Past
Grantees

Artist EDITH GARCIA received a grant to spend four weeks in England, France, and Italy where she will expand her knowledge of the contemporary ceramics world and research artist residency opportunities. She will also pursue relationships with gallery directors, museum curators, and contemporary ceramic artists. Garcia works in clay, cast metals, wax, and alabaster.

The Directors authorized a two-year grant of $15,000 to THE FIELD, New York City, acting as fiscal agent for KEELY GARFIELDS SINISTER SLAPSTICK, in support of the creation and performance of three new works, FREE DRINKS FOR LADIES WITH NUTS, Im With Stupid!, and an untitled third work. Garfield excavates personal imagery and stories, revealing them in ironic and poetic soap-operatic dance sagas. FREE DRINKS FOR LADIES WITH NUTS is about the reluctance to accept responsibility, the ways that stress permeates lives, and the relief experienced in letting go. The two other new works in development explore maturing artistic relationships formed during past projects.

DIANNE GASCH, puppeteer from Cokato, received a grant to spend seven days attending the 2001 National Puppet Festival at the University of Tampa. Gasch intends to strengthen her puppet design, production, and performance skills. She works with students uninterested in reading and writing, helping them to learn through the arts.

The MINNESOTA DANCE ALLIANCE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, acting as fiscal agent for choreographer GERRY GIROUARD, received a two-year grant of $19,000 in support of the creation of new work. Girouard and his dancers utilize nontraditional dance surfaces, ranging from walls to specifically designed set pieces, and even the performers bodies themselves, navigating through spaces as if exempt from the laws of gravity. His work is rigorously athletic and visually arresting. He has integrated technology into his work and expanded the possibilities for audiences viewing the movement. Girouards new dance drama is inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray and will explore Faustian bargains in contemporary America.

A grant was awarded to MICHAEL GITLIN for Field Marks, an hour-long experimental nonfiction that explores some attempts to (re)construct nature in the Imaginary, centered on ornithology and the subculture of birding. One section of the film will examine the continuing search for the Ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird now presumed extinct, in order to ask the question: what constitutes proof of a species' extinction? How does one prove a disappearance, a lack? The film will also investigate the aesthetics and culture of natural history specimen collection and the diorama, which rebuilds nature as narrative. the film will posit its own counter-narrative.

Independent media artist EMILY GOLDBERG received funding to attend educational seminars at the annual Independent Feature Project Market in New York. She will meet with distributors, television executives, and publicists who specialize in independent documentary films. Goldberg plans to get an overview of the film industry and business practices and learn how to market her work.

HIPS ROAD, INC., New York City, acted as fiscal agent for composer ANNIE GOSFIELD, who sought a grant to support a CD recording of her work. Hips Road, created by composer John Zorn, advances experimental and avant-garde music and composers. Tzadik Records, founded for the purpose of releasing the best in avant-garde and experimental music, presents contemporary musician-composers who find it difficult to release their music through more conventional channels. Jerome funding of $11,650 was authorized to assist with CD production expenses including studio costs, musicians fees and mixing. The compositions on the CD are intended to demonstrate diverse facets of Gosfields work, and her use of contrasting techniques to create a musically cohesive collection inspired by the ambiance, energy and sheer power of industrial sound.

Photographer KERMIT RYAN GRABER received funding to spend two weeks in England to photograph families with adopted children. The subtle forms of separation present in his images reflect the physical, biological, and emotional differences between child and parent.

The Jerome Foundation renewed its membership in and provided general support for the programs of the COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS, Washington, D.C.; the MINNESOTA COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and GRANTMAKERS IN THE ARTS, Seattle, Washington. A total of $32,170 was authorized for three service organizations important to the fields of philanthropy and the arts.

Jerome Foundation Directors authorized a two-year grant of $50,000 to GRAYWOLF PRESS, St. Paul, Minnesota, in support of the publication of nine books by emerging authors, most of who are residents of Minnesota and/or New York City. Founded in 1974, Graywolf is dedicated to the creation and promotion of thoughtful and imaginative contemporary literature by authors whose works convey distinct visions and vigorous engagement with the possibilities of language.

Theater artist Aundaray Guess received funding to learn how to sharpen his business skills by attending workshops for artists at Resources and Counseling for the Arts. He will work with a consultant to learn how to market his performances for touring.

