$30,408 Awarded for 156 Cultural Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- November 13, 2008
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25
list of Touring Program awards by county in PDF
November 14 Due Date For Cultural Performers to be Listed In Statewide Directory
(LANSING)-----The Michigan Humanities Council recently awarded $30,408 in Arts and Humanities Touring Program grants to Michigan organizations to support 156 artistic and cultural presentations in 19 counties between October 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009. The touring program, funded in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), consists of a wide variety of cultural programs from school assembly musical performances to library storytellers. The Council also announced that cultural presenters interested in being listed in the 2009-2012 Michigan Arts & Humanities Touring Directory must send their applications to the Council postmarked no later than this Friday, November 14, 2008.
“These grants bring some of Michigan’s best arts and humanities presenters to communities across the state,” stated Jan Fedewa, Michigan Humanities Council executive director. “The Touring Program remains one of Michigan’s best resource to connect culture and stories to people and communities.”
A complete listing of touring program events is available in PDF. Examples of the programs funded by Michigan’s Arts & Humanities Touring Program include:
- A residency and weeklong storytelling program by award-winning storyteller LaRon Williams in the Kalamazoo School District the week of November 21, 2008.
- Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit will perform at the Ida Civic Club in Ida on December 5, 2008.
- A one-day workshop about drumming with Lori Fithian and Drummunity! at Gill Elementary School in Farmington Hills on December 12, 2009.
- Several historical interpretation performances by Rosie Chapman: about the Civil Rights Movement with Rose Park and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Southfield Library on January 17, 2009; about the life of Harriet Tubman at the River Rouge Public Library on February 9, 2009; and, two performances at Ferris State University in Big Rapids on February 18, 2009.
Touring program grants support live presenters – musicians, storytellers, theater companies, tradition bearers, and dancers – and visual arts programs from the 2006-2009 Arts & Humanities Touring Directory. The programs are hosted and sponsored by community schools, libraries, museums, festivals, art councils, and other nonprofit organizations. Grants are awarded to support up to 35 percent of the performers’ fees and expenses.
Michigan nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply for grants for programs scheduled from April 1– September 30, 2009. The next application period is scheduled for February 25 – March 10, 2009. Applications are available on the Council website, www.michiganhumanities.org/programs/touring, and in the printed directory. The directory, a joint project of the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, is sponsored by LaSalle Bank.
Michigan Artists & Cultural Presenters Can Apply By November 14
Through November 14, the Michigan Humanities Council is accepting applications for the next edition of its print and on-line directory of cultural presenters, the 2009-12 Arts & Humanities Touring Directory. The Touring Directory is Michigan’s most comprehensive listing of formally adjudicated performing and visual artists and humanities presenters. Performing artists, storytellers, theater performers, tradition bearers, traveling exhibitions, and visual artists are encouraged to apply.
Statistics from 2006-2009 Touring Directory help to demonstrate the diversity of listings. The 2006-2009 directory has 248 listings, including: 136 music performers and groups; 33 theater performers; 26 storytellers; 24 exhibits and visual artists; 16 dance acts; and, 13 tradition bearers. Notably, 106 of the listings were new to the directory when first published in 2006. The 248 listings in the directory were approved among a total of 330 applications received.
Applications and guidelines are available on the Council’s website, www.michiganhumanities.org. A one-time fee to apply is $75. Adjudication will occur in January 2009 and announcement of selection is in May 2009. Applications must be postmarked by November 14, 2008.
The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is a private, non-profit organization, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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