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Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission_FY2014 Special Project Grant RecommendationsCity of Dubuque .marts & Cultural _Affairs Advisory Commission June 5, 2013 The Honorable Mayor and City Council City of Dubuque 50 W. 13th Street Dubuque, IA 52001 Re: Arts and Culture Grant Program for Special Projects FY 2014 Funding Competition -- Applications and Recommendations Dear Mayor and City Council Members: Introduction The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission has reviewed 12 grant applications from Dubuque organizations requesting $61,807 in funds from the FY 2014 Arts and Culture Grant Program for Special Projects. These grants also leverage another $258,958 in community investment for these projects. This memo transmits the commission's funding recommendations. Background There is $35,000 budgeted for the Arts and Culture Grant Program for Special Projects. This grant program was designed to "encourage the development of new or expanded arts and cultural programs in the Dubuque community." This is the tenth round of competitive grants for this program. Five years ago, the City Council approved the commission's recommendation to limit funding to no more than two consecutive years per organization and that applications had to score at least 75 points out of 100 to be considered for funding. The commission established a minimum point threshold to ensure that only high quality projects are recommended for funding. In 2013, the Council accepted recommendations of the Arts and Cultural Advisory Commission to revamp the program. The purpose of the grant now is, "The City envisions that Dubuque will be an inclusive community, remarkable for its social and cultural vibrancy. The City of Dubuque seeks to fund artistic, creative projects that utilize community engagement at their core. Engagement describes an active, two -way process in which one party motivates another to get involved or take action —and both parties experience change and growth. It promotes consistent community interaction that is a step beyond the conventional." Other major changes include six newly stated goals, establishing clear criteria for rating applications, extending eligibility to organized groups who may not have 501 c3 status, suspending the minimum point requirement of 75 out of 100, lowering the minimum grant amount to $1500 from $2500, establishing a maximum amount of $8,500 per year, and adjusting matching requirements. Discussion The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission solicited applications for the grant program in February. Media releases were issued, applications were available on the City of Dubuque's website, all known arts and cultural organizations were notified of the grant opportunity, and two grant workshops were conducted by staff. Staff has also met with a number of grant applications to provide technical assistance. This year the commission received grant requests from four new organizations — Better Together Dubuque, Healing Moments Alzheimer's Education, Advocacy and Ministry, Carnegie Stout Library Foundation and Studio Works. Better Together Dubuque, Dubuque Fest and Voices Productions were able to apply because of the expanded eligibility requirements. For the first year of the new project, the commission felt that the applications in general address the goals and spirit of the newly designed grant program very well. The number of applications was in line with the number from previous years. On May 28, the commission reviewed and ranked the applications based on the established criteria. • Special Project Description: How well the project is explained. (10 points) Mission and Goals: How well the project addresses the organization's mission and the purpose and goals of the grant program. (15 points) • Artistic Merit: The potential of the project to advance the caliber of the arts in the community. (10 points) • Quality: How your project's concepts, leaders, artists, and collaborators demonstrate quality and best practices. (15 points) • Importance: The value to target audiences, the organization, the City of Dubuque and its residents and visitors. (10 points) • Access: The potential of the project to reach new and underserved audiences and increase availability to diverse groups. (15 points) • Evaluation: How the project will be evaluated. (10 points) • Feasibility: The likelihood the project will be successful based on careful event and financial planning. (15 points) Recommendation The Commission is recommending that the top seven ranked applicants be funded at their full grant request. In order to fund these applications, the commission recommends that the City Council approve the carryover of $4,000 in FY13 budgeted funds. This amount was returned to the City because an organization was not able to complete its project. Carryover of this amount may allow us additionally to explore partial funding of another grant application. We recommended grant awards to: • Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, Rite of Spring at Voices, $7,701 • Dubuque Chorale, Let the River Run, $6,280 • Bell Tower Productions, Free Summer Musical Program, $5,000 • Voices Productions, Voices Speaks 2013, $7,231 • Dubuque Main Street, Millwork Movie and Music Block Party, $4,800 • Healing Moments Alzheimer's Education, Advocacy and Ministry, The Forgiving and the Forgetting — An Original Educational Theatre Production, $3,000 • Studio Works, Collaborative Mural Project, $2,800 Grant requests were also received from the Carnegie Stout Library Foundation, Better Together Dubuque, DubuqueFest, Matter, Inc. and the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival. There were not adequate funds to award grants to all of these organizations. An executive summary of each project recommended for funding is attached. Action The Council is requested to approve the seven FY 2014 Arts and Culture Grants for Special Projects and authorize the City Manager to sign the grant agreements. The Commission is very appreciative of the City Council's support of this grant program. We are extremely