Howard County Arts Council's FY16 Grant Awards Announced

Forty-nine arts and cultural organizations will receive $579,896 in matching grants from the Howard County Arts Council for Fiscal Year 2016. The awards were announced at the Arts Council’s annual meeting and reception at the Howard County Center for the Arts on September 18, 2015. These matching grants will be used by 19 Howard County organizations; 19 Howard County public schools; and 11 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. $309,372 was awarded to the following organizations for FY2016:

Candlelight Concert Society Operating $33,217
Columbia Bands Project $4,620
Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts Operating $68,628
Columbia Festival of the Arts Operating $78,809
The Columbia Orchestra Operating $27,870
Columbia Pro Cantare Operating $22,649
First Evangelical Lutheran Church Project $5,000
Howard County Ballet Operating $8,700
Howard County Concert Orchestra Project $4,000
Howard County Poetry & Literature Society Operating $11,729
Kinetics Dance Theatre Operating $12,000
Little Patuxent Review Project $4,125
ManneqArt Project $5,000
Misako Ballet Company Project $4,800
Red Branch Theatre Company Project $3,375
Rep Stage Project $5,000
ShowTime Singers Project $3,350
Silhouette Stages Project $4,000
Sundays At Three Project $2,500

Organizational Development and Equipment Grants fund efforts to stabilize and support the organizational development and professional business management skills of arts organizations in Howard County. One-time funding is also available to purchase equipment to enhance or improve the production and presentation of artistic or cultural programming. $18,933 was awarded to the following organizations for FY2016:

Candlelight Concert Society Equipment $5,974
Kinetics Dance Theatre Equipment $6,189
ManneqART Organizational Development $6,770

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. $30,484 in funding was awarded to the following schools for the first FY2016 grant deadline:

Bellows Springs ES PTA $1,680
Bonnie Branch MS PTA $225
Bryant Woods ES PTA $2,737
Bushy Park ES PTA $447
Clarksville ES PTA $940
Clarksville MS PTA $1,400
Dayton Oaks ES PTA $1,483
Dunloggin MS PTA $2,748
Glenwood MS PTA $2,550
Harpers Choice MS PTA $1,408
Longfellow ES PTA $2,000
Northfield ES PTA $1,433
Running Brook ES PTA $2,141
Thomas Viaduct MS PTA $1,667
Thunder Hill ES PTA $987
Waterloo ES PTA $1,680
West Friendship ES PTA $2,053
Wilde Lake MS PTA $1,167
Worthington ES PTA $1,738

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 FY2016:

American Visionary Art Museum $4,923
Baltimore Museum of Art $21,763
Baltimore Museum of Industry $8,751
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra $27,261
Center Stage Associates, Inc. $21,768
Maryland Science Center $13,766
Maryland Zoo in Baltimore $15,157
National Aquarium $16,609
Port Discovery Children’s Museum $9,997
The Walters Art Museum $16,219

Outreach Howard Grants provide funding to key Baltimore City organizations to bring projects and programs directly to Howard County residents. $44,000 was awarded to the following organizations:

American Visionary Art Museum $1,500
Baltimore Museum of Industry $2,905
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company $17,500
Maryland Science Center $4,500
Maryland Zoo in Baltimore $4,529
Port Discovery Children’s Museum $4,476
Walters Art Museum $8,590

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. $20,895 was awarded to the following organizations for FY2016:

Columbia Bands $620
Columbia Festival of the Arts $7,280
The Columbia Orchestra $6,720
Columbia Pro Cantare $3,060
Kinetics Dance Theatre $1,715
Misako Ballet Company $1,500

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.