Arts Partnership of Spartanburg announces grant awards

The Arts Partnership at Chapman Cultural Center has awarded five grants as a part of the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Community Grants (Subgranting) program. These grants are awarded to charitable organizations or units of government from Spartanburg County with a primary mission focused on the arts. The grants awarded for the first quarter of 2014-15 ranged from $500 to $1,000, all benefiting the arts in Spartanburg County.

Daniel Zongrone, an Upstate percussionist, was awarded a grant to fund an Artist in Residence in Berlin, Germany. His time in one of the largest cities in the world featuring experimental and electronic music will be spent learning about changes in music technology, collaborating with international music partners, and meeting with producers. He plans to bring all this information back to Spartanburg where he will then encourage others to become involved with new sounds.

Crystal Irby, a workshop instructor and organizer, will receive funds to attend a play-writing workshop, “From the Idea to the Stage: Playwriting and Directing Workshop with Steven Kent and Linda Parris Bailey.” This will assist her in developing her play, “I Am Zenga Cole-Henderson.” Irby has been working on this script for several years, along with being an active poet and actor. Her production will tell the story of African-American politics and power in the South, examining race, gender, and politics, in today’s media-driven era.

Sister Cities of Greater Spartanburg has received a grant for the start-up of an international partnership with Landshut, Germany. The goal of this organization is to link Spartanburg and Landshut through long-term, artistic and cultural connections. This will include encouraging cultural, educational, artistic, institutional and commercial exchanges.

Hampton Heights Neighborhood Association received a grant for the Christmas Past Historic Home Tour, a holiday-themed house tour along with horse drawn carriages, Victorian carolers and music from St. John’s Brass and Jhon Akers. The grant money will help pay for the musical entertainment.

St. Nicolas Greek Orthodox Church was awarded a grant that will allow the Greek Orchestra to play for the Spartanburg Greek Festival. The purpose of the festival is to introduce the Greek culture to citizens of Spartanburg, with the proceeds benefiting their Family Life Center, a new state-of-the-art event venue. The event also strengthens the local economy through the money the church spends locally for the festival materials.

All applicants were reviewed by a committee of individuals throughout the Spartanburg County community. For information about future grant opportunities, please email: Grants@SpartanArts.org

Via: Arts Partnership of Spartanburg

Note: The South Carolina Arts Commission’s subgranting program provides funds to local arts councils for subgranting quarterly grants to organizations and artists in their region. A subgranting applicant must be a South Carolina organization with a primary mission focused on the arts (or an organization that serves as the primary arts provider in its community). The subgranting program is funded in part by a generous award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.