WS Chronicle

SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County has made 12 grants in its third round of 2016-2017 awards made through its Wells Fargo Community Enrichment Mini-Grant program.

These grants provide community groups and individuals with grants up to $500 to infuse the arts into all segments of the community, promote creativity, provide greater access to the arts and bring people together.

“These spring mini-grants will support an array of community-wide arts events, programs, and support new partnerships” said Dara Silver, Grant Program Manager for The Arts Council.  “We continue to be inspired by the creative ideas coming from individuals, community organizations, and businesses that have the desire to make a difference in our community through the arts.”

Winston-Salem, known as a City of Arts and Innovation, and Forsyth County have a robust arts community that enriches the lives of area residents every day and accounts in large part for the recognition they continue to receive as a great place to live, learn, work and play. The Arts Council raises funds and advocates for the arts, sponsors events in conjunction with other arts organizations, promotes and funds arts education, creates cultural and learning opportunities, develops social capital and aids economic development.   This program is sponsored by Wells Fargo.

The selected projects provide innovative ways to infuse the arts into our community.  The winning projects are:

*The ArtWSNC will collaborate with photographer Kristin Minotti to produce a series of work and exhibition entitled, “Femininity In The Raw,” that will feature portraits of local female artists and creators and reflect on what it means to be both a woman and an artist in Winston-Salem.

*Associated Artists of Winston-Salem new discussion series, “Art &”, will feature community conversations that bridge how the visual arts are connected to everyday themes such as religion, diversity, health and history to create a deeper sense of individual and community under-standing.

*City of WS Recreation & Parks Department will work with children in its after school programs to create murals featuring diversity, sports, arts and technology to display at five recreation centers.

*CNOTE (Create Nothing Other Than Excellence) Foundation will host “Spring in the City: Fresh Air Kickback” on April 7 at Bailey Park. The event will feature a variety of musicians (hip-hop, soul, and pop music), food trucks, beer and wine, and arts and cultural vendors.

*Diane Faison-McInzie will present her one-woman performance, “The Spirit of Harriet Tubman”, to three historically African American churches in Winston-Salem.  Each performance will feature community talks about the performance and the life of Harriet Tubman.

*Family Support Network (at The Centers for Exceptional Children) will bring in artists to work with their Sibshops program, a family support program for children who have siblings with a disability, to use art as a means to increase self-awareness and self-expression.

*Forsyth Education Partnership will present its 9th annual Poet Laureate competition for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools high school students on April 27.

*Makenna Iselin, a high school junior and American Heritage Girl, will create a resource closet at the Salvation Army Center of Hope that will contain arts-based educational and developmental toys for homeless children and their families to use at the shelter.

*Paideia, a multi-disciplinary collaboration of dance artists and musicians, will perform at the second annual On Site/In Sight, a free three-day dance festival open to the public May 4 – 6 in down-town Winston-Salem.

*River Run International Film Festival’s May RiverRun Retro program entitled Controversial Classics will present the 1956 film, Baby Doll, based upon the play by Tennessee Williams and discussion with the film’s actress Carroll Baker and film historian Foster Hirsch.

*SECCA in collaboration with ABC of NC Child Development Center and The Engaging Educator will work with youth on the autism spectrum to create an exhibition of art-work that will be on view March 31-April 28 in celebration of Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month.

*The Enrichment Center will host a gallery opening and reception for their exhibition “Enchanted” on March 24 featuring a variety of art-works made by artists of The Gateway Gallery and a community artist.  The exhibition will be on view through May 12.

The Arts Council has awarded 71 mini-grants totaling $35,500.  The next due date for mini-grant applications is Friday, April 28 by 5 p.m. for projects taking place June 1 -August 31, 2017.

For more information, contact Dara Silver, Senior Administrative Assistant, Special Projects, and Grant Program Manager at 336-747-1426 or dsil-ver@intothearts.org