A grant was awarded to writer and arts administrator KATHRYN HADDAD to spend six weeks in Beirut, Lebanon. Haddad will meet with Lebanese artists to develop her work as a writer and as the Executive Director of MIZNA, a journal for Arab-American literature. As the first member of her family to be born in America, Haddad desires to visit Lebanon and connect with her familys homeland. She intends to learn Arabic as means of connecting with her heritage and to advance her professional administrative work.

Joseph Hagedorn, Managing Director of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet (MGQ), received a grant to hire a short-term consultant to teach him how to build relationships with concert presenters and develop new promotional materials. This will assist the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet's efforts to advance the work of emerging composers. By increasing the number of performances and bringing new works to larger audiences, MGQ will achieve higher levels of performance and higher quality live recordings of new works.

AARON DAVIS HALL, New York City, received a grant of $18,000 in support of commissions to emerging creative artists within the 2001 Fund for New Work. Aaron Davis Hall is entering its third decade of service as Harlems principal center for the performing arts. It presents a dynamic set of programs in theater, music, art, film and dance, programs reflecting the rich and diverse heritage and traditions of the Harlem community as well as New York City and the nation. The Fund for New Work is thematically and functionally tied to the program series New Faces/New Voices/New Visions. Jerome Foundation provides support for commissions that go directly to emerging artists to develop new works.

HEADWATERS MUSIC, Minneapolis, Minnesota, presented its first marathon of new music titled Festival Dancing in Your Head in 2000. Thirteen ensembles featuring 50 musicians, representing a wide range of musical styles and ideas, were presented on one seven-hour marathon concert. The program featured the works of nearly 30 emerging and established composers. Jerome Foundation funding of $17,000 will support commissions for emerging composers for the second Festival Dancing in Your Head to take place in September of 2001 at the Southern Theater. There will be two evening concerts leading up to a marathon. At least a dozen ensembles will be showcased. The Director of the Festival and an Artistic Advisory Committee will place a call for proposals for the commissioning opportunities and will select three composers who will receive $4,000 commissions.

A grant of $18,000 was awarded to IN THE HEART OF THE BEAST PUPPET AND MASK THEATRE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in support of a commissioning program for emerging puppet and mask artists. Since 1973, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre has delivered original puppet work to audiences in the Twin Cities and on tour throughout the country. The commissioning project will advance the artistic development of emerging puppet and mask artists, support artists time and expenses needed to create new work, provide performance venues for the new work, increase artists repertoire, and build the portfolios of emerging artists. Up to eight emerging artists will be commissioned to create works that will premiere at the 2002 May Day Festival and will have future opportunities for production during Heart of the Beasts programming year.

Artist JAY HEIKES, co-director of The Waiting Room Gallery in northeast Minneapolis, was awarded a grant to spend a week in Chicago where he will explore local galleries and investigate gallery representation. Hell pursue connections between The Waiting Room Gallery and Chicago gallery directors.

Writer SHARON K. HER received funding to spend three to four weeks in Golden Triangle, Thailand, and Vientiane, Laos, researching traditional Hmong villages and lifestyles to improve and authenticate the voices and settings in her writing. Having fled Laos at the age of two, Her has no memory of her familys country. Visiting communities in Southeast Asia will give her insight into the characters in her stories who grew up in all-Hmong societies. She will observe, in detail, the physical landscapes of each area to illuminate the scenes captured in her writing.

XINXAI HER was awarded funding to spend two months in the Peoples Republic of China where he will research and document the history, culture, and artistic life of the Hmong population. He will visit the last two Hmong cities not influenced by modern society. Her, Executive Director of the Hmong Nature Research Center of Minnesota, will bring this cultural information back to local Hmong communities to increase awareness of Hmong cultural heritage.

HOME FOR CONTEMPORARY THEATRE AND ARTS/HERE, New York City, a multidisciplinary arts center, received a grant of $20,000 in support of the creation and production of new work by HERE core artists, under Kristin Martings guidance. Ellen Beckerman and Walter Thompson will create FANATICS and PEXO. FANATICS is a piece about a contemporary Galileo, standing at the precipice between faith and knowledge, daring to question the foundation under his feet. He sees the truth through unconventional eyes. PEXO is a multidisciplinary performance piece that makes reference to and is influenced by the concept of games. Thompson will compose the sound score using his Sound Painting system, incorporating gestures made by the conductor/composer to indicate the type of improvisation desired from the performers.