The California Arts Council has announced $8.7 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in the state via 10 competitive grant programs. 712 grants will be awarded for programs supporting arts education, underserved communities, veterans and their families, local economic development, arts and community development, creative placemaking, and arts service organizations.
A Fiscal Year 2015–16 permanent state budget increase allowed the California Arts Council to award the largest number of grants provided by the state agency in 14 years, and 225 more awards were made this year than in 2014–15.
These grants, says Craig Watson, director of the California Arts Council, “provide vital support for projects in diverse communities across our state. We are proud to invest in grant projects that will stimulate local growth and prosperity, and meet the needs of our communities through deep engagement with culture and creative expression.”
One award went to Kapwa in San Francisco, which received $10,000 to present the precolonial music, dance, and regalia of the Philippines in their traditional contexts and using the proper protocols of the cultural groups represented. Kapwa’s current repertoire focuses on the Maguindanao and Maranao kulintang (melodic gong ensemble) traditions of Mindanao, and it specializes in educational performances and hands-on workshops that engage audiences and community participants directly.
Some of the other Bay Area grant recipients include:
- ABD Productions, San Francisco, $13,500
- Alameda County Arts Commission, $10,800
- AuCo Vietnamese Cultural Center, San Francisco, $15,000 (supporting masterclasses by Vân-Ánh Võ)
- Chaksam-pa Tibetan Dance & Opera Company, Contra Costa, $10,000
- Chinese Cultural Productions, San Francisco, $8,400
- Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco, San Francisco, $70,000
- CounterPulse, San Francisco, $24,800
- Dance Brigade, San Francisco, $9,600
- Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra, Santa Clara, $10,800
- Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Alameda, $10,755
- Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, Alameda, $10,000
- KALW-FM (San Francisco Unified School District), $56,000
- Lenora Lee Dance, San Francisco, $50,000
- Sewam American Indian Dance, Marin, $10,000