Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture’s Civic Partner funding program invests in arts and cultural organizations to foster broad public access to a rich array of quality arts opportunities while promoting a healthy and diverse cultural community. On May 19 the 2016-17 two-year funding program will begin accepting applications and will award approximately $1.7M to arts and cultural organizations in the city.
photo credit: Colleen Cooke
One of our current Civic Partners is Khambatta Dance Company (KDC). Khambatta Dance Company is a six member dance group led by Cyrus Khambatta celebrating 25 years of making dance in 2015. It has consistently fulfilled its mission to bring communities together and to offer dance to the broadest possible audience by performing both regionally/internationally – in places such as Brazil, Mexico, India, Montana, Oregon and Eastern Washington in the last year alone- AND presenting hundreds of local, national and international artists to Seattle audiences of nearly 5,000 annually through The Seattle International Dance Festival.
The festival provides free outdoor programming open to all, partnering this year with The Mobile Food Rodeo, as well as more intimate theatrical performances in partnership with Cornish College of the Arts and Seattle Theater Group at Raisbeck Hall and The Moore Theater. For more information on the festival visit www.SeattleIDF.org.
You can see Khambatta Dance Company perform its latest piece Fear and Vulnerability at the Seattle International Dance Festival on June 12-13. According to Cyrus Khambatta, at KDC being a Civic Partner means: “The Office of Arts & Culture is not only a funding body, it is a support network. In my experience, everyone at ARTS is a passionate, dedicated advocate for the arts, making sure that the arts and audiences connect, that citizens recognize the value of having the arts in their communities and continually focusing on the enrichment, diversity, creativity and depth of relations that the arts espouse within our community. It is an invaluable entity that is intrinsic to the healthy cultural sustenance of this community and its overall vibrancy within the region and the nation.”
Eligible Seattle arts and culture, heritage, and arts service organizations of all sizes and disciplines need to have a minimum three-year history of serving Seattle residents and visitors. Applicants should also be not-for-profit (does not have to have 501(c) (301) tax-exempt status). The application closes on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. Online application and guidelines are available at http://www.seattle.gov/arts/funding/organizations.asp. Organizations are reviewed by a peer panel on public impact, artistic merit, and organizational strength.
Workshops: Get insider tips on how to submit a strong application. The Civic Partner Application has been updated significantly. We encourage ALL applicants to attend a workshop. With increasing numbers of applicants yet level funding, this program will be more competitive than ever before. These interactive question-and-answer sessions will cover specifics on eligibility and how to apply plus special focus on what’s new. The 3-hour sessions go in deeper depth about the new elements of the application process including an even deeper focus on racial equity.
Registration is required as space is limited. Please contact Kathy Hsieh at kathy.hsieh@seattle.gov or (206) 733-9926.
Tuesday, May 12, 6 – 9 p.m.
El Centro de la Raza, Room 106
2524 16th Ave S., Seattle, WA 98144 on Seattle’s Beacon Hill
Tuesday, May 19, 10 a.m. – 12 noon
Seattle Municipal Tower, Suite 1756
700 5th Avenue in Downtown Seattle
Thursday, May 21, 2 – 5 p.m.
Seattle Municipal Tower, Room 4080
700 5th Avenue in Downtown Seattle
*Wednesday, June 3 , 6 – 8 p.m.
El Centro de la Raza, Room 106
2524 16th Ave S., Seattle, WA 98144 on Seattle’s Beacon Hill
*ASL Interpretation available
In 2014, the Civic Partners program awarded $1.7 million to 158 Seattle-based arts, heritage and cultural organizations plus nine arts service organizations designated as Community Partners. These funded programs engaged more than 15,855 volunteer and paid artists serving an audience of almost 1.4 million people, including 168,272 students and youth, and provided 272,390 free admissions. Nearly 43 percent of the funded projects either involved artists of color or served communities of color at some level.
