Press Release Archive
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Governor Culver, Lt. Governor Judge Announce Community Cultural Grants
Grants support jobs that enhance artistic, cultural and historical resources in Iowa
DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Governor Patty Judge today announced nearly $265,000 in grants that support jobs and enhance artistic, cultural and historical resources in Iowa.
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs awarded 19 Iowa Community Cultural Grants totaling $264,500 to organizations in 14 Iowa communities, including four Iowa Great Places: Adams County, Dubuque, Jackson County and Marquette-McGregor.
“The arts play a vital role in our communities. I am proud to announce these 19 awards, which invest in our communities by creating new jobs and growing the quality of life in Iowa,” said Governor Culver.
The ICCG program supports projects and employment for museum exhibits, historic restoration and archaeology, folklife and other arts festivals, public art, ethnic heritage and performing arts events and companies. ICCG-supported jobs include a wide range of positions for Iowans: contracts for artists to perform or teach; labor costs for renovation or construction projects in cultural organizations; and part-time and full-time educators, program managers, tour guides, executive directors and more.
“Iowa’s arts, cultural and historical organizations not only enhance the quality of life in our communities, they create jobs and economic opportunities for Iowans,” Lt. Governor Patty Judge said.. “The projects supported by these grants are tremendously exciting, ranging from the construction of Glenn Miller’s Birthplace Museum to the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to Iowa. I continue to be energized and inspired by Iowa’s cultural leaders and workers.”
Communities and organizations across Iowa are encouraged to apply for fiscal year 2011 Iowa Community Cultural Grants by May 1, 2010. Nonprofit or tax-exempt organizations, local governments and tribal councils that promote and develop the arts, history or historic preservation, culture, ethnicity, tourism, economic development, festivals or municipal libraries are eligible to apply. Cash-match awards range from $1,000 to $25,000.
ICCG applications are available at www.culturalaffairs.org. For more information about this program, contact IAC’s Riki Saltzman at 515-242-6195 or riki.saltzman@iowa.gov.
The following projects were awarded ICCG funding this spring:
Carroll
Recipient: Missouri and Mississippi Divide RC&D
Grant Amount: $17,700
Description: ICCG funding will help support the hiring of a project director and volunteer coordinator. The current byway manager position will be expanded to become the project director of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway “Mud to Moders” 1913 to 1940 project. The volunteer coordinator will be a part-time position throughout the completion of the project.
Clarinda
Recipient: Glenn Miller Birthplace Society
Grant Amount: $22,800
Description: Construction of the Glenn Miller Birthplace Museum – ICCG funding will be used for the labor costs of the construction of the research library/collections storage area and library/collections office for the Glenn Miller Birthplace Museum.
Coon Rapids
Recipient: Creating Great Places
Grant Amount: $22,800
Description: Coordination for “Khrushchev in Iowa” Statewide 50th Anniversary Commemoration – Coordination of dozens of institutions participating in a 2009 statewide commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Nikita Khrushchev’s historic visit to Iowa. Commemoration activities will include author talks, an afternoon conference, a banquet recreating the one served to Khrushchev, capture of oral histories, a historic photo display, a theatre performance, and media and scholar outreach. ICCG funding will be used to compensate a planning director, coordination staff, Web site designer, and performance and production personnel.
Corning (Iowa Great Places project/Adams County)
Recipient: French Icarian Colony Foundation
Grant Amount: $13,800
Description: ICCG funding will fund 30 hours of the executive directors’ salary to oversee the restoration and rebuilding of the Colony in Adams County and to develop the support systems needed to move the project forward.
Corydon
Recipient: Cambria Area Betterment Association
Grant Amount: $1,800
Description: ICCG funding will be used to hire contract labor to replace the gym/auditorium floor of the Cambria School Center. This building is used for a community cultural and educational center for Wayne County and surrounding area.
Council Bluffs
Recipient: Bluffs Arts Council
Grant Amount: $11,400
Description: As an expansion to the Black Squirrel Arts Academy, the Bluffs Arts Council will use ICCG funding to hire a part-time project manager to coordinate the program. In addition, they will hire more teaching artists for the classes. The academy is an outreach program that offers classes to school-aged children in all areas of the arts.
Des Moines
Recipient: Culture Incorporated
Grant Amount: $22,800
Description: ICCG funding will support the salary for a new part-time position at Cultural Incorporated. This will be a year-round position to develop and monitor volunteer systems, encourage parent involvement and manage programming. Twelve visiting artist from Metro Arts will also be hired.
Des Moines
Recipient: Terrace Hill Foundation
Grant Amount: $5,900
Description: “Thriller at Terrace Hill” – In October 2009, Terrace Hill invites the public to five chilling nights of classic horror written by Victorian masters of the macabre: Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker. Central Iowa theater companies – Repertory Theater of Iowa and Subjective Theatre – will collaborate in spine-tingling performances using Terrace Hill as their “stage.” ICCG funding will be used to hire Repertory Theater of Iowa and Subjective Theatre artists.
