CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION AWARDS $155,411

The Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission announces the award of 54 project grants totaling $148,080 for community arts, cultural, and local history programs and 4 capital grants totaling $7,331, serving an estimated 267,000 area residents.  In the Commission’s first grant cycle of the year, county dollars combined with funds from the American Girl’s Fund for Children, Endres Manufacturing Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Madison Community Foundation’s Arts Access Fund, Overture Foundation, and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation will be matched by over $1.5 million from other sources.  Capital grants awarded to small arts organizations with funds provided to the Commission by the Overture Foundation are matched dollar-for-dollar by the recipients with dollars from other local sources.  The grant recipients follow.

Visual Arts

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, $4,000, supporting Return to Function, a group exhibition by an international roster of artists who seek to encourage meaningful dialogue about global issues and the role of art and design by making artworks that are both useful and conceptual.

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, $3,000, for Art Cart and Art Cart EXTRA!’s free, hands-on, summer arts programs offered at multiple locations such as neighborhood parks and community centers throughout Madison and Dane County.

Chazen Museum of Art, $1,500, in support of The Transformation of Comics into Comix, 1960-1990, an exhibition showing works illustrating how underground cartoonists helped revolutionize society, commercial publishing, and the graphic arts in a thriving comix culture that boldly visualized the dissent and social exploration of the time.

Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, $4,500, supporting its 2^nd environmental film festival and related activities celebrating the power of film as a force for environmental and social change.

Theater

Madison Theater Guild, $1,500, supporting  production of Dale Wasserman’s stage adaptation of Ken Kessey’s novel, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

Music Theatre of Madison, $1,500, for Wisconsin premier of Thrill Me:  The Leopold and Loeb story, a musical theater piece performed by two actors and one piano, appearing in numerous regional theater markets across the country and abroad.

The Madison Savoyards, $4,000, for presentation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Yeoman of the Guard, a British drama showcasing local talent.

Oregon Straw Hat Players, $2,000, for production of timeless Broadway favorite, Once Upon a Mattress.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies in Theatre, $1,500, supporting 2009 Wisconsin Wrights New Play Project, featuring the creation of new work by new Wisconsin playwrights.

Four Seasons Theater, $5,000, in supporting production of Broadway hit, Evita.

University Theatre, $1,500, supporting UW-Madison School Performance Subsidy Program that will present Revolt of the Beavers and related educational programs to local youth. 

Theater Bus, $1,000, for Scholarship Program for Seniors, helping seniors partake of local arts and cultural offerings.

Music

Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, $2,500, for Concerts on the Square with Robert Bonfiglio, featuring leading classical harmonica virtuoso, along with Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, celebrating a local summer tradition.

Capitol City Band Association, $1,500, supporting July 4 Concert on the Square, a free summertime concert during the Dane County Farmer’s Market on Madison’s Capitol Square paying tribute to our troops now and then.

Madison Area Concert Handbells, $1,000, for Baroque and Beyond Spring Handbell Concerts, presenting two concerts featuring the largest handbell ensemble in Wisconsin.

Bridge Lake Point Waunona Neighborhood Center, $500, supporting BLW Summer Concerts, summer outdoor neighborhood concerts featuring a variety of local musicians.

Madison Music Collective, $2,500, for MMC Summer Music Summits, two mini music festivals featuring jazz and improvisational music presented by small ensembles in intimate settings.

con vivo, $500, supporting Romantic Ruminations, spring chamber music concerts showcasing music of German composers.

Prairie Music Academy, $2,500, for Harmony for Kids, a new creative music education and performance program for children at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison.

North/Eastside Senior Coalition, $1,500, for 2009 Summer Concert Series at Warner Park, the 16^th year of an annual event presenting summer entertainment through live music concerts in an informal outdoor setting.

Madison Symphony Orchestra, $4,500, supporting MSO Christmas Spectacular, an annual celebration of the musical talent in Dane County.

Madison Symphony Orchestra, $4,500, for 2009 Fall Youth Concerts, providing a concert experience for several thousand young people showcasing youth competition winners along with Madison Symphony Orchestra.

Token Creek Festival, $5,000,  in support of Token Creek Chamber Music Festival-2009 Season, celebrating the 20^th anniversary of a multi-concert and event festival spanning nine days in late summer.

Madison Folk Music Society, $1,500,  for Folk on State, an informal outdoor summer concert series featuring mostly Dane County, along with, regional folk groups.

Madison Blues Society, $3,500, supporting Madison Blues Society’s 7^th Annual Blues Picnic, the 7^th annual local blues music extravaganza.

Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, $4,500, in support of Haydn Seek:  Summer Chamber Music Festival, the 18^th in the organization’s history presenting serious chamber music with the spirit of fun in multiple venues countywide.

Overture Center for the Arts, $4,000,  for JazzReach Residency, bringing together several Madison resident groups to explore with young people their multicultural and collective identities through the medium of jazz music. 

Madison Early Music Festival, $3,500, for a public concert series featuring world-class performing ensembles specializing in historically informed performance of music from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. 

Jazz at Five, $4,500, supporting a free outdoor concert series of exceptional jazz.

Wisconsin Union Theater, $2,750, in support of Isthmus Jazz Festival, an annual outdoor celebration at Memorial Union Terrace featuring free jazz music performed by local musicians and beyond.

Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, $4,000, for WYSO Bolz Spring 2009 Concerts, celebrating the yearlong accomplishments of youth musicians and featuring winners of the Concerto Competition.

Dance

Kanopy Dance Theatre, $3,000, for Autumn Heart, a concert of modern dance created by local and guests artists including a premier by nationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer Georgia Corner.

Madison Ballet, $ 5,000, in support of Behind the Curtains, presenting to several thousand youth a full performance and educational programming associated with holiday classic, The Nutcracker.

Multidisciplinary Arts/Culture

African Association of Madison, $3,500, supporting Africa Fest 2009, showcasing the experiences of people of African descent through music, arts and culture.

Bayview Foundation, $3,000, for Building Blocks:  an arts and environment project, free programming for youth combining visual arts and environmental studies around the theme of personal responsibility and green choices. 

Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, $4,000, for La Fete de Marquette, the fourth annual free festival featuring French music and culture from around the world.

Julia Steege, $1,500, supporting Using Art to Sow Intercultural Dialogue in Quann Gardens, capturing and showcasing the spirit of an ethnically diverse community garden through presentation of oral histories and art.

Lulu G. Lemery Foundation for Arts and Expression, $2,000, in support of 2^nd Annual Oregon Arts Festival, a community based art festival featuring exhibition, performance and interactive art presentations by local talent.

Village of Mazomanie, $4,000, for Gandy Dancer Festival, celebrating bluegrass music, railroad history, and local culture in Mazomanie.

Dane Dances!, $3,000, for Dane Dances! summer concerts offering live music, dancing, food, and camaraderie on the rooftop of Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.

Sun Prairie Historical Society, $1,000, supporting Sun Prairie Georgia O’Keeffe Event 2009, showcasing art, music and speakers.

Friends of the Arboretum, $2,000, presenting Vanishing Landscapes and Endangered Species, an exhibition, public talk, and papermaking workshops featuring guest artist, Joseph Ingoldsby.

Madison Children’s Museum, $2,000, for Living Stories, summer programming for young children combining written children’s stories with oral storytelling, music, visual arts, and dramatic play.

Madison Children’s Museum, $3,000, for Kids for Peace, an annual celebration of the United Nations International Day of Peace/Hear the Children Day including art exhibition, peace banner workshops, and parade.

Madison Opera, $5,000, in support of Opera in the Park 2009, introducing high quality opera via a free, informal outdoor event for all kinds of opera fans. 

Opera for the Young, $4,000, for The Elixir of Love-Opera for the Young at Heart, presenting lively performances involving youth to older adult audiences in residential settings across the county.

Sarah White, First Person Productions, $1,330,  in support of Meals and Memories in collaboration with the Odyssey Project at UW-Madison, a writing intensive workshop incorporating collaboration, local and personal histories, storytelling, performance, food and recipes.

Arts-in-Schools

Common Arts on behalf of American Players Theatre, $2,000, supporting Student Matinee Series and Teaching Artist Workshops helping several thousand students experience the vivid and dynamic power of theater and language.

Madison Youth Choirs, $1,000, for School Outreach Tours providing opportunities for nine performing choirs to share choral music with their peers in over a dozen schools countywide.

Local History

Mount Horeb Area Historical Society, $1,000, in support of Louis Roedell and the CCC in Dane County Exhibit, in commemoration of the 75^th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Dane County via an artifact and photo display and companion book. 

Capital

Capital City Band Association, $250, for purchase of a manual binder.

Rhapsody Arts Center, $1,000, for purchase of music therapy program equipment.

Madison Blues Society, $1,081,  for purchase of power chords and cord guards.

Friends of Schumacher Farm Park, $5,000, for building improvements.

During this year alone, the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission will award over $450,000 in public-private funds to nonprofit groups, schools, individuals, and municipalities for arts, cultural, and local history programs.  Application deadlines are February 1, June 1, and September 1.  For more information, contact Karen Crossley,