ArtsMemphis grants $250K to Memphis College of Art for Downtown graduate school
Memphis Business Journal
Rendering of MCA's planned graduate school on South Main
Courtesy Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects
ArtsMemphis has provided $364,000 in enhancement grants to seven local arts organizations, led by a $250,000 grant to Memphis College of Art’s Downtown graduate school project. ArtsMemphis uses the grants to strengthen those organizations by providing them with designated funds. The funds are used to broaden audiences or to build long-term capacity.
Grant recipients include:
• Memphis College of Art, which received a two-year, $250,000 grant to purchase and renovate its new graduate school at 477 S. Main in Downtown Memphis;
• Memphis Symphony Orchestra, which received $35,000 to purchase a portable acoustic shell for use at the new Playhouse on the Square and to support outreach efforts in rural communities;
• Africa in April, which received $8,000 to purchase technology to support and enhance operations;
• Center for Southern Folklore, which received $12,000 to support a portion of its multi-year comprehensive media programs, including video production, production of a Southernfolklore app and Web site enhancements;
• New Ballet Ensemble and School, which received $40,000 for its Multi-cultural Community Arts Incubator and capital campaign;
• TheatreWorks, which received $4,000 to purchase stage lighting equipment that will simplify and improve lighting for groups that use the TheatreWorks facility;
• Voices of the South, which received $15,000 to purchase technology and related equipment. This grant is a challenge grant to raise an additional $5,000 needed to complete project.
Grant recipients are determined by the ArtsMemphis enhancement grant committee chaired by Anne Stokes. Members of the committee are Andrew Clarkson, Bruce Hopkins and Gary Wunderlich. “A large portion of this year’s funds support the Memphis College of Art’s expansion into the South Main (Historic) Arts District Downtown,” Stokes said in a statement. “We agreed that this specific grant has the potential to make a very significant impact. It will touch the lives of thousands of artists and educators for years to come.”