Past
Grantees

AARON DAVIS HALL, Harlem, New York, received $20,000 in support of the Fund for New Work, and specifically for commissions to emerging creative artists to develop new work. Aaron Davis Hall has provided over 22 years of service to Harlem as its principal center for the performing arts, responsible for the management and programming of a three-theater complex. Jerome dollars are directed to artists who are at the beginnings of creating work and have shown initial promise; artists who are under-recognized because their opportunities have been limited, particularly in major venues; and artists who are moving into new forms. Performances of works created via these commissions are often seen at Aaron Davis in such series as E-Moves.

MARYA HART, pianist and arranger, will spend seven weeks in Germany and the United Kingdom to study Weimar-era musical traditions and contemporary performance styles, with a focus on the work of Hanns Eisler. Hart is employed at the Childrens Theatre Company and has recently been creating theater works around musical themes. She is currently working on political music of the 1930s and 40s. In Germany, Hart will build on her preliminary research to learn from the experience of others who have worked in the European tradition, obtain feedback from artists and scholars on her work, and generate ideas for new pieces. In England, Hart will attend cabaret performances that feature contemporary and historical political music.

Jerome Foundation Directors awarded a two-year grant of $37,000 to HARVESTWORKS, New York City, in support of the Artists in Residence Program. Now in its 19th year, this program subsidizes a creative period for competitively selected emerging artists who are exploring new directions in their work. The residency gives them access to sophisticated production and recording equipment, and the assistance of an expert engineer. Artists also receive stipends, tapes and production supplies. The mission of Harvestworks is to foster the creation of new work by artists who use technology in their creative process.

Media artist MIKE HAZARD will spend six days in New York being mentored by master filmmaker and teacher George Stoney. Hazard seeks to develop further his professional life as an artist in the schools. The two share an interest in video poetry and a desire to change the world through passionate media. Hazard will also explore the idea of producing a video documentary portrait of Stoney as a teacher, activist, and artist. Hazard will show his work at the Tisch School of the Arts.

HEADWATERS MUSIC, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received funding of $17,000 to commission emerging New York City and Minnesota composers to write works for the 2002 Festival Dancing In Your Head, a marathon performance of new music. Numerous eclectic ensembles present a wide range of musical styles and ideas in works by emerging and established composers. The Festival not only offers concert opportunities for new music, it provides strong publicity, impressive audience sizes, interaction among musical styles and cultural traditions, and the strengthening of a new music network in Minnesota.

IN THE HEART OF THE BEAST PUPPET AND MASK THEATRE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $18,000 in support of three productions by emerging puppet and mask artists. Duane Tougas and Masanari Kawahara are creating works for From the Inside Out. Tougas will create the Apartment Show, which moves from the exterior signs of an apartment building to an interior view of one tenants life and relationships. Kawahara is adapting a story about butchering a pig by Japanese writer Kenji Miyazawa. Elisha Whittington will create Queen Nanny, Queen Nanny!, based on the true story of an 18th century Jamaican woman who was a the leader of a group of revolutionary former slaves.

ALISON HEIMSTEAD, pyrotechnic and puppet artist, will travel to Vashon Island in Washington State for 27 days to participate in Islewilde!, an annual community arts event. Heimstead will collaborate with Festival Director Andrew Kim to create the opening ceremony. She will lend her pyrotechnic skills to the event and learn how other community-based art events are structured, while furthering her pyrotechnic development by working with established pyrotechnic artists.

HERE, New York City, received $20,000 to support the creation and production of new works by core artists. A multi-arts center with performance spaces, galleries and a caf, HERE supports the innovative work of artists at all levels in their careers. Jerome funding will be directed toward two works by Fernando Maneca, Just Like a Man: Personal Anecdotes, Confessions and Other Tall Tales and Today I am Feeling a Bit Less Cynical. The first is a solo hybrid performance piece exploring what it means to be a man. The second is an ensemble piece inspired by the existential writings of Franz Kafka and Fernando Pessoa. Kristin Marting is developing a new work, The Winds of Her Misfortune, inspired by the writing of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Marting will collaborate with Todd Griffin to examine the role of first world imperialism in third world societies through her gestural vocabulary and his low-tech music.

Jerome Foundation Directors made a grant of $15,000 to the HIGHPOINT CENTER FOR PRINTMAKING, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in support of residencies for emerging printmakers, and professional support for those artists. The Center, founded by Carla McGrath and Cole Rogers, serves independent artists and provides educational programming for young people. Jerome funding will be used to initiate a residency program that will support four to five emerging printmakers from the Upper Midwest, the majority of those Minnesota residents. The program is designed to advance the work and level of recognition of print artists. It provides shop and equipment access, technical support, discounts on programs, assistance in creating portfolios of work made during the residencies, and a group exhibition.

S.A.S.E.: THE WRITE PLACE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, acting as fiscal agent for the HMONG AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR LITERATURE, received $10,000 in support of the literary journal Paj Ntaub Voice and a workshop for emerging Hmong writers. The Institute offers programs and services for Hmong American writers and advances literature in the Hmong community. Much of the Jerome Foundations grant will support two issues of Paj Ntaub Voice, edited by Mai Neng Moua. The mission of the journal is to provide a community forum to foster Hmong writing and art, thus celebrating Hmong identity. Funding will also be directed to a workshop for 12 competitively selected emerging Hmong writers to work with a more established, published author to develop their writing.

