2009 Grant Awards: Access to Artistic Excellence

[ August 11, 2008 deadline ]

Dance | Design | Folk & Traditional Arts | Literature | Local Arts Agencies
Media Arts | Museums | Music | Musical Theater | Presenting | Theater
Visual Arts

Some details of the projects listed below are subject to change, contingent upon prior Endowment approval.

Folk and Traditional Arts

Alabama Folklife Association, Inc. (Consortium)
Birmingham, AL
$25,000
To support continued fieldwork and documentation of traditional artists and artistic resources. In collaboration with the Alabama State Arts Council, the documentation will be used to develop public programming locally, regionally, and nationally.

Allegheny Echoes, Inc.
Marlinton, WV
$5,000
To support a workshop that will instruct the region's youth in traditional Appalachian music and poetry. The project is dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of the traditional arts of West Virginia and Appalachia.

Alliance for California Traditional Arts
Fresno, CA
$30,000
To support the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. The project will encourage the continuance of significant traditional arts within cultural communities while providing public visibility for those artists and art forms.

Alliance for California Traditional Arts (Consortium)
Fresno, CA
$35,000
To support a program for consultancies, mentorships, and technical assistance for folk artists and organizations. In partnership with the California Arts Council, the project will support the Alliance's administrative capacity.

American Focus, Inc. (Consortium)
Charlottesville, VA
$30,000
To support the documentary film Heartland Passage. In collaboration with the Cultural Resources Council of Syracuse and Onondaga County, the project will highlight the folk culture of the 20th- and 21st-century Erie Canal.

American Folklore Society, Inc.
Columbus, OH
$45,000
To support the Next Steps Development Program. The project will support technical assistance consultancies for community-based folk arts organizations and cultural specialists.

Anila Sinha Foundation for Promotion of Arts and Culture of India
Elk Grove Vlg, IL
$5,000
To support the Second International Kathak Festival. The festival will present a program of lectures and performances from the Kathak tradition of Northern India.

Arkansas State University
State University, AR
$25,000
To support the Arkansas Folkife Program. The project will document traditional arts and artists in the state and present the information through publications, recordings, and public programs.

Arts and Cultural Council of the Twin Counties (Consortium)
Galax, VA
$12,000
To support the documentary film From Wood to Singing Guitar about NEA National Heritage Fellow guitarist and luthier Wayne Henderson. In collaboration with Appalshop, Inc., the film will be distributed to public broadcast affiliates.

Arts Center of Cannon County
Woodbury, TN
$25,000
To support a project to document sacred music traditions. Vernacular music from the region's ethnic religious traditions will be recorded and made available to the public.

Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, Inc.
Fort Wayne, IN
$20,000
To support a Statewide Traditional Arts Resources and Training (START) program. The program will identify and preserve the cultural traditions of the region.

Bowery Arts and Science, Ltd. (Consortium)
New York, NY
$30,000
To support a series of community screenings of DeAf Jam, a documentary about deaf teenage poets who express themselves using American Sign Language. In collaboration with Living Archives, the project will develop a DVD, curriculum guide for educators, and Web site.

Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc.
Brooklyn, NY
$30,000
To support Black Brooklyn's Renaissance: Black Culture/Black Performance 1960-2010. The project will include performances, workshops, and demonstrations.

California Indian Storytelling Association
Fremont, CA
$10,000
To support the Storytelling Festival and Symposia: Following Ancient Trade Routes 2010. The project will facilitate a cultural exchange between Native story tellers from California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and New Zealand.

Cambodian-American Heritage, Inc.
Fort Washington, MD
$10,000
To support dance and music instruction in the Cambodian traditional arts. The project will preserve traditional arts for Cambodian American youth as well as present Cambodian art and culture to the community.

Carter Family Memorial Music Center, Inc. (aka The Carter Family Fold)
Hiltons, VA
$15,000
To support professional curators/registrars to catalog the collections in the Carter Family Memorial Museum. The project will include plans for stabilizing the collection, prioritizing preservation, and developing an exhibit plan for the museum.

Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces Foundation (on behalf of Las Cruces International Marichi Conference)
Las Cruces, NM
$10,000
To support the Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference. The conference will perpetuate traditions of mariachi music and Mexican folkloric dance through workshops, performances, and a festival.

