Orchids from around the world
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2008 MTV VMA show
Arts grants recipients include WSU grad, local sculptor
Thursday, January 10, 2008
DAYTON — One of the things Alex Mangen's $5,000 individual artist grant from the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District will do is allow him to fail.
The 25-year-old Wright State University motion pictures graduate heads a group called Left of Center that produces and films original sketch comedy shows. "We do a lot of stuff that will be thrown away and never shown to anyone. But you have to try. It's trial and error," he said.
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Dayton sculptor John Benvenuto said the sum of his fellowship "is greater than its parts. It relieves financial worry, but it really makes me feel good about this place. When I tell artists who live elsewhere that my county gives tax money to individual artists, the envy is palpable."
Mangen and Benvenuto were among 10 individual artists receiving $55,000 in fellowships when the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District awarded almost $800,000 in 2007-8 grants Thursday at the Dayton Cultural & RTA Center.
Most of the money — $600,000 — went to these 16 major arts and cultural groups for general operating support:
Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm, Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Cityfolk, Dayton Art Institute, Dayton Ballet, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton History, Dayton Opera, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Visual Arts Center, Greater Dayton Public Television, Human Race Theatre Company, Muse Machine, Rhythm in Shoes, Victoria Theatre Association, WDPR-FM.
A total of $137,415 in grants supporting special projects were awarded to 28 small and mid-sized groups following a competitive review process: ABLE Youth Leadership, $4,450; American Czechoslovakian Club, $2,000; Asian American Council, $6,375; Dayton Holocaust Resource Center, $5,500; Dayton International Festival, $4,000; Dayton Jazz Orchestra, $5,000; Dayton Jewish Community Center, $3,000; Dayton Liederkranz-Turner Inc., $1,500; Dayton Live Art Network, $3,000; Downtown Dayton Partnership, $4,000; Dunbar Institute, $2,612; Gem City Ballet, $6,000; Gem City Chorus, $5,282; K-12 Gallery for Young People, $10,000; Kettering Children's Choir, $9,000; Knowledge for Life, $1,000; Lutheran School of the Miami Valley, $2,283; Miami Valley Firefighters/EMS Association, $2,500; Miami Valley School, $9,683; Puerto Rican & Caribbean Organization, $6,675; Residence in Praise, $2,666; SMAG Dance Collective, $7,000; Southern Christian Leadership Conference Dayton, $6,345; St. Margaret's Church, $5,000; United Irish of Dayton, $4,500; We Care Arts, $7,500; Wesley Community Center, $1,500, and Wright Dunbar, $9,000.
Watercolor painter Homer Hacker was given a $10,000 lifetime achievement award and nine other visual artists were presented $5,000 fellowships following a competitive review of applicants: Amy Kollar Anderson, John Benvenuto, Leesa Haapapuro, Darren Haper, Francis Schanberger, Alex Mangen, Leigh Waltz, Sean Wilkinson and Ronnie Williams.
Fiber artist Anne Hubler was recognized for special achievement.
More information about the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District and its annual grants program is available at (937) 225-6341 or www.mcohio.org/revize/montgomery/services/ced/art_cultural.html
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2377 or tmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