Multidisciplinary artist JEAN HUMKE, Saint Paul, Minnesota, was awarded a grant to travel to the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin to learn about practices of democratically integrating personal beliefs into public art works. Humke will study the Oneida Nation Arts Programs systems, structure, and methods of inclusion to learn how to work more collaboratively and communally with people. She will apply this information toward her own public art projects regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Multidisciplinary artist Jean Humke, Saint Paul, Minnesota, was awarded a grant to travel to the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin to learn about practices of democratically integrating personal beliefs into public art works. Humke will study the Oneida Nation Arts Program's systems, structure, and methods of inclusion to learn how to work more collaboratively and communally with people. She will apply this information toward her own public art projects regionally, nationally, and internationally.

ILLUSION THEATER, Minneapolis, Minnesota, was awarded a two-year grant of $50,000 in support of developmental and production work with emerging playwrights and theater creators and the Artistic Associate program. Illusion Theaters mission is to create theater that illuminates contemporary myths and realities and catalyzes personal and social change. It seeks new and emerging artists and gives them opportunities to develop and grow through the Fresh Ink series, new play readings, mainstage productions, and the Artistic Associates program. Fresh Ink gives artists opportunities to develop material in front of an audience without exposing them to the pressures of a full performance. The Artistic Associates program brings new plays, new projects, new artists, and new communities to Illusion Theater.

Lao dancer, choreographer, and teacher LADDAVANH CHANTHRAPHONE will spend six weeks in Vientaine, Laos, undergoing intensive training in Lao traditional dance with Master Chansouda Southathamma. Professor Southathamma will help Chanthraphone develop her artistic vision and skill. It will also be a time for self-reflection and creativity. Southathamma will act as a teacher and mentor and will introduce Chanthraphone to talented dancers in Laos.

INTAR HISPANIC AMERICAN ARTS CENTER, New York City, received $20,000 in support of the NewWorks Lab. INTAR identifies, develops, and presents the work of Hispanic American theater and visual artists and introduces outstanding new works by internationally respected Latin artists to American audiences. The NewWorks Lab supports the evolution of directors, writers, actors, and other artists from the Latino community in a theatrical context and provides a home for the development of new works in a creative environment. The Lab is comprised of a Reading Series and Workshop productions of four projects. It brings talented collaborators together, offering them the freedom to take creative risks, which are vital to artistic growth, and to undertake projects they would have no opportunity to pursue elsewhere.

A two-year grant of $70,000 was awarded to INTERMEDIA ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in support of the Intermedia Arts/Jerome Performance Art Commissioning Program. Intermedia is a multidisciplinary arts center that offers programs in visual arts, media arts, performance, and interdisciplinary forms. It also provides financial support, information, referrals, and professional development opportunities to artists. The Performance Art Commissioning Program provides opportunities for emerging artists to create new performance art works, test new works before audiences, gain promotion and production experience, and develop their critical response skills for evaluating and revising work. Independent panels will competitively select four artists per year.

A two-year grant of $98,000 was awarded to INTERMEDIA ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in support of the Art Inside/Outside Space Program and artists services. Intermedia Arts is a multidisciplinary arts center that offers programs in visual arts, media arts, performance, and interdisciplinary forms. Its mission is to serve as a catalyst that builds understanding among people through art. The Art Inside/Outside Space Program provides opportunities for artists and audiences alike to learn more about the installation form and its possibilities. The program is designed to support artists who have not yet had major opportunities to create and display installation work. Intermedia issues an annual open call to Minnesota artists for this program. Installations may incorporate any number of media. Independent selection panels choose the artists who receive commissions and installation support for the exhibition, which is accompanied by a catalog and artists talk. Monies were also provided to Intermedia to assist in the provision of services to emerging artists, a primary function of the organization.

The INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP THROUGH THE PERFORMING ARTS, Burnsville, Minnesota, received $8,000 to support the creation, presentation and recording of two new compositions by GAO HONG. Hong is a composer and master of the pipa (Chinese lute). Well recognized as a performing virtuoso, Hong is interested in the development of her compositional ability and seeks opportunities to create new works for herself and collaborating musicians. The International Friendship organization was created as a nonprofit concert presenter and booking agency for performers of ethnic instruments and singers of indigenous songs. It develops and produces the work of Gao Hong and other artists through concerts, touring events, educational workshops, and commissioning.

A two-year grant of $30,000 was awarded to the JAMAICA CENTER FOR ARTS AND LEARNING, Jamaica, New York, in support of the participation of emerging artists in its Visual Arts Program. The Centers mission is to make the arts accessible to the entire community. It is dedicated to supporting the creation of work by emerging and established artists, especially those who are working from cultural traditions and artistic disciplines underrepresented in the artistic community as a whole. The Visual Arts Program mounts thematic group exhibitions, an annual solo show of the Workspace artist in residence and exhibitions organized by independent curators. The Center advocates for artists by providing career resources, exhibition opportunities and support.

JOHN JASPERSE COMPANY/THIN MAN DANCE, New York City, received a two-year concluding grant of $25,000 in support of new work by choreographer John Jasperse. The company strives for innovation and exploration in concert dance. Jasperse will use Jerome funding to create two new works. The first years untitled work examines the nature of perception and the presumption of a hierarchy inherent in compositional order. Jasperse will choreograph fluid and constantly shifting points of focus within the performance space, causing the audience to shift its mode of perception from subject against ground to the entire field.