Past
Grantees

LYNN TJERNAN LUKKAS, a cinematographer and instructor of media arts, received funding to spend three weeks in Egypt to research an experimental film/video based on the stories of the Egyptian writer Alifa Rifaat whose work has been banned in Egypt. This travel plan connects with playwright Pamela Nice.

MABOU MINES, New York City, is a long-standing generator of experimental work of exceptional quality. The accumulated experience of company members informs Suite, a resident artist program, for which Jerome support has been awarded since 1993. Emerging artists interested in mentorship opportunities with Mabou Mines submit applications, which are competitively reviewed. Artists are selected for six-month residencies during which the artists are given studio hours, presenting opportunities and mentoring. This years grant of $25,000 supports a reduced programming level while Mabou Mines undertakes an extensive evaluation of the program designed to inform its future structure and purpose.

MAD ALEX ARTS FOUNDATION, New York City, presents the work of both emerging poets and fiction writers, and honors those who provide role models to a younger generation by virtue of sustained commitment to their craft. MAD ALEX Presents, the focus of the Jerome Foundation grant of $15,000, features poets, writers, performance artists and playwrights in a two-reader format. The series takes place one evening per week, September through May. The artist/reader has an opportunity to contextualize his or her work. A new series for the upcoming season features readings curated by MAD ALEX Arts Foundation, Asian American Writers' Workshop and the Bronx Writers' Center. Each organization will choose one of three writers for each of three readings. The main thrust is the introduction of each communitys writing to the others.

Sculptor and installation artist DUNG TRI MAI received funding to spend four weeks in Vietnam, where he was born and raised, until the age of ten. Mai will work in a community-based art project in Saigon.

J. MANDLE PERFORMANCE, Brooklyn, New York, was founded in 1996 by Julia Mandle. It creates site-specific performances in unexpected locations in order to heighten public perception of the everyday environment. Each production is realized through a concept Mandle calls costume-defined choreography--a process of character development and dance movement through the structure of clothing. Jerome funding of $12,500 was authorized for the development of two new works, the first titled Erika and inspired by the 1999 oil spill of the large tanker Erika 65 miles off the French coast. The second work, titled Day to Day, addresses the experience of living in the urban box and its impact on the human imagination, body and movement.

The MANHATTAN NEW MUSIC PROJECT received $7,500 to support the development of Still Sounds Run Deep. The Project presents programs in jazz and contemporary music in concert and club settings, which, over the past nine years, have featured premieres by 25 composers. The funded project is a series of site-specific musical/sonic events in public park spaces. There will be ten events spaced weekly between May 19 and July 2 at sites in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, all featuring the music of Paul Nash. The significant scale of this public art project attracted Jerome Foundation attention to this opportunity for Nash.

The MARGOLIS BROWN THEATER COMPANY, Minneapolis, Minnesota, has received Jerome funding for the development and production of new work since 1994. A terminal two-year grant of $35,000 was authorized for the same purpose in fiscal years 2001 and 2002. Margolis Brown is a multimedia movement theater company that creates large-scale productions and performance events. New works include American Safari, a solo evening-length production; Sleepwalkers, an ensemble evening-length production; and other works yet to be determined. An additional sum of $7,500 was authorized to launch the Artist-in-Residence Program, a natural outgrowth of the companys mission to support the work of emerging artists. The artist in residence will receive comprehensive support for one season, allowing for research, development and production of a new work.

The MARGOLIS BROWN THEATER COMPANY, Minneapolis, Minnesota, has received Jerome funding for the development and production of new work since 1994. A terminal two-year grant of $35,000 was authorized for the same purpose in fiscal years 2001 and 2002. Margolis Brown is a multimedia movement theater company that creates large-scale productions and performance events. New works include American Safari, a solo evening-length production; Sleepwalkers, an ensemble evening-length production; and other works yet to be determined. An additional sum of $7,500 was authorized to launch the Artist-in-Residence Program, a natural outgrowth of the companys mission to support the work of emerging artists. The artist in residence will receive comprehensive support for one season, allowing for research, development and production of a new work.

Funding was awarded to WILLIAM MATHIS the musical director for the Bells of the Lakes Handbell Ringers. Mathis will travel in England and Wales attending the ninth international symposium on handbell ringing and conducting research on this musical form.

KENNETH D. MCCULLOUGH, of Winona, is a teacher and writer and translator who received funding to spend one month in Cambodia. McCullough will gather background information for Crossing Three Wildernesses, the autobiography of U Sam Oeur, Cambodian poet, living in exile in the United States. Since 1992, McCullough has been working with Oeur in translating his work.

