FY 08 Arts and Culture Funding Special ProjectsCity of Dubuque
.Arts & Cultural.~l
alts Advisory Commission
May 28, 2007
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 2008 Funding Competition--Applications and Recommendations
Dear Mayor and City Council Members:
Introduction
The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission has reviewed nine applications from
Dubuque organizations requesting $74,407 in funds from the FY 2008 Arts and Culture
Grant Program for Special 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 is the fourth round of competitive grants for this program. The City Council
approved the commission's recommendation to limit funding in this program to no more
than two consecutive years per organization. The FY 2008 grant awards will be the first
year of this new grant guideline.
Discussion
The Special Projects grant program was designed to encourage the development of
new or expanded arts and cultural programs in the Dubuque community. The Arts and
Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission solicited applications for the grant program in
March. 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.
The Commission received twelve grant applications totaling $74,704 in requests. The
Commission reviewed and ranked the applications based on the established criteria.
• Priority funding will be given to new or expanded programming
• Degree to which proposed project furthers the cultural arts goals of the
City of Dubuque's Comprehensive Plan
• Degree to which proposed project reflects careful planning and can be
implemented in a timely manner
• Impact of project on broader Dubuque Community
• Organizational experience and capacity of applicant
The Commission reviewed the applications and determined final funding
recommendations at their May 16 meeting. Attached is a chart indicating the rank order
of all applications and the recommended grant awards.
Recommendation
The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission recommends that the City Council
approve the following grant awards for the FY 2008 Arts and Culture Grant Program for
Special Projects:
Dubuque Community School District Foundation $2,995
Project: Dubuque and All Those Arts, A Multicultural Arts Festival
Dubuque Symphony Orchestra
Project: Final Four
$5,000
Loras College $6,000
Project: Discovering Community: Native American Dance, Song, and Story
Bell Tower Productions $8,353
Project: I Left My Heart: A Tribute to the Music of Tony Bennett
Dubuque County Historical Society $12,652
Project: Dubuque at 175: History Comes Alive
An executive summary of each project recommended for funding is attached.
The Commission also received applications from the Dubuque Museum of Art for
Archival Framing of The North American Indian Collection, Four Mounds Foundation for
a metal Sculpting Class, Friends of the Mines of Spain for the Trade Silver Cultural
Exhibit, and the Grand Opera House for Costuming for Beauty and the Beast. Although
these projects all had merit, they did not rate as high as the five projects recommended
for funding.
Action
The Council is requested to approve the five FY 2008 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.
This $35,000 grant program is leveraging another $67,499 in arts and culture programs
for our community. We are extremely pleased with the quality of the grant applications.
We are very pleased to be working closely with the City of Dubuque in promoting arts
and cultural activities in our community.
Sincerely,
Sue Riedel
Chairperson
Encl.
FY 2008 ARTS AND CULTURE GRANT PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS
Executive Summary of Projects Recommended for Funding
DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOUNDATION
Project: Dubuque and All Those Arts, A Multicultural Arts Festival
Grant Amount: $2,995
Dubuque's first Multicultural Arts Festival will be in January and February of 2008.
Focusing on the arts and culture of African-American heritage, the events will begin with
the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday and continue through a large
portion of Black History Month (February, 2008). Performances and informances will
include formal concerts, slam poetry, informal concerts, dance exhibitions, African drum
concerts and instruction, a film festival, school presentations, a food festival and much
more. The collaboration of the festival organizers is a passionate synthesis of ideas,
resources, contacts and eclectic experiences. The festival will provide our community
with a wide range of events, which will teach, entertain, enlighten and facilitate the next
vital steps in the cultural diversity of our population. The grant request is to fund the
collaborative marketing efforts of all of the festival. The grant will also fund an additional
evening performance by Jacqueline Thompson, an African American Singer. It will also
fund a performance by Dorian Byrd and Imani! Dancers, an African-American dance
troupe.