Center for Traditional Music and Dance, Inc.
New York, NY
$30,000
To support the Community Cultural Initiatives. The program will identify, document, and present traditional artists from immigrant and ethnic neighborhoods throughout the New York City metropolitan area.

Center for Traditional Music and Dance, Inc. (Consortium)
New York, NY
$30,000
To support a project that will document and present Yiddish performing traditions found in New York City. In collaboration with the Center for Jewish History, the project will promote the vitality and continuity of these forms through concerts, lectures, and participatory workshops.

Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc. (aka Cherokee Heritage Center)
Tahlequah, OK
$15,000
To support a conservation survey of the Cherokee basket and painting collections. The project will employ the services of a professional curator to ensure that the artistic works and cultural traditions are properly preserved.

Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company
San Francisco, CA
$30,000
To support Traditions Engaged, an international festival and symposium of Indian dance forms. The project will be held in San Francisco and Los Angeles and bring dancers, critics, scholars, and the public together to discuss and present the seven forms of classical Indian dance.

City Lore, Inc. (Consortium)
New York, NY
$35,000
To support River of Rhyme: Poetry Duels in the Americas. In collaboration with Rattapallax, the project will present a series of improvised poetry dueling traditions: the Arabic zajal, the Trinidadian extempo, and the Brazilian desafio.

City of Tarpon Springs, Florida (on behalf of Tarpon Springs Cultural Treasures Program)
Tarpon Springs, FL
$20,000
To support the documentation and presentation of the traditional Greek culture of Tarpon Springs. The project will support a fieldwork survey; the curation, design, and fabrication of an exhibit on Greek folklife; and public programs.

Cityfolk, Inc.
Dayton, OH
$20,000
To support the 2009 Cityfolk Festival and Culture Builds Community project. The project will include the 13th annual traditional music, dance, and arts festival and the continuation and expansion of residency programs for folk artists.

Cultural Resources, Inc.
Rockport, ME
$20,000
To support Artists-of-the-Forest. The project will include a regional fieldwork survey to identify and document traditional artists in the Northern Forest region and organize artists' gatherings in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Curators of the University of Missouri at Columbia (Consortium)
Columbia, MO
$30,000
To support the 25th anniversary of the Missouri Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. In collaboration with the Missouri Arts Council, the project will support master/apprentice partnerships to preserve artistic traditions.

Davis & Elkins College
Elkins, WV
$25,000
To support the Augusta Heritage Center's Traditional Arts and Crafts Program. The project's education, presentation, and documentation will encourage and perpetuate the folk arts of West Virginia.

Documentary Arts, Inc.
Dallas, TX
$40,000
To support the touring exhibit Masters of Traditional Arts. The exhibit will celebrate the lives and careers of folk and traditional artists who have been awarded the NEA National Heritage Fellowship between 1982 and 2008.

Florida Department of State/ Division of Cultural Affairs (on behalf of Florida Folklife Program)
Tallahassee, FL
$30,000
To support the Florida Folk and Traditional Arts program. Core activities will include fieldwork, the Folklife Apprenticeship Program, the re-issue of recent field recordings of African American traditional music, and a major exhibit on Florida's ranching traditions.

Folkstreams, Inc. (aka Folkstreams.net)
Delaplane, VA
$35,000
To support the preservation of and public access to documentary films about American traditional arts and culture. The project will add new films to the Folkstreams Web site.

Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
$30,000
To support the Contemporary Folk Traditions Traveling Exhibition. The project will create touring exhibit panels that celebrate exceptional traditional artists from Indiana and augment them with online resources and public presentations.

Institute for Community Research, Inc.
Hartford, CT
$20,000
To support activities conducted by the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CHAP), the official statewide folk arts program. For 20 years, CHAP has completed fieldwork and public programming throughout the state.

International Bluegrass Music Museum, Inc. (aka Bluegrass Museum)
Owensboro, KY
$25,000
To support the Video Oral History Project. The program will document musicians and significant individuals who pioneered and shaped bluegrass music.

Kalihi-Palama Culture & Arts Society, Inc.
Honolulu, HI
$5,000
To support the Kalihi-Palama Folk Arts Training Program. The project will provide accessible folk and traditional dance and crafts training classes to the community.

Karuk Tribe of California
Happy Camp, CA
$10,000
To support the Cultural Survival Through Education and Awareness program. The project will encourage basketweaving and other traditional Karuk Native American arts.

