GO Art! announces $201K in grants for community concerts, cultural projects

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Who Dats performed on July 15, 2022 by the gazebo at Holley’s Canal Park, playing classic dance rock music. The band pictured includes Lonnie Froman as the lead singer, John Borello on guitar, Ed Hilfiker on guitar and Alex DeSmit on drums. They are performing in Holley’s summer concert series that year. GO Art! announced $3,000 towards concerts at Holley this summer.

Staff Reports Posted 27 December 2023 at 7:04 pm

Another $135K available in second round

The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council today announced $201,000 in grants for concerts and several other art and cultural projects in the two counties and another $135,000 will be available in a second round.

The funding is through the Statewide Community Regrant Program (SCR). GO Art! will be taking applications through the second round until Feb. 17.

The local arts council regrants the funding from the state through a transparent and competitive peer review panel process. The panel approved 46 applications for funding from the first round. Applicants were eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in the categories of Community Arts (Reach) and Arts Education (Spark), and $2,500 for Individual Artist Commissions (Ripple).

The categories and recipients are as follows:

REACH: The GO Art! Community Arts Grants (Reach Grants) provide seed grants to individual artists, collectives and arts organizations for projects and activities that enable Genesee and Orleans County communities to experience and engage with the performing, literary, media, and visual arts. Each year the program supports arts projects, including concerts, performances, public art, exhibitions, screenings, festivals, workshops, readings and more.

REACH Recipients:

Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina – $5,000 for Finally Fridays! 2024
Yates Community Library in Lyndonville – $5,000 for Yates Community Library- More Than Just Books
Friends of Boxwood Cemetery in Medina – $5,000 for Boxwood at Night 2024
The Cobblestone Society – $5,000 for The Cobblestone Museum Arts Series for 2024
Lyndonville Lions Club – $5,000 for I Hear the Music
Village of Holley – $3,000 for Village of Holley Canal Concert Series
Community Free Library in Holley – $5,000 for Continuation of Myron Holley Erie Canal Mural
Care Net Center of Greater Orleans – $5,000 for Artists and Their Styles
C. W. Bill Lattin with Fiscal Sponsor, The Cobblestone Society – $5,000 for Architecture Destroyed In Orleans County, N.Y.”
Village of Holley – $2,000 for Festival Series 2024
Canalside Radio Inc. – $5,000 for Harmonizing Communities: The Canalside Radio Initiative
William Schutt with Community Partner, Village of Albion – $5,000 for Lighting the Erie Canal
Hoag Library of the Swan Library Association – $5,000 for 2024 Hoag Music Series
Michelle Cryer with Community Partner, Town of Carlton – $5,000 for Carlton Mural at the Cove
Batavia Concert Band – $5,000 for 2024 Music in the Park Summer Concert Series
Holland Purchase Historical Society – $5,000 for Holland Land Office Museum Guest Speaker & Concert Series
Haxton Memorial Library – $5,000 for Talented Thursdays
Alexander Volunteer Fire Department Band – $4,837 for community performances
The Elba Betterment Committee – $4,550 for EBC Presents….
Oakfield Betterment Committee Inc – $5,000 for Oakfield Labor Daze
Genesee Chorale Inc. – $5,000 for 2024 Genesee Chorale Season
Village of Bergen – $2,300 for the Hickory Park Concert Series
Rebecca A O’Donnell with Community Partner, Warrior House of WNY INC – $4,000 for Creative Community Connections at the Goose
Batavia Business Improvement District – $5,000 for Jackson Square Concert Series
David F. Burke with Community Partner, Warrior House of WNY INC – $2,500 for “Wings” Mural for The Goose
Heather Kathleen Davis with Community Partner, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church – $3,100 for Opera on the Oatka
Genesee Symphony Orchestra – $5,000 for The Genesee Symphony Orchestra’s 78th Season
Byron-Bergen Public Library – $5,000 for Arts in our Community
Amanda M Taylor with Community Partner, City of Batavia Fire Department – $5,000 for Main Street Fire Hydrant Murals
Bergen Business and Civic Association – $5,000 for Bergen Park Festival
Woodward Memorial Library – $4,979 for Art All Year, Take Two
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church – $2,415 for Music at St. Mark’s
Kathlyn Baker with Community Partner, Warrior House of WNY – $5,000 for Art Exploration Project
Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, Wyoming OUT!, Inc.- $5,000 for GLOW OUT! Pride Festival 2024
Village of Corfu – $5,000 for Corfu Farmers Market 2024 Music Series
GLOW YMCA, Inc. – $1,000 for GLOW Corporate Street Beat
Gillam-Grant Community Center – $4,640 for A Spectrum of Art
The Batavia Players, Inc. – $5,000 for the 2024 Season
Marianne Skye with Community Partner, Warrior House of WNY – $5,000 for Groovy Moves-Family Music and Movement

RIPPLE: The GO ART! Individual Artist Commission (Ripple Grant) supports local, artist-initiated activity, and highlights the role of artists as important members of the community. The Commission is for artistic projects with outstanding artistic merit that work within a community setting.

RIPPLE Recipients:

David F. Burke – $2,500 for the Extension to Harvester Center Hallway Mural
Thomas Jennings – $2,500 for the Missing Man- The Vince Welnick Story
Joshua Lang – $2,500 for the Suite de Ballet Mvt 3
Eric Weatherbee – $2,500 for The Humble Bard Presents

SPARK: The Arts Education Program (Spark Grant) supports arts education projects for youth and/or senior learners. Emphasis is placed on the depth and quality of the creative process through which participants learn through or about the arts. Projects must focus on the exploration of art and the artistic process.

SPARK Recipients:

Linda Fix with Fiscal Sponsor, BCSD Foundation Community Schools – $5,000 for #It Takes A Village
Bart Dentino with Community Partner, Oakfield-Alabama Central School District – $4,815 for The Spaces Between the Leaves
Judd Sunshine with Community Partner, Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School – $4,200 for Erie Canal Songwriting Project

Artists, nonprofits, and municipalities seeking funding for arts related projects, programming, and events in Genesee and Orleans Counties are encouraged to apply to the second round of Statewide Community Regrant Program (SCR) funding through GO ART!.

For more information on applying for the Statewide Community Regrant Program visit: www.goart.org/grants or contact Mary Jo Whitman at mjwhitman@goart.org.

These grants are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

About the New York State Council on the Arts

NYSCA preserves and advances the arts and culture that make New York State an exceptional place to live, work and visit. The Council upholds the right of all New Yorkers to experience the vital contributions the arts make to our communities, education, economic development, and quality of life. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York State, NYSCA is awarding record funding in Fiscal Year 2023, providing support across the full breadth of the arts.