The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs has announced $200,000 in awards to 44 individual artists working in the performing arts, including dance, music, theater and multi-disciplinary projects. Seattle’s CityArtist Projects annual funding program assists individual artists based in Seattle to develop and present their work.
The 2011 program received 125 applications. Seventeen of the 44 artists funded are first-time recipients, representing 39 percent of applicants. The awards range from $1,500 to $10,000, with an average award of $4,545.
2011 awards include $5,328 to Hugo Solis to produce a traveling sound installation inside a cargo container that explores the history, sights and sounds of the Washington coast; $2,271 to Holly Arsenault to complete and present a public staged reading of a new full-length play exploring religion, commitment and family through the story of a divorce ceremony; and $6,660 to Jherek Bischoff to create, present and record 10 new compositions of ambient orchestral music, utilizing a 45-person orchestra, three conductors working simultaneously, and two sound technicians.
Additional awards include $5,215 to Jody Kuehner to complete, rehearse and perform an evening-length, site-responsive dance exploring the LGBTQ experience in Seattle; $4,663 to Curtis Taylor to workshop, design and stage an evening-length original play exploring the nature and high cost of loneliness in the technologically-saturated modern world; $5,661 to Alexander Chadsey to develop new and in-progress musical works in son jarocho, salsa and jazz with a collaborative ensemble of musicians from Seattle, Los Angeles and Mexico; and $3,330 to Jovino Santos Neto, to perform and record a CD of original music, adding additional percussion, melodica and flute to recently completed musical tracks.
Natasha Marin O’Brien will receive $4,995 to present an interactive and participatory theatre piece inspired by the Japanese Tea Ceremony and 1960s art “happenings.” Ruthie Dornfeld will get $2,000 to create a multi-disciplinary performance that links traditions of African kora players and medieval European artists through music and recitation. $5,328 will go to Amy O’Neal to create and perform a new evening-length dance piece that gradually accumulates dancers and musicians on-stage, from one performer to 20 over the course of 30 minutes.
Click here to view a complete list of 2011 CityArtist Projects.
The CityArtist Projects program supports new works, works-in-progress or remounted works taken to the next stage. All projects must incorporate a public presentation. Funding is offered to different artistic disciplines in alternating years. In 2010, the program funded 48 artists working in the visual, literary and media arts. CityArtist Projects is part of the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs “cultural partnership” investments ensuring Seattle residents access to a wide variety of arts and cultural opportunities.
