Westchester County Executive George Latimer and the Westchester County Board of Legislators joined with ArtsWestchester to announce a list of 66 Westchester arts organizations and six artists who are the recipients of arts grants for the 2019 – 2020 time period. The County-supported grants, administered by ArtsWestchester, were presented on July 9 in the following categories: Basic Program Support, Project Support, Yonkers Arts Initiative, Mount Vernon Initiative and Arts for People with Special Needs.
In total, more than $883,000 were awarded to the 72 grantees to support a diverse menu of arts programs and services throughout the towns, villages and cities of Westchester County.
County Executive George Latimer explained, “The various grant programs administered by ArtsWestchester are one way we maintain a vibrant cultural infrastructure in Westchester County. The competitive grants programs are a powerful example of a forward-thinking public/private partnership that ensures the accessibility and diversity of the arts. This is an investment in our quality of life. And, one that pays dividends when you consider that on an annual basis, arts and culture add $172.3 million in total economic activity to Westchester.”
Janet T. Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester said, “On behalf of ArtsWestchester, I would like to thank Westchester County for its leadership and cultural partnership of more than 40 years.”
This year seven new arts organizations were included among the 72 grantees. They include:
Bethany Arts Community (BAC)
BAC hosts roughly 50 public performances annually and dozens of afterschool and continuing education classes on site. The grounds, situated on 50 acres, include a Sculpture Park and walking trails that are open to the public 24 hours / 7 days a week. Their mission is to create a space and environment where the many forms of art can be learned, produced and flourish.
Chappaqua Orchestra
The Chappaqua Orchestra is a 60-year old organization dedicated to bringing high quality music to the Northern Westchester area, promoting local musicianship, and creating music lovers in the next generation.
Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA)
RTA’s mission is to use the transformative power of the arts to develop social and cognitive skills that prisoners need for successful reintegration into the community. RTA also seeks to raise public awareness of the humanity behind prison walls. RTA teaches workshops in a wide variety of arts to 200 prisoners in five correctional facilities, two of which are in Westchester County. In addition to workshops, from improvisation and physical theatre to comedy writing, songwriting, character development, hip-hop and modern dance, RTA presents full-scale productions of classic, contemporary, original and musical plays as well as music and dance recitals.
Westchester Collaborative Theatre
Westchester Collaborative Theatre is dedicated to the development of new plays. They have established a home for theater artists in Westchester County and the surrounding areas where new plays can be nurtured and developed in a supportive artistic environment. Since WCT’s inception, more than 130 performing artists from Westchester and surrounding counties have joined in their quest to be an incubator for the arts as member artists.
YoFi Fest (a/k/a The Yonkers Film Festival)
YoFi Fest is a unique Not-For-Profit film festival that draws its audience from a large, diverse and highly populated area that previously did not have an international, world- class event of this type. The mission of YoFi Fest is to promote arts and culture through film festivals, lectures, workshops, screenings and similar activities.
Career Visions
CareerVisions is a non-profit organization that helps prepare ‘at-risk’ students for the world of college and careers via creative after-school, weekend, and summer enrichment programs.
Yonkers Arts
Founded in 2007, Yonkers Arts works to promote and encourage the arts in the City of Yonkers. Their programming includes: an annual Yonkers Artists Showcase exhibition; an annual Arts Speak event featuring local arts luminaries; marketing campaigns, an Arts Spots Map, and newsletter campaigns.
The following 72 arts organizations and artists have been awarded ArtsWestchester grants for the 2019 – 2020 time period:
Arts Organizations Receiving Grants:
- Actors Conservatory Theatre
- ARC of Westchester
- Arc Stages
- Axial Theatre, Inc.
- Ballet des Amériques
- Bethany Arts Community
- Blue Door Art Center
- Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
- CareerVisions
- Chappaqua Orchestra
- Clay Art Center
- Clocktower Players
- Copland House
- Downtown Music at Grace
- Friends of Music Concerts
- Hamm & Clov Stage Company
- Hammond Museum
- Historic Hudson Valley
- Hoff-Barthelson Music School
- Hudson Stage Company
- Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art
- Hudson Valley Writers’ Center
- IAHD – Institute of Applied Human Dynamics
- India Center of Westchester
- Jacob Burns Film Center
- Jazz Forum Arts
- Katonah Museum of Art
- Lagond Music School
- Lyndhurst
- Mamaroneck Artists Guild
- Mount Vernon Friends of Parks and Recreation
- Mount Vernon Public Library
- Music Conservatory of Westchester
- Neuberger Museum of Art
- New Rochelle Council on the Arts
- New Rochelle Opera, Inc.
- Pelham Art Center
- PJS Jazz Society
- Purchase College Foundation
- Rehabilitation Through the Arts
- Revelators Inc.
- Songcatchers
- Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation
- Symphony of Westchester
- Taconic Opera
- Tarrytown Music Hall
- The Clearview School
- The Emelin Theatre
- The Picture House Regional Film Center
- The Play Group Theater
- The Rye Arts Center
- The Schoolhouse Theater
- The Symphony of Westchester
- Untermyer Performing Arts Council
- Urban Studios Unbound
- Westchester Children’s Museum
- Westchester Collaborative Theatre
- Westchester Italian Cultural Center
- Westchester Philharmonic
- White Plains Performing Arts Center
- YoFI Fest
- Yonkers Arts
- Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra
- Youth Shelter Program of Westchester
- Youth Theatre Interactions
- YWCA
Artists:
- James “Bujo” Williams
- Pamela Tucker
- Eve Soto
- Haifa Bint-Kadi
- Janet Grice
- MJ Territo
