Arts grants awarded to 22 local organizations

The Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District (MCACD) and Culture Works has awarded over $169,000 in Special Projects Grants to 22 Montgomery County organizations for arts and cultural projects happening through next June.

Now in its second year, the Special Projects Grant program seeks to engage the community through concerts, exhibitions, festivals, author series, arts-in-education programs and more. This year’s independent grant panel reviewed applications for funding and awarded grants of up to $10,000 to support projects such as the Hispanic Heritage Festival, occurring Sept. 18 at RiverScape MetroPark, and the debut of Dare to Defy Productions’ original musical “Charlie and Doggy and the Song at the Edge of the World,” set to premiere in January.

“Special Projects are an important investment in our quality of life because community-based organizations make up the fabric of our community,” said Matt Dunn, MCACD executive director, in a release.

“After a long intermission, people are beginning to return to performance spaces, galleries and classrooms,” said Lisa Hanson, Culture Works president and CEO, in a release. “We’re grateful to our partners at the MCACD, to our county commissioners, and to these 22 incredible grantee organizations for making that return so spectacular.”

2021 Special Projects Grantees:

African American Visual Artists Guild: Black Heritage Through Visual Rhythms

Bach Society of Dayton: Renewed - A Celebration of Paul Laurence Dunbar

City of Vandalia: Vandalia Mural Project

Co-op Dayton: A New Public Artwork at the Gem City Market

Dare to Defy Productions: Charlie and Doggy and the Song at the Edge of the World

Dayton Fellowship Club Inc.: Restart the Arts: Boards of Recovery

Dayton Liederkranz-Turner: GermanFest Picnic

Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation: Dayton Literary Peace Prize Student Author Series

Dayton Metro Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society: Everyone in Harmony in Dayton

Dayton Metro Library: Undesign the Redline: Video Production

Dayton Playhouse: Virtual FutureFest 2021

Dayton Society of Artists: Dayton Society of Artists Workshop Series

Downtown Dayton Partnership: Art in the City

FilmDayton: FilmDayton Student Film Festival

Front Street Global Artists Initiative: National Artist-Run Spaces Symposium

Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra: Young Diversity Artists Concert

Musica: Encore! - A 30th Anniversary Season of Celebration

The Plaza Theatre Association: Classic Movie Series

Puerto Rican American and Caribbean Organization: 2021 Dayton Hispanic Heritage Festival

Rosewood Arts Centre, City of Kettering: Kettering Art Initiative (KAI)

Vandalia Youth Theatre: Making Community Theatre Accessible to the Community

Washington Township RecPlex Town Hall Theatre: Dorothy in Wonderland - A Multi-Generational Theatre Experience

For more information about the Special Projects Grant program and this year’s grantees, visit cultureworks.org.

In Other News

The history of Tank’s: An all-hours bar and dining favorite for decades...

Country music artist Scotty McCreery coming to Fraze in August

Dayton Food Truck Association to host rally at Montgomery County...

Jump start gardening by making a plan

Izakaya, an Anime-themed restaurant in Beavercreek, opens Friday

About the Author

Russell Florence Jr.

Russell Florence Jr. has been a contributing arts writer and arts columnist for Dayton Daily News since 2012. He previously served as a member of the Dayton Daily News Community Board of Contributors and assisted the Dayton Daily News Editorial Board. He received his BA in mass communications from Wright State University.