Kayamanan Ng Lahi Philippine Folk Arts
Culver City, CA
$10,000
To support the Philippine Dance Gathering and Workshops. The project will preserve and promote Philippine folk dance and music.

Kentucky Historical Society
Frankfort, KY
$35,000
To support the 2009 Kentucky Folklife Festival. The project will present the artistic and cultural traditions that represent the diverse folk heritage of Kentucky.

Khmer Arts Academy
Long Beach, CA
$10,000
To support Cambodian classical dance training. The project will support instruction in Cambodia's most enduring art form.

Kunqu Society, Inc.
Whitestone, NY
$10,000
To support the presentation of The Butterfly Dream. The project will include a full performance of the 16th-century drama, as well as a workshop and lecture/demonstration related to the opera.

La Troupe Makandal, Inc.
Brooklyn, NY
$10,000
To support the Tanbou program. The project will include classes in traditional Haitian music and dance for children.

Local Learning: The National Network for Folk Arts in Education (aka National Network for Folk Arts in Education) (Consortium)
New York, NY
$25,000
To support the Louisiana Folk Artist Integration Pilot Project. In collaboration with the Acadiana Arts Council of Lafayette, Louisiana, the project will involve the development of a replicable model integrating folk arts and folk artists into grades four and five in Lafayette Parish public schools.

Local Learning: The National Network for Folk Arts in Education (aka National Network for Folk Arts in Education)
New York, NY
$45,000
To support arts learning programming. The project will sustain and expand folk arts in education by working with cultural organizations and schools to coordinate folklorists, folk artists, educators, and students nationwide.

Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center (Consortium)
San Pablo, CA
$25,000
To support the Cultures of Mexico Outreach program. In collaboration with Region 1, the Migrant Education Program, this project will use traditional Mexican music and dance to examine cultural identity among Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans and educate youth and adults about Mexico's cultural contributions to America.

Los Pleneros de la 21, Inc.
New York, NY
$20,000
To support the Puerto Rican Music Project. The program will include a touring and residency project, bomba and plena community workshops, Fiesta de Cruz, and a Fiesta Navidena.

Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance
Old Town, ME
$30,000
To support a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program and the Maine Indian Basketmakers Gathering/Festival. The project will support basketmakers and apprentices in traditional ash and sweetgrass basketry of Maine's Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Penobscot tribes.

Mainstreet Uptown Butte, Inc.
Butte, MT
$30,000
To support the First Peoples Gathering at the 71st National Folk Festival. The project will present a display and demonstration of the art and culture of Montana's Native people to the public.

Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders
New York, NY
$15,000
To support the Mexican Immigrant Artist Portal. The project will create a fully functional Web site that highlights Mexican immigrant artists in New York City.

Mexican Folkloric Dance Company of Chicago
Chicago, IL
$10,000
To support Mexican folkloric dance performances. The project will bring professional artists, with live music accompaniment, into neighborhoods and schools.

Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural & Sports Centre, Inc. (aka Catskills Irish Arts Week)
East Durham, NY
$25,000
To support the Catskills Irish Arts Week. In its 15th year, the project will support a summer school devoted to promoting and preserving traditional Irish music, song, and dance.

Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
$30,000
To support the 2009 Apprenticeship and Heritage Program. The project will support master-apprentice pairs, partial support of a program coordinator, and an update of an exhibit celebrating the programs.

Minnesota Bluegrass & Old Time Music Association
Minneapolis, MN
$20,000
To support the Bluegrass Review. The project will support a weekly one-hour radio show that presents bluegrass music in multiple contexts.

Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, Inc.
Port Gibson, MS
$25,000
To support a Quilting Apprentice Program, with a quilt show and a quilt retreat. The project will facilitate mentorships, an exhibit of quilts from neighboring states, and a conference on quilting.

Missouri State University
Springfield, MO
$15,000
To support the Gordon McCann Collection Digitization Project. The project will digitize analog recordings of traditional Ozark fiddle music.

National Council for the Traditional Arts (Consortium)
Silver Spring, MD
$45,000
To support Music From the Crooked Road: Mountain Music of Virginia, a tour of old-time, bluegrass, and mountain gospel music and flatfoot dance. In collaboration with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the project will deliver concerts and educational programs to the mid-Atlantic region.

Nebraska Folklife Network, Inc.
Lincoln, NE
$30,000
To support the Folk and Traditional Arts Infrastructure Project. The project will support efforts to build and maintain a strong and lasting folk and traditional arts organization for Nebraskans.

