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Mayor Jon Mitchell and Jill Horton-Simms, Chair of the New Bedford Cultural Council, have announced the award of 50 grants totaling $75,036 to support programs in New Bedford that promote education, diversity, and excellence in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences. The grants were awarded from a pool of funds distributed to the City by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency that supports public programs and educational activities in the arts, sciences and humanities.
Grant recipients include programs that connect children and adults with the visual arts, performing arts, interpretive sciences and humanities. A complete list of award recipients is below.
The New Bedford Cultural Council is part of a grass-roots network of 329 local councils that serve every city and town in the state. The program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each local cultural council.
Decisions about which activities to support are made using information received from the NBCC’s annual Community Input Survey by a board of municipally appointed volunteers. The members of the 2013 New Bedford Cultural Council are:Jill Horton-Simms (Chair), Henry Gatlin (Secretary), David Goncalves (Treasurer), Patricia Daughton (Publicist), Josh Amaral, Scott Carola, Patricia Gomes, Isaiah Houtman, Charles Perry, Jr., Deb Smook, Brooke Syvertsen, Pat Coomey Thornton and Terry Wolkowicz.
“I want to thank the 2013 board members for their participation in this process,” said Mayor Mitchell. “They take on the difficult task of deciding how New Bedford’s arts and culture community can make use of these limited resources in the most effective way. Each grant recipient offers programming that will serve to enrich the lives of New Bedford citizens through the arts, sciences and humanities.”
Statewide, more than $2.34 million will be distributed by local cultural councils in 2013. Grants will support an enormous range of grass-roots activities: concerts, exhibitions, radio and video productions, field trips for schoolchildren, after-school youth programs, writing workshops, historical preservation efforts, lectures, New Year’s Eve celebrations, nature and science education programs for families and town festivals. Nearly half of LCC funds support educational activities for young people.
The New Bedford Cultural Council will seek applications again in October 2014. For more information and to download the application, visit www.mass-culture.org/New-Bedford or email newbedfordcc@gmail.com.
This year’s grant recipients include:
- AHA! New Bedford, $2664;
- Art Therapy Inspirational Art for Seniors, Inc., $2000;
- Artworks!, $864;
- Artworks!, $2016;
- 3rd Eye Youth Empowerment, $2880;
- Cape Verdean Recognition Committee, $2000;
- Community Economic Development Center, $1950;
- Culture Park Performing Arts Collaborative, $2000;
- Dennison Memorial Community Center, $1000;
- Ms. Elizabeth Rapoza, $500;
- Gallery X, $1296;
- Gomes Elementary School, $775;
- Global Learning Charter Public School, $600;
- The Marion Institute, $2000;
- New Bedford Art Museum, $1850;
- New Bedford Ballet, $900;
- New Bedford Day of Portugal, $2736;
- New Bedford High School Drama Club, $2880;
- New Bedford Housing Authority, $1,900;
- New Bedford Festival Theatre, $2000;
- New Bedford Folk Festival, $2880;
- New Bedford Historical Society, $1780;
- NBPS Fine Arts Department, $350;
- New Bedford High School Band Boosters, $600;
- New Bedford Open Studios, $2000;
- New Bedford Symphony Orchestra/Friends of NBFPL, $622;
- New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, $1440;
- Reel Serious, $2000,
- Southcoast Children’s Chorus, $350;
- Spinner Publications, Inc., $2000;
- Ms. Teresa Kochis $1138;
- Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE), $648;
- Whaling City Jr./Sr. High School, $1836;
- Whaling History Alliance $1440, and
- Working Waterfront Festival $2,880
Field trip grants requests were a priority for the 2013 Council members and all requests were fully funded. Grants were awarded to the following institutions to benefit school age children: Alma del Mar Charter School, Carney Academy, Jireh Swift School, GNBRVTHS – VoTech., Holy Family Holy Name, Kempton Elementary School, Nativity Prep., New Bedford High School, Our Sisters School, Southeastern Mass. Educational Collaborative, St. James – St. John’s School, Temple Landing Housing, Trinity Day Academy, Whaling City Jr./Sr. High School , William H. Taylor School, Temple Landing Housing After-School Program, and YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts.