2. DUBUQUE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Project: Final Four Project
Grant Amount: $5,000
The Final Four Project invites patrons of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra as well as
citizens of Dubuque and the tri-state area to vote for their favorite classical music
selections through ayear-long process that will culminate in a free concert featuring the
four most popular pieces. Grant funds will be applied towards general marketing and
promotional expenses, include website development related to the Final Four voting
process. The four favorites, as determined by the voting public, will become the
featured repertoire for a free Dubuque Symphony concert in September, 2008, which
marks the beginning of the Symphony's 50th Anniversary Celebration.
3. LORAS COLLEGE
Project: Discovering Community: Native American Dance, Song, and
Story
Grant Amount: $6,000
Although the history of North America begins with the long and enduring culture of those
people who are "native" to the land, too often their traditions remain unfamiliar. The
Loras College Intercultural Programs Office hopes to address that omission locally by
sponsoring a group of authentic Native American performers and speakers next spring,
between March and April of 2008. The performers, who include drummers, dancers,
and renowned story-teller Mary Louise Defender Wilson, are from the Northern Plains
tribes (Dakotah/Hidatsa) in North Dakota and Montana. The event is scheduled as part
of the Loras series "learning Through the Arts." The event will work in partnership with
Dubuque Community Schools and the Carnegie Stout Public Library to 1) organize the
event and 2) provide audiences with the material they need to understand the historical
and cultural contexts for the music and stories they will see and hear.
4. Bell Tower Productions
Project: I Left My Heart: A Tribute to the Music of Tony Bennett
Grant Amount: $8,353
In celebration of the Fifth Anniversary of Bell Tower Production and in an effort to
increase the number of live performances available to Dubuque audiences, Bell Tower
Productions is expanding their season and for the first time, produce seven full-scale
plays and musical. The additional production, 1 Left My Heart: A salute to the music of
Tony Bennett is a celebration of the life and artistry of one of America's most beloved
performers. Featuring more than forty songs from Mr. Bennett's four decade career, 1
Left My Heart will both entertain audiences and enlighten them about this amazing artist
and the music of these eras.
5. DUBUQUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Project: Dubuque at 175: History Comes Alive
Grant Amount: $12,652
The Dubuque County Historical Society will present a series of historic and artistic
public programs and a community exhibit to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the
founding of Dubuque. Working with artisans, demonstrators, community partners, and
collaborators, the Society will present a series of ten vibrant new events and a new
mini exhibit over the 13-month period that engages the public with the folk arts,
living history, and community celebration of our culture.
FY2008
Special Projects Arts Grant
ORGANIZATION FUNDING
REQUEST RECOMMENDED
GRANT AWARD PROJECT
TITLE
Dubuque Community School District Foundation $2,995.00 2,995.D0 Dubuque and All Those Arts, A Multicultural Arts Festival
Dubuque Symphony Orchestra $5,000.00 $5,000.00 Final Four Project
Loras College $6,000.00 $6,000.00 Discovering Community: Native American Dance, Song and Story
Bell Tower Productions $8,353.00 $8,353.00 I Left My Heart: A Tribute to the music of Tony Bennett
Dubuque County Historical Society $12,865.00 $12,652.00 Dubuque at 175: History Comes Alive
Friends of the Mines of Spain $5,000.00 $0.00 Trade Silver Cultural Exhibit
Grand Opera House $20,000.00 $0.00. Costuming: Beauty and the Beast
Dubuque Museum of Art $6,550.00 $0.00 Archival Framing-The North American Indian Podfolio
Four Mounds Foundation $7,941.00 $0.00 Metal Sculpting Class
Total Requests: $74,704.00 $35,000,00
scores
Henkels Kames Kohl
100 95 90
95 80 90
85 90 abs tained
85 85 86
65 65 90
65 70 88
45 65 75
62 70 88
65 65 83
Riedel Shafer Wahlert Weber total
90 100 80 96
90 95 83 97
90 85 78 80
abstained 80 75 80
80 85 70 75
70 60 72 50
60 65 75 55
50 60 abstained 45
45 65 67 45
AVERAGE SCORE
651 93
630 90
508 84.66667
491 81.83333
530 75.71429
475 67.85714
440 62.85714
375 62.5
435 62.14286