The Starkville Area Arts Council has announced the recipients of its Community Arts Grants for 2014-2015. A total of $16,600 has been awarded to 18 organizations and individuals. “These awards will help make possible events and activities in the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of the community,” according to committee chair Ellen Boles. “The events we help to fund contribute to our economy and help to make Starkville an attractive place to live.”
Grant recipients include the Starkville-MSU Symphony Association (Concert Season and Programs for Children); Starkville Community Theatre (“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” musical); Friends of the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge (Artists-in-Residence); Golden Triangle Music Forum (Alexander and Ivan Moutouzkine concert and master class); MSU Libraries (ninth annual Charles Templeton Ragtime/Jazz Festival); Starkville Reads (“So You Think You Know the Wizard” series); and the Oktibbeha County Barn Quilt Trail.
Other recipients are Jackie Edwards-Henry (Musical Memories concert); Jennifer Blackbourn (Mark Hayes Music Workshop); Brickfire Project (blues performance/children’s workshop); Stephanie Jackson (“A Mississippi Christmas” Concert); MSU African American Studies (“Remembering Freedom Summer Through Freedom High”); MSU Art Galleries (Peggy Macnamara exhibit); Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum (archival materials); Art Partners (art lessons at the Boys and Girls Club); Magnolia Independent Film Festival; and MSU Juried Student Art Show Award.
The Starkville Area Arts Council relies on membership dues, patron contributions, and several events to raise the funds for Community Arts Grants, education grants, arts scholarships and other community arts activities. Fundraising events include the annual Gala and Silent Auction, Everything Home and Garden Expo, Cotton District Arts Festival, and Forks and Corks. Also grants from the CVB-Greater Starkville Development Partnership, City of Starkville, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi Tourism Department, the Mississippi Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts help to support these programs.
The next application process for Community Arts Grants will begin in spring 2015 with an application deadline of June 30. Applications will be available at that time through the SAAC’s web site at starkvillearts.org or by calling 662-324-3080. SAAC membership forms are available at the office at Suite 18, 101 S. Lafayette St. in Starkville.
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