The California Arts Council has announced a grant award of $18,000 to Shakespeare Youth Festival as part of its Impact Project program in its first round of funding for 2022.
Thanks to this generous support, in Fall 2023, we will launch a multigenerational community project between our students, and elder members of the West Adams community, consisting of meaningful interviews transformed into short plays, spoken word, poetry, monologues culminating in free performances for the community.
“The pandemic created a risk of isolation and depression in many of our community’s elders – as life moved ‘online,’ seniors, especially low-income seniors, risked being left out of many of the activities that would normally have provided them with connection,” says Blaire Baron, our Artistic Director. “Now that we can begin emerging out of our isolation, we want to send a message to them that we value their experience, their memories, and their wisdom. Being seen and heard, having one’s story told for others, and acknowledgement from one’s community is a profound stabilizing, healing and uplifting event.”
In addition, Shakespeare Youth Festival will receive a General Operating grant of $28,500. We are deeply grateful for this support, which will enable us to continue to expand our programs to pre-pandemic levels and beyond.
Shakespeare Youth Festival was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council, with grant awards for its Cycle A programming totaling more than $31 million across more than 1,100 grants supporting nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state. The dollar amount already marks the largest annual investment in the California Arts Council’s 46-year history.
“We are elated today to be able to say that, with this first round of funds, we are placing a historic amount of money into the very worthy hands of California’s arts and cultural workforce—and with more yet to come,” said California Arts Council Chair Lilia Gonzáles-Chávez. “We have long since understood the value of our artists in this state, and we are incredibly grateful to our Governor and our Legislature for their support and sharing in a like-minded vision for a California where all people flourish with access to and participation in the arts.”
Organizations were awarded grants across seven different program areas within Cycle A, focused on the CAC’s efforts to address geographic equity, enable autonomy and sustainability for smaller organizations, and grow the strength of local arts agencies and their partnerships.
To view a complete listing of all California Arts Council grantees by county, visit this link.
For a complete listing of grantees by organization, go to this link.
The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.
Members of the California Arts Council include: Lilia Gonzáles-Chávez, Chair; Consuelo Montoya, Vice Chair; Gerald Clarke, Vicki Estrada, Jodie Evans, Ellen Gavin, Alex Israel, Phil Mercado, and Roxanne Messina Captor. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.
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