Bloomington Arts Commission Announces Spring 2011 Arts Project Grant Program Recipients

For Immediate Release

April 26, 2011

For more information, please contact:

Miah Michaelsen, Assistant Economic Development Director for the Arts, City of Bloomington, 349.3534

The City of Bloomington Arts Commission announces its April 2011 grant recipients. Grants for up to $1,000 are made available to nonprofit organizations participating in arts activities that align with current areas of focus of the Arts Commission: to cultivate a community in which residents appreciate the value of personal and collective artistic activity; to encourage collaboration in and diversification of artistic activities that include participants from across the community; to enhance and support a high level of artistry; and to support the economic vitality and interests of local artists and arts organizations. 19 organizations in the Bloomington community submitted grant applications for specific arts programs and were evaluated in four categories: artistic quality, community impact, organizational capacity and project history. The following 11 organizations received the highest ranking and were granted funding for the April grant round:

BCT Management, Inc., $689.38 for "Breaking Away: A Bloomington Celebration" which will include a screening of the film, a guided bike tour of locations and a short film competition.

Bloomington Chamber Singers, $613.72 for their annual performance of Handel's "Messiah".

Bloomington Early Music Festival, $641.98 for their annual festival which will coincide with Indiana University Themester's "Making War, Making Peace."

Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington, $659.24 for their summer project "Arts and the Environment" which will use themes of nature to teach art techniques and how nature affects daily life.

Cardinal Stage Company, $729.88 for an outreach and research initiative of untold stories from Bloomington WW II veterans to be presented in essays and multi-media displays.

Friends of the Monroe County Public Library, $678.08 for a biennial series entitled "The Power of Words" which showcases authors and speakers who capture the hearts and minds of the Bloomington community.

Ivy Tech-Waldron Arts Center, $709.47 for a series of playful, interactive art installations exploring the economic impact of the arts in Bloomington.

Lotus Education & Arts Foundation, Inc., $797.37 for their Lotus Village Outreach Project which will engage underserved children and adults in the creation of a community labyrinth for the 2011 Lotus Music & Arts Festival.

TEDx Bloomington, $676.51 to support 15 scholarships to their TEDx conference for local artists.

Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, $637.27 for the exhibit "Bloomington Katmandu: From Cornfields to Ricefields" which will bring artwork from all over the world to Bloomington and explores the concept of "home" in the 21st Century.

Windfall Dancers, Inc., $667.10 for their voucher program that provides residents of Middle

Way's The Rise Transitional Housing with access to free dance classes offered at Windfall's dance studio.

The next cycle of applications for Arts Project Grants will be due October 1, 2011. For more information on the Bloomington Arts Commission or its grant program, visit http://bloomington.in.gov/bac.

For more information, contact Miah Michaelsen, Assistant Economic Development Director for the Arts, at michaelm@bloomington.in.gov or (812) 349-3534.