Director of the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, noted that many arts organizations are looking for board members. The grant to her organization is intended to help build capacity within arts organizations by identifying potential board members, providing a workshop for them to learn the responsibilities of being board members, and host an event to help match possible board members with arts organizations.
The Arts Administrators Institute is an interactive way to network with other arts organizations in discussions led by professionals in subjects such as marketing, board development, strategic planning, and other activities necessary to strengthen the arts organizations, Boyd-Wicks said. It’s a great way to learn from experts and from each other.
About Central Carolina Community Foundation
Central Carolina Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization serving 11 counties in the Midlands by helping charitable individuals and businesses meet the needs of our community. For more information, visit their website at www.yourfoundation.org or visit their Facebook page.
