[Coweta Arts Tidbits] Arts Centre and Southeastern Ballet Receive GAP Arts Grants

Coweta Arts Tidbits The Successor To Newnan-Coweta Arts Council News Releases Composed By: Forrest W. Schultz 770-583-3258   November 11, 2008   Grassroots Arts Grants For 2009 Announced:   Arts Centre and Southeastern Ballet Company Are Recipients        Arts Clayton has just announced the recipients for the 2009 Grassroots Arts Grants for the Southside Counties.  Coweta County has received three of these grants:  one going to the Southeastern Ballet Co. and two to organizations of the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts of Coweta County, namely its Masterworks Chorale and its patrons organization, which is called the Coweta Community Foundation.  The exact wording in the Arts Clayton news release about Coweta County is this: COWETA COUNTY:  Centered on Masterworks Chorale, "Music of the Masters; Coweta Community Foundation (Patrons of the Centre), "Annie Get your Gun"; Southeastern Ballet Company, Holiday Spectacular        The news release explained the GAP program in these words:   Jonesboro – Arts Clayton has announced its annual Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) grants to organizations in Butts, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Newton , Rockdale and Spalding Counties .  Over the next year, the projects of thirty-one organizations will be partially funded through the GAP program.  South Side area organizations received grants totaling over twenty-six thousand dollars as part of the statewide Grassroots Arts Program.  Each project was selected for their proposal to provide new art experiences for the community or to expand existing art programs and reaching out to new audiences. The Grassroots Arts Program is funded by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly to ensure all Georgians have access to the arts activities which enrich our lives.  Every Georgia County receives an equal per-capita allocation.  Arts Clayton was once again selected by the Georgia Council for the Arts as a Grassroots Agency to administer this exciting program for the ten counties in the Southside region for fiscal year 2009.  Arts Clayton, as the appointed re-granting agency, is responsible for promoting, collecting applications, developing, coordinating and administering the program in Butts, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Newton , Rockdale and Spalding Counties in accordance with State regulations.  This statewide arts program is designed to encourage local collaborations between artists, arts organizations, and non-arts organizations, in order to serve a broad range of Georgia 's residents.  Funding is open to any non-profit organization or unit of local government.  Ideally, Grassroots Arts Projects create new opportunities for citizens to experience the arts, while fostering greater awareness and developing local partnerships in the arts.  GAP also aims to have a positive impact on overall community development in these growing counties.  Funded projects must be accessible to the general public, must provide 50% of the total project cost as a cash match for the grant, and projects must be completed by June 30, 2009. The Grassroots Advisory Committee of 20 volunteers representing all ten counties in the region, met October 25th to determine and recommend funding allocations.  The Committee, which was comprised of individuals with a variety of backgrounds in areas such as tourism, as artist, educators, journalists, business owners, retired military, political representatives, homemakers, and medical professionals, faced a very difficult task with over $70,000 in art grant funding requests and only $47,674.63 available to re-grant.  Primary consideration was given to applications reflecting art projects with a commitment to EXCELLENCE, ACCESSIBILITY, EDUCATION, COLLABORATION and SUPPORT FOR LOCAL ARTISTS.  Projects with the potential for lasting impact and positive change took precedence.   Information on the GAP is available from Arts Clayton by contacting SaraCookson at 770-473-5775  or   artline@artsclayton.org.