New York City Department of Education, Community School District 28, Region 3
Flushing, NY, NY
$25,000
To support Exploring Cultures through the Arts. The project will support a program for teachers to integrate folk arts and artists in the classroom.

New York Folklore Society, Inc.
Schenectady, NY
$30,000
To support folklore development throughout the state. The program will provide professional services to folk artists and folk arts organizations, as well as targeted field and ethnographic research.

North Carolina Folklife Institute (Consortium)
Durham, NC
$25,000
To support the Community Folklife Documentation Institute. In collaboration with the North Carolina Arts Council, the project will support a training session for community-based documentation.

North Carolina Folklife Institute
Durham, NC
$30,000
To support the Infrastructure Program. The project will facilitate folklife and heritage initiatives in the state.

Northwest Heritage Resources (Consortium)
Mountlake Terrace, WA
$30,000
To support the Folk and Traditional Arts Infrastructure program. The project, in collaboration with the Washington State Arts Commission, will expand and develop awareness of heritage traditions throughout the state.

Oklahoma Historical Society (Consortium)
Oklahoma City, OK
$25,000
To support the Oklahoma Folklife Infrastructure program. In collaboration with the Oklahoma Folklife Council, the project will support activities that will strengthen and perpetuate Oklahoma's folklife.

Old Town School of Folk Music, Inc. (Consortium)
Chicago, IL
$30,000
To support the Cultural Heritage Project. In partnership with the Kalaoriya Foundation, the project will strengthen relationships with immigrant communities to better preserve and present their artistic traditions.

Philadelphia Folklore Project
Philadelphia, PA
$30,000
To support the Folk Arts House program. The project will include technical assistance workshops for folk and traditional artists and will feature local artists presenting their work in small settings.

Public Art Films, Inc. (Consortium)
New York, NY
$35,000
To support the film Let's Get the Rhythm. In collaboration with The Point Community Development Corporation, the project will document and interpret a wide variety of children's handclapping games.

Refugee Family Services, Inc.
Stone Mountain, GA
$10,000
To support Our Living Art. The project will document refugee artists and examine how the refugee experience influences their art.

St. Andrews Center
Chattanooga, TN
$10,000
To support the Latino Arts Project. The project will identify and document local Latino culture while also producing public programming and educational workshops.

Traditional Arts in Upstate New York, Inc. (aka TAUNY)
Canton, NY
$20,000
To support TAUNY on the Web. The project will make substantial upgrades to the Web site.

Venture Richmond
Richmond, VA
$25,000
To support the Richmond Folk Festival. The project will support an event designed to capitalize on the success of the National Folk Festival's three-year run in Richmond.

Vermont Folklife Center
Middlebury, VT
$25,000
To support the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. The project will ensure the continuity of folk and traditional arts by matching dedicated apprentices with accomplished older artists in face-to-face settings.

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy (aka Virginia Folklife Program)
Charlottesville, VA
$30,000
To support the Folklife Apprenticeship Program. The program will ensure that Virginia's folkways continue by engaging new learners and reinvigorating master practitioners.

Ward Foundation, Inc. (aka Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art)
Salisbury, MD
$20,000
To support Carving Out Future Decoy Makers at the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art. The project will work with regional arts organizations and master decoy makers throughout the United States to facilitate the training of aspiring carvers in creating functional hunting decoys.

Washington Chu Shan Chinese Opera Institute, Inc.
Silver Spring, MD
$15,000
To support performances of Chinese opera. The project will present both south Chinese opera in the Huang style and north Chinese opera in the Mei style, allowing audiences to compare differences between the two important genres.

Westchester Arts Council, Inc. (aka ArtsWestchester)
White Plains, NY
$25,000
To support the Latin American Arts Initiative. The project will support a series of public programs of Latin American folk and traditional arts in the communities of Westchester County.

Western Folklife Center
Elko, NV
$40,000
To support Southeast Cowboys. The project will present ranching culture from the Florida "cracker cowboys" and the Louisiana "swamp cowboys" at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

World Music Institute, Inc. (Consortium)
New York, NY
$35,000
To support the World Music America Touring Project. In collaboration with World Music, Inc., the project will present national tours of ensembles that represent the cultural traditions from Africa, Pakistan, the Middle East, and China.

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506

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