Dubuque (Iowa Great Places project/Dubuque)
Recipient: City of Dubuque
Grant Amount: $13,700
Description: ICCG funding will be used to expand the position of the arts and cultural affairs coordinator in order to develop increased funding for existing programs, unify local arts groups, allow involvement with new city initiatives of the Historic Millwork District and Sustainable Dubuque, and to serve as captain of the Region 9 CHAT.
Dubuque
Recipient: Dubuque Art Center
Grant Amount: $21,400
Description: ICCG funding will be used as salary support for a full-time director, two part-time instructors as well as a small stipend for four curriculum development consultants to develop a research-based arts enrichment curriculum and implement it in two free after-school programs.
Grinnell
Recipient: Grinnell Area Arts Council
Grant Amount: $21,800
Description: ICCG funding will be used to hire a full-time arts director for the Grinnell Art Center scheduled to open in January 2010 and to support the ongoing and expanding Grinnell Area Arts Council programs.
Indianola
Recipient: Iowa Motion Picture Association
Grant Amount: $13,700
Description: Establishing a Robust and Sustainable Film, TV and Video Production Industry in Iowa: The Iowa Motion Picture Association will hire a contract staff person to improve its effectiveness in building Iowa media production infrastructure, including workforce, physical facilities, key services and vendors, outreach to rural and urban communities to promote unique locations, and better integration of Iowa middle school, high school and college media curricula with training and employment opportunities. ICCG funding will be used to compensate a three-quarter-time executive director.
Iowa City
Recipient: Mission Creek Festival, Inc.
Grant Amount: $10,200
Description: ICCG funding will support the salary and contract fees paid to those involved with the five-day Mission Creek Arts Festival. The programming primarily focuses on literary readings and musical performances.
Maquoketa (Iowa Great Places project/Jackson County)
Recipient: Jackson County Historical Society
Grant Amount: $1,900
Description: Restoration of the Clinton Engines Museum North Entry – ICCG funding will be used to pay for labor to install railings for the stairways and the exterior signage at the museum’s north entry.
Maquoketa
Recipient: Maquoketa Art Experience
Grant Amount: $22,800
Description: ICCG funding will provide salary support to hire an activities coordinator for Maquoketa Art Experience. The coordinator will manage exhibitions and workshops and promote Maquoketa as a place for artists to live, work and prosper.
McGregor (Iowa Great Places project/Marquette-McGregor)
Recipient: McGregor-Marquette Center for the Arts
Grant Amount: $3,500
Description: The McGregor-Marquette Center for the Arts will use ICCG funding to hire a director for planning and sustainability and a gallery and planning associate to create a business and marketing plan, develop a capital plan to purchase the building in which the center is currently located, and develop and implement short-term programming.
Waterloo
Recipient: Bosnian Cultural Foundation
Grant Amount: $16,400
Description: Commemorating 15 years of Bosnian Settlement in the Cedar Valley – culminating in a symposium, concert and exhibition, this project examines the experience of Bosnian resettlement and culture in Iowa. It will offer great educational opportunities by collaborating with regional scholars and performing groups, and it will preserve Bosnian traditional music, artifacts, and oral histories of resettlement through the creation of electronic and physical archives. ICCG funding will be used to compensate a project coordinator, photographer, scriptwriter and graphic designer.
West Des Moines
Recipient: Historic Valley Junction Foundation
Grant Amount: $12,700
Description: ARTstop is a two-day celebration of arts and culture at locations throughout Greater Des Moines. A free bus service allows participants to move around the area to enjoy a variety of free activities, including performances, art exhibits, arts workshops and foods provided by Iowa artists, artisans, galleries and restaurants. ICCG funding will be used to compensate an administrative assistant, graphic designer, performing and workshop artists, bus stop attendants and tour guides.
West Des Moines
Recipient: Tandem Theatre and Dance/Hurley & Dancers
Grant Amount: $7,400
Description: ICCG funding will allow Tandem Theatre and Dance to hire visual artist Kun Nong to create dance movement frescoes to illustrate action in the book “A Tuna Can of Holy Water,” culminating in two results: photos of dancers to accompany the book’s text for online publishing and a live dance performance with projected photos as set design.
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The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible for developing the state’s interest in the areas of the arts, history and other cultural matters with the advice and assistance from its two divisions: the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council. The DCA preserves, researches, interprets and promotes an awareness and understanding of local, state and regional history and stimulates and encourages the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts and public interest and participation in them. It implements tourism-related art and history projects as directed by the general assembly and designs a comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan with the assistance of the Iowa Arts Council to develop the arts in Iowa. More information about DCA is available at www.culturalaffairs.org.