Grant News: February 2022 | ArtsWestchester

Percy Grainger’s “Cross-Grainger Experiments– February 1950″ machine
(photo courtesy of the International Percy Grainger Society)

Percy Grainger Society Receives Conservation Grant

The International Percy Grainger Society is one of 25 organizations to receive a Conservation Treatment Grant from Greater Hudson Heritage Network and the New York State Council on the Arts. These grants support treatment procedures by professional conservators. The object to be conserved, “Cross-Grainger Experiments– February 1950,” is an early example of musician Percy Grainger’s “Free Music” machines, and provides insight into his contribution to the development of electronic music. Conservator Kerith Koss Schrager of The Found Object Art Conservation will address aesthetic and stability issues so the object can be safely displayed close to its original appearance. The object will allow for enhanced educational programming and a focus during interpretive tour at his former home, a historic landmark in White Plains.

The United States and the Dominican Republic by Pepe Coronado was on view in ArtsWestchester’s 2015 Crossing Borders exhibition (image courtesy of the artist)

ArtsWestchester Gains Support From National Endowment for the Arts to Display Works by New and First-Generation Americans

ArtsWestchester recently announced that it was approved for a $40,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support its Crossing Borders: The Art of Memory and Heritage exhibition. This show, which will be on view in spring 2023, will feature lower New York State artists who identify as new or first-generation Americans. These artists’ works engage with, and reflect on, the contemporary immigrant experience. The exhibition will revisit the themes of the organization’s 2015 show, which was also made possible with an NEA grant. The new funds will support the creation and presentation of new works. The exhibition is part of ArtsWestchester’s five-year equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility master plan that includes increased representation of Westchester’s diverse communities and encourages cross-cultural dialogue.

(image from Kofi’s Trial, courtesy of Historic Hudson Valley)

Historic Hudson Valley Receives Grant for Graphic Novel About Slavery

Historic Hudson Valley (HHV) has been awarded a $399K grant from National Endowment for the Humanities to produce a new interactive graphic novel titled Kofi’s Trial. The novel will tell the true story of Kofi, a man who was enslaved by the Philipse family of Sleepy Hollow. Kafi was tried, convicted and sentenced to death during what became known as the “New York Conspiracy” in 1741, during which dozens of people were charged with plotting to burn Manhattan. The digital novel will function as a tool to help HHV tell the story of slavery in the Colonial north and provide a historical resource for visitors to better understand the national conversation about racial inequality.

NYC’s Sing For Hope Partners with Local School to Pilot New Music Curriculum

A partnership between Young at Arts in Bronxville, the Amani Public Charter School in Mount Vernon and New York City-based Sing for Hope has resulted in the School’s “Sing for Hope–Young at Arts Lab.” After the program was piloted at the end of 2021, Sing for Hope committed funding to provide an in-school music curriculum, as well as a daily after-school performing arts program for the 2021-22 school year. The School also received one of Sing for Hope’s famous artist-designed pianos, which will be available for the students to use. This one, titled Vibrantly Colored, was designed and painted by artist Imani Shanklin Roberts.

New Grant Allows Yonkers Library and Hudson River Museum to Strengthen Partnership

Yonkers Public Library (YPL), in partnership with the Hudson River Museum (HRM), received an $89,300 grant from the Metropolitan New York Library Council. The grant will support the organizations’ joint The Estuary Project: Learning that Flows Two Ways program, which “synchronizes the library’s programs and resources with the museum’s exhibitions, planetarium and workshops.” Together, YPL and HRM will build a library collection about Yonkers, the tribal history of the Lenape, history of the Hudson River, and the Hudson River School art movement, which can be used by the community. They will also work closely on developing programs and curriculum that complement the museum’s permanent collection and upcoming exhibitions.

A version of this article first appeared in the February 2022 issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.

About ArtsWestchester

For more than 50 years, ArtsWestchester has been the community’s connection to the arts. Founded in 1965, it is the largest, private, not-for-profit arts council in New York State. Its mission is to provide leadership, vision, and support, to ensure the availability, accessibility, and diversity of the arts. ArtsWestchester provides programs and services that enrich the lives of everyone in Westchester County. ArtsWestchester helps fund concerts, exhibitions and plays through grants; brings artists into schools and community centers; advocates for the arts; and builds audiences through diverse marketing initiatives. In 1998, ArtsWestchester purchased the nine-story neo-classical bank building at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue which has since been transformed into a multi-use resource for artists, cultural organizations, and the community. A two-story gallery is located on the first floor of ArtsWestchester’s historic building on Mamaroneck Avenue.