MILKWEED EDITIONS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, publishes with the intention of making a humane impact on society, in the belief that literature is a transformative art uniquely able to convey the essential experiences of the human heart and spirit. Jerome Foundation support of $55,000 over two years will enable Milkweed to initiate Sprawl. While hundreds of scientific, sociological and urban design studies, and thousands of popular media reports, have been written and broadcast about the phenomenon of urban sprawl, artists and writers have not had the same public opportunities to make their experiences and points of view known. Believing that literature plays a key role in awakening and motivating readers to action on various environmental fronts, Milkweed, through Sprawl, will challenge emerging writers to bring their creative energy and intellectual acumen to bear on this crucial topic.

The MINNEAPOLIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN has received support from the Jerome Foundation since 1981 to support a fellowship program for emerging artists. The College is an independent, accredited institution offering a four-year curriculum and a one-year post-baccalaureate certificate program. The Jerome Fellowship Program provides to emerging visual artists in the Twin Cities area sufficient funds to explore and produce a focused body of work. Each year, the program serves five emerging visual artists in the early stages of their careers, who've completed their formal education but have not yet attained professional recognition commensurate with the quality of their work. The program provides financial assistance, critical assessment from three visiting critics and exhibition exposure. A two-year grant of $160,000 was authorized, setting the individual fellowship grant at $9,000.

The MINNEAPOLIS GUITAR QUARTET ASSOCIATION, St. Paul, Minnesota, is a widely traveled and well recognized guitar ensemble. A Jerome Foundation grant of $20,000 will allow the Quartet to commission three substantial new works from emerging composers during the pilot program. A public call for interested composers will be made in Minnesota and New York City. The Quartet will work as closely as possible with the three composers to ensure that the compositions are successful. The Quartet hopes to achieve its goal of augmenting its repertoire as well as advancing the professional development of the composers.

The MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a two-year grant of $50,000 in support of the participation of emerging artists in the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program. The Jerome Foundation has supported this program since 1976. Exhibitions are selected by a panel of artists who are elected by and from their peers, at an annual meeting of the artists' community. Artists are involved with all aspects of exhibition planning, including budget allocations, bringing their voices into the Museums daily process. Any artist who lives and works in Minnesota may submit an exhibition proposal. Since inception, the MAEP has presented 134 exhibitions.

The Minnesota Alliance for Art in Education strives as a grassroots advocacy organization to ensure high quality learning in music, visual arts, dance, theater, literary arts and media arts as an essential part of the K-12 education of every Minnesota child. A miscellaneous two-year grant of $10,000 was made to the MINNESOTA ALLIANCE FOR ART IN EDUCATION, St. Paul, Minnesota, in support of fiscal 2000 and 2001 programs and services. The mission of the Alliance is to advance arts education for all Minnesota students. The Jerome Foundation's general program does not permit funding for arts education; however, in its miscellaneous category of memberships and small grants, this annual commitment is authorized.

pARTs PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a two-year grant of $50,000 in support of programs and services for emerging Minnesota and New York City photographers. The mission of pARTs is to promote the creation and presentation of compelling photographic work by a diverse group of artists, while stimulating dialogue on social, aesthetic and technological issues. Its goals are to support photographers, encourage the production of new work, make excellent fine art photography accessible to its community and build a growing and knowledgeable audience for the art form. pARTs has modified its focus to project-based, integrated programming that explores the full range of possibilities for each project. Jerome funding was authorized for the participation of emerging New York City and Minnesota photographers.

The Foundation approved a $1,000 grant to the MINNESOTA COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a contribution toward the Leadership Transition Fund. The Council is a regional membership association of grantmakers including family and private foundations, community and public foundations, and corporate foundations and giving programs. Its mission is to strengthen and increase participation in organized philanthropy. In February 2001, President Jacqueline Reis will retire from her position after 21 years of service. Members of the Council were asked to make contributions toward a search process that will result in the naming of a new President.

The Jerome Foundation renewed its general support of and membership in the MINNESOTA COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The MINNESOTA FILM BOARD, Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a public/private partnership created to develop the Minnesota film/video industry as a force for economic and creative growth. The Board operates the Minnesota Independent Film Fund, which has provided 19 talented filmmakers from Minnesota with seed money critical to the development of independent feature film projects. The program is a catalyst for the creation of new independent feature films. In conjunction with that effort, Jerome funding of $50,000 over two years will address the need for screenplay development. Nationally known screenwriters are matched with three Independent Film Fund projects by Minnesota feature film artists for one year of mentorship. The mentoring process includes rewrites of the scripts, workshopping with actors, soliciting feedback on the scripts from experienced film industry experts, and polishing the projects before they move into production.

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