[Fayetteville, North Carolina] – The Arts Council of Fayetteville|Cumberland County (Arts Council) completed another Mini Grant cycle awarding $31,801 to six nonprofit organizations and nine contracted artists in Cumberland County for various local cultural arts projects that take place through December 2022.
Forty-three applications were submitted for the June 2022 Mini Grant cycle requesting just over $80,000 to fund arts, culture, and history projects in Cumberland County. An Artist Panel reviewed individual artist applications while the Board of Trustees Grants Assessment Committee, chaired by Dr. Kenjuana McCray, reviewed nonprofit applications and recommendations from the Artist Panel. Fifteen applications were recommended for funding. On Tuesday, July 12, the Arts Council’s Board of Trustees accepted the recommendations and awarded $31,801 in Mini Grants to fifteen applicants.
“$31,801 is the largest awarded amount for a single Mini Grant cycle,” says Sarah Busman, Arts Education Manager for the Arts Council. “These projects demonstrate the artistic excellence and innovation we hold as two of our core values.”
The Mini Grant program was created in 2019 to help fund creative arts, culture, or history-based projects, activities, and events. Awards range from $500 to $3,000 and are supported in part by the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and the North Carolina Arts Council. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, the Arts Council will disburse $130,000 throughout Cumberland County for Mini Grant funded cultural arts programs. The Mini Grant is a quarterly program with the next deadline on September 15, 2022.
Funded Mini Grant projects approved in July include:
NONPROFITS
Fayetteville Dogwood Festival
Fayetteville After Five is a summer concert series with an entertainment lineup that performed on July 15, 2022. The Mini Grant funds supported artist fees for the Throwback Collaboration Band that performed on that date.
First Nations Tribal Youth Development Corporation
Native Arts Youth Class at Stoney Point Recreation Center is a weekly class that teaches youth about indigenous culture and arts. The Mini Grant funds support art materials for their Drum Making Class.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
Middleground Art Series features various concerts, visual art installations, and dance performances. The Mini Grant funds support contracted artists throughout the series.
Latinos United for Progress
The launch of the video culture series, Historias Latinas en Fayetteville, will feature curated cultural stories from Fayetteville’s Latino community. The Mini Grant funds will support video production costs and materials.
Lafayette Society of Fayetteville
The yearly Lafayette French Music Concert is scheduled for September 8, 2022. The Mini Grant funds will support local artist fees.
ServiceSource
Bloom is an art therapy program that helps adults with disabilities foster creativity and increase self-esteem. The Mini Grant funds support a certified art therapy instructor.
CONTRACTED ARTISTS
All American Jazz Collective
This musical group presents a Jazz and Art Concert on August 6, 2022, showcasing amazing jazz musicians and vocalists. The Mini Grant funds will support artist fees.
Frances Ellerbe
This vocalist will lead a weekly Community Choir Rehearsal at the Fort Bragg Main Post Chapel that will culminate in a performance on November 6, 2022. The Mini Grant funds will support artist fees and production costs.
Mary J Ferguson
This author will lead a two-hour Poetry Reading and Class session on creative and autobiographical poetry based around her published poem “2020.” The Mini Grant funds will support materials and marketing for the class.
Angelicia Hicks
This theater artist will present a staged Monologue Performance reading of original monologues. The Mini Grant funds will support production materials, venue rental, and actor stipends.
Matthew Jackson
This producer is starting a monthly Fayetteville Comedy Night production featuring various Cumberland County comedians. The Mini Grant funds will support artist contracts, marketing, and venue rental.
Tatiana Pless
This actress and theater specialist will use her connection to the Fayetteville Cumberland Reentry Council to start “The Fourth Wall,” a theater company for formerly incarcerated individuals. The Mini Grant funds will support production and material costs.
Joanice Serrao
This designer will use her fashion collection “Coal Miners” to teach a six-course Community Sewing Class. The Mini Grant funds will support materials for the classes.
Meredith Talian
This visual artist is producing the “The Fayetteville Little Art Box,” a free mini gallery that mimics a Little Free Library. The Mini Grant funds will support a local carpenter to build the box and art supplies for the box.
Ayana Washington
This performance organizer presents the Book Black Women’s “The Blueprint,” a concert featuring talented vocalists and an operatic soloist on August 13, 2022. Mini Grant funds support artist fees.
APPLY FOR A MINI GRANT
Interested applicants that meet eligibility requirements may apply for a Mini Grant from the Arts Council. The NEXT APPLICATION DEADLINE IS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2022. Download the complete Mini Grant Guidelines and Application at www.theartscouncil.com/mini-grants.
UPCOMING MINI GRANT WORKSHOPS - INFO SESSION
The Mini Grant Workshop is an informational session to learn about the Grant Application Process, Program Guidelines, Workshop Writing Samples, and Q&A. RSVP is required to attend.
For Individual Artists Applicants:
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
5:30 pm at The Arts Center, 301 Hay Street in Downtown Fayetteville
For Nonprofits and Municipal Entities Applicants:
Thursday, September 1, 2022
12:00 pm via Zoom
Questions or to register for a workshop, contact:
Sarah Busman, Arts Education Manager
910-323-1776 ext 1011
About the Arts Council of Fayetteville|Cumberland County
The Arts Council of Fayetteville|Cumberland County is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization based in Fayetteville, NC that supports individual creativity, cultural preservation, economic development, and lifelong learning through the ARTS. As a primary steward of public and private funding for arts, cultural, and historical activities in the Cape Fear Region, all affiliated programs of the Arts Council exemplify our 5 core values: Excellence, Accountability, Transparency, Collaborations, and Innovation. theartscouncil.com
In the year 2021-22, the Arts Council distributed almost $1 million in grant funds and allocations to Cumberland County arts and culture non-profit organizations, artists, and municipalities.
Grants, programs, and services of the Arts Council are funded in part by contributions from community partners, and through grants from the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. ncarts.org
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