The Lehigh Valley Arts Council observes National Arts and Humanities Month with Arts Count 2015, an arts rally and awards ceremony, on Tuesday, October 13, 2015, at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This year’s gathering also celebrates the new and expanded Charter Arts facility at Third and Polk Streets in South Bethlehem.
“We are very excited to offer the arts community an opportunity to tour this 80,000 square-foot facility,” says Forte, “now equipped with a recording studio, a black box studio, four dance studios, expanded art studios and gallery, and a 350-seat performing arts theatre. Wow!” ARTS COUNT serves as the occasion for the Lehigh Valley Arts Council to distribute grant awards to the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Project Stream recipients in Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties. The Project Stream is open to individual artists and community groups who apply for support of an arts-related project with strong public impact. More than $34,000 in state funds will be awarded to twenty-seven applicants for activities September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016. “Arts Count celebrates the public/private partnerships that fuel the arts in our region,” says Executive Director Randall Forte, “and features local business and foundation leaders giving testimony on the value and impact of the arts.” Locally elected officials are invited to present checks to the grant recipients from their districts. In keeping with the spirit of fellowship, Arts Council members are encouraged to bring a guest and rally for the arts. PPA, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, is designed to widen the circle of funding opportunities in support of arts activities throughout the Commonwealth. The grant application and award process is administered by the Arts Council staff, who convene advisory panels from the cultural community to review the proposals for artistic excellence and public impact. This year, grant activities will reach a wide range of constituents, from young children to senior citizens, and engage audiences in projects that include Latin, Native American, and Asian cultural festivals; multidisciplinary endeavors in dance, theatre, film, photography and music; public arts events, classes, and exhibits in sculpture gardens, heritage centers, county museums and campus galleries, bus shelters, and city streets. Among this year’s grantees, there are ten first-time grantees. The grant awards recipiencts are:
The October reception is supported by Gross McGinley, LLP and PPL, and is free to Arts Council members and grant recipients; the cost to guests and nonmembers is $10. Refreshments will be served. R.S.V.P. to 610-437-5915 to attend. For information about the PPA grant application, contact PA Partners in the Arts Coordinator Marilyn Roberts at ppa@LVArtsCouncil.org. |
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