Arts organizations in Rhode Island will receive nearly $700,000 in the latest round of grants being distributed by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. The grants support projects by individual artists, arts organizations, schools and educational groups in communities throughout the state. The council awarded $698,388 to 102 applicants. Grants ranged from $88,861 to Trinity Repertory Company for general operating support, to $350 to support artist fees for the Cape Verdean Day Independence ceremonies at Providence’s India Point Park.
State Arts Council director Randall Rosenbaum said the agency received a record number of applications, and was able to support projects “in practically every part of the state, where the arts contribute to the quality of life, the education of our young, and the vitality of our economy.”
Grants include such things as $2,520 to the Bristol-Warren School Department to support a residency with Heidi Carla, a playwright and performance artist, who will work with fourth and fifth grade youngsters; and $3,000 to Project New Urban Arts in Providence, an arts mentoring project for inner city youth.
The State Arts Council also supports the work of individual artists through its fellowship program. This highly competitive program recognizes the work of talented artists in communities throughout the state. Among the recipients were John Belluso of Warwick, who received a fellowship in Playwriting; Karen Donovan of East Providence , who was awarded a fellowship in Poetry; Lydia Perez of Warwick, a Puerto Rican musician, received a fellowship award in Folk and Traditional Arts, a reflection both of her artistic excellence and of the traditional nature of her work.
The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency, supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts organizations and artists, schools, community centers, social services organizations and local governments to bring the arts into the lives of Rhode Islanders.
