Howard County Arts Council Announces FY17 Grant Awards

Forty-six arts and cultural organizations will receive $559,209 in matching grants from the Howard County Arts Council for Fiscal Year 2017. The awards were announced at the Arts Council’s annual meeting and reception at the Howard County Center for the Arts on September 16, 2016. These matching grants will be used by 20 Howard County organizations, 14 Howard County public schools, and 12 key Baltimore City organizations to support general operations and projects taking place in Howard County, artist residencies, and special projects in the arts.

Community Arts Development Grants fund day-to-day activities for Howard County arts organizations as well as special projects in the arts. $319,479 was awarded to the following organizations for FY2017:

Candlelight Concert Society Operating $41,301

Columbia Bands Project $5,000

Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts Operating $65,575

Columbia Festival of the Arts Operating $67,250

Columbia Orchestra Operating $34,838

Columbia Pro Cantare Operating $24,481

First Evangelical Lutheran Church Project $5,000

HopeWorks of Howard County Project $2,600

Howard County Concert Orchestra Project $5,000

Howard County Poetry and Literature Society Operating $14,075

Kinetics Dance Theatre Operating $15,000

Little Patuxent Review Project $4,500

ManneqArt Project $4,659

Misako Ballet Company Project $5,000

Red Branch Theatre Company Project $5,000

Rep Stage Project $5,000

ShowTime Singers Project $5,000

Silhouette Stages Project $4,850

Sundays at Three Project $2,500

Artists-in-Education Project Grants are a partnership between the Arts Council and local Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to place professional artists in residence at Howard County schools to help students foster creative expression. $26,738 in funding was awarded to the following schools for the first FY2017 grant deadline:

Bonnie Branch MS PTA $1,325

Bushy Park ES PTA $1,052

Clarksville MS PTA $1,400

Clemens Crossing ES PTA $2,000

Dunloggin MS PTA $2,993

Glenwood MS PTSA $3,056

Harpers Choice MS PTA $1,300

Ilchester ES PTA $2,400

Lime Kiln ES PTA $2,633

Lisbon ES PTA $3,343

Marriotts Ridge HS PTSA $1,234

Stevens Forest ES PTA $2,000

Talbott Springs ES PTA $767

Thunder Hill ES PTA $1,235

Baltimore City Arts and Cultural Grants provide funding to key Baltimore City organizations that provide significant services to Howard County residents. $156,212 was awarded to the following organizations for FY2017:

American Visionary Art Museum $4,085

Baltimore Museum of Art $18,384

Baltimore Museum of Industry $8,030

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra $24,954

Center Stage Associates, Inc. $23,428

Maryland Historical Society $3,255

Maryland Science Center $14,700

Maryland Zoological Society, Inc. $16,151

National Aquarium, Inc. $14,656

Port Discovery Children's Museum $10,658

Outreach Howard Grants provide funding to key Baltimore City organizations to bring projects and programs directly to Howard County residents. $40,000 was awarded to the following organizations:

American Visionary Art Museum $2,750

Baltimore Museum of Industry $3,340

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra $9,685

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company $15,000

Maryland Science Center $3,000

Maryland Zoological Society, Inc. $2,835

Port Discovery Children's Museum $3,390

The Jim Rouse Theatre Subsidy Program assists community arts groups by partially underwriting theatre rental fees at The Jim Rouse Theatre for the Performing Arts. $16,780 was awarded to the following organizations for FY2017:

Columbia Festival of the Arts $4,883

Columbia Orchestra $5,676

Columbia Pro Cantare $2,638

Kinetics Dance Theatre $2,341

Misako Ballet Company $1,242

Howard County Arts Council grants are awarded on the basis of artistic merit, ability of the applicant to carry out the project, and level of service to the community. Grants are made through a competitive process in which applications are reviewed by an advisory panel made up of academics and artists representing a variety of disciplines. Grant award recommendations are then reviewed and approved by the Howard County Arts Council Board of Directors.

The Arts Council’s grant program is supported through grants from the Howard County government and the Maryland State Arts Council as well as through the Howard County Arts Council’s own foundation, corporate, and individual giving initiatives.

PHOTO: Misako Aoki of Misako Ballet accepts a Community Arts Development grant award from Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman at the FY2017 Annual Meeting and Grant Awards Ceremony on September 16 (HCAC photo)