pleased with the quality of the grant applications and the multitude of quality arts and culture projects that have been funded through this program. We enjoy working closely with the City of Dubuque in promoting arts and cultural activities in our community as well as utilizing the arts to promote community engagement. Sincerely, Marina O'Rourke Rosenow Chair, Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission Chairperson Encl: Executive Summary of Grant FY2014 ARTS AND CULTURE GRANT PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS Executive Summary of Projects Recommended for Funding Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, Rite of Spring at Voices, $7,701 The DSO will again partner with Voices from the Warehouse for their opening night reception on September 7, 2013. Director and Conductor William Intriligator selected Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, a legendary piece of classical music that the Dubuque Symphony has never performed. He will lead an ensemble of fifteen DSO musicians through the incredibly challenging score for the performance. In addition, Voices artist Jess Baker, who grew up in the Dubuque area, will create an art installation centered around the chamber ensemble. Her work, based on the Rite of Spring, will add a new multi - disciplinary dimension that inspires the musicians and patrons alike. Dubuque Chorale Let the River Run, $6,280 In spring 2014, the Dubuque Chorale will perform "Let the River Run ", a series of concerts featuring music, art, and poetry relating to rivers and river culture. Special attention will be paid to the Mississippi, and its significance to Dubuque. Two separate multimedia presentations will be created for local eighth -grade students during the school day and for the general public in the evening. The students will be invited to participate in the event by contributing original river - themed artwork and poetry, to be reviewed by local experts. Collaborators include the Dubuque Museum of Art, the National River Museum, the Loras College Center for Dubuque History, author Katherine Fischer, and the Dubuque Community School District. Bell Tower Productions, Free Summer Musical Program, $5,000 Bell Tower Productions presents the ninth year of its Free Summer Musical Program, an educational program where kids work with artists and teachers to produce and perform two full -scale musicals. In 2014, 250 kids will participate in the creation of "Shrek," for performers 7 -16, and "The Addams Family" for high schoolers. The plays are new to Dubuque, have their roots in movies and television and have a modern feel to draw new patrons to the Bell Tower. Every child who wishes to The Addams Family" will perform 8 times and "Shrek" 14 times, serving 2800 audience members. All children will be given an opportunity to work on the production in some way free of charge. Voices Productions, Voices Speaks 2013, $7,231 Voices, with key partner Loras College, will celebrate the spoken word with experimental, word- based performance art form during the month -long Voices run. Voices will present Flute Juice Productions, featuring powerful jazz performer and educator Galen Abdur Razzaq with a live reading with local high school and college students performing their poetry to the backup jazz accompaniment of Razzaq's band. Iowa Poet Laureate Mary Swander will perform and community members will participate in a traditional poetry reading /storytelling presentation. Two -time National Poetry Slam Champion Anis Mojgani will perform. A collegiate Slam Poetry Competition Invitational with students from area colleges will compete for prizes. The events conclude with related live music of folk- acoustic and hip -hop. Dubuque Main Street, Millwork Movie and Music Block Party, $4,800 The Downtown Dubuque Cultural Corridor /Dubuque Main Street (DMS) in partnership with the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival (JDIFF) will hold a block party featuring an outdoor movie in Dubuque's Historic Millwork District (HMD). The event location is between Jackson and Washington along 10th street and will feature an outdoor movie along with music, food and displayed art. Multiple arts groups involved in the redevelopment of the HMD and all are invited to have an informational table and promote their organizations. Scheduled to take place on Thursday August 22, 2013, the event will be free to the public and food and beverages will be available for purchase. The Thursday evening event will draw attendees of all ages and demographics. Healing Moments Alzheimer's Education, Advocacy and Ministry, The Forgiving and the Forgetting — An original Educational Theatre Production, $3,000 An original play, "The Forgiving and The Forgetting," will premier in conjunction with a dementia care education conference, co- sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association and the University of Dubuque. Healing Moments unites spirit, art, ethics, and science to teach caregivers state -of -the art methods for communicating and connecting with persons with dementia. The play /conference will take place on November 7, 2013, with five additional public performances in November. The project was developed by Rev. Dr. Jade Angelica, MDiv, DMin (Founder and Director of Healing Moments) in conjunction with doctoral research, and written by Amy Ressler, MFA (Professor of Fine and Performing Arts, University of Dubuque, and Creative Director for Healing Moments). The performance will be directed by Ressler. Studio Works, Collaborative Mural Project, $2,800 Studio Works mural artist, Will Pearsall, along with several other interested partners, are proposing a collaborative mural project in neighborhoods surrounding the Millwork District. Studies have shown that this type of neighborhood beautification not only adds to the aesthetics of the area, but also to acts to engage the residents. The project will engage downtown residents, specifically the Washington Neighborhood residents, by participating in creation of the mural. The artistic vision and painting will be managed by Pearsall, assisted by middle to high school age students.