PROVIDENCE – Seventy-three grants, totaling $163,181, were approved by the R.I. State Council on the Arts board Tuesday at the organization’s December meeting.
Tuesday’s grants range in their support of the arts from providing more opportunities for community-based arts access to in-classroom, culturally diverse art education to individual grants for local artists.
Pawtucket-based International Charter School and Providence’s Gilbert Stuart Middle School each received the largest grants, $7,500, for projects they are undertaking. The International Charter School is implementing the Documenting Our Identities project, which shows third-graders how art and visual narrative can be used to explore identity, culture and community. Gilbert Stuart school is undertaking Learning through Storytelling, which promotes awareness of black storytelling in Rhode Island.
The smallest awards approved Tuesday were for $500 and there were six. They were awarded to the following organizations and individuals:
- Melodie Thompson: “A Letter from Coretta” stage play part one (Cranston)
- Shanthi Yogini: Community Dance Project (Pawtucket)
- The Empowerment Factory: Free Art and Creativity Community Saturday Workshops (Pawtucket)
- PC Galleries at Providence College: On the Wall: Elizabeth Corkery (Providence)
- Warwick Center for the Arts: Support for affordable out-of-school time art camps for local youth (Warwick)
- Gerald Shippe: Draw Your World (West Warwick)
“Particularly pleased” with the grants approved Tuesday, in a statement, Randall Rosenbaum, RISCA executive director said: “Programs in arts education and projects that support the work of artists in communities throughout our state contribute to our great quality of life here in Rhode Island.”
A complete list of the December recipients can be found on the RISCA website. Tuesday’s announcement brings the state organization’s 2018 grant total to 414 awards totaling $986,387.
Funds awarded by RISCA are matched by business, individuals and earned income. RISCA receives financial support through annual appropriations from the General Assembly as well as the National Endowment for the Arts.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, gowdey-backus@pbn.com.
