Maine Arts Organizations Receive $200,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts

The Bowdoin International Music Festival, from Brunswick, received $10,000 through the Challenge America Fast-Track Grant, to support performances and public outreach activities celebrating the Bowdoin International Music Festival's 50th anniversary.

The Camden International Film Festival, from Camden, received $10,000 through the Art Works Grant to support the Camden International Film Festival and the expansion of its educational programs during the festival. The festival consists of more than 70 feature-length and short films from 20 countries.

The Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, from Deer Isle, received $20,000 through the Art Works Grant to support the Open Studio Residency program, a partnership with the Center for Bits and Atoms at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Residencies will be offered to national and international artists working in ceramics, fiber, graphics, glass, iron and wood.

Figures of Speech Theatre, from Freeport, received $10,000 through the Art Works Grant to support the development of a new work "The Little Match Girl Passion." Based on Composer David Lang's Pulitzer Prize-winning re-imagining of the Hans Christian Andersen story as a passion play, the piece will be a visual tapestry of puppets, objects, and shadow/video projections that surround four singers in the chamber production.

Bates College, from Lewiston, received $30,000 through the Art Works Grant to support Cultivating Innovation and Community in Dance, a program of dance artist residencies as part of the annual Bates Dance Festival. The project will bring together leading dance figures, companies, and emerging artists for residencies to connect, create and perform in a collaborative, supportive environment.

The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, from Madison, received $25,000 through the Art Works Grant to support artist residencies and related activities. Emerging artists will attend a nine-week summer visual arts residency and receive mentorship from established artists.

The Passamaquoddy Tribe, from Perry, received $15,000 through the Art Works Grant to support the museum exhibit "Passamaquoddy Cultural Renewal," a rotating exhibit of Passamaquoddy traditional arts such as quill work, birch bark baskets, wood carving, and sweet grass baskets.

The Portland Maine Symphony Orchestra, from Portland, received $15,000 through the Art Works Grant to support Nine for Ninety: Beethoven and His Infinite Inspiration, a performance project celebrating the orchestra's 90th anniversary season. Under the artistic leadership of Music Director Robert Moody, the orchestra, guest soloists and the Choral Art Society Masterworks Chorus of Portland will perform three of the nine Beethoven symphonies through five concert programs.

Portland Stage Company, from Portland, received $15,000 through the Art Works Grant to support the development and world premiere of "Veils," a new play by Tom Coash. The play tells the story of two students at the American University in Cairo an African-American Muslim student who wears a hijab, and her non-veiled Egyptian roommate who enlists her help in creating a blog debating the growing controversy over various head coverings at the school.

Terra Moto Inc., from Portland, received $20,000 through the Art Works Grant to support All The Way Home. The project will include research, development and implementation of a program utilizing multidisciplinary arts to help military veterans overcome PTSD and suicidal tendencies. Veterans will participate in artist-led workshops in storytelling, performance, photography, writing, visual arts and movement.

The University of Southern Maine, from Portland, received $15,000 through the Art Works Grant to support the orchestration and premiere of "The Summer King" by composer Daniel Sonenberg and librettist Daniel Nester. The opera will explore the life and legacy of baseball catcher Josh Gibson whose skill on the field and perseverance in the Negro League created the momentum for a whole new generation (led by Jackie Robinson) to integrate baseball. The opera will incorporate various musical languages not traditionally associated with opera including stride piano, straight ahead jazz, and Mexican mariachi music. The premiere will be presented by Portland Ovations with music director Steven Osgood.

Cultural Resources, from Rockport, received $15,000 through the Art Works Grant to to support Elder Arts, a series of training workshops for healthcare and social service professionals working with seniors. Folklorists will offer instruction about the role of storytelling in the life review process, as well as techniques for recording these stories. Through the use of a portable recording studio, seniors will have the opportunity to record these stories and have them edited for broadcast and archived for downloading at the Story Bank and Cultural Resources website.

If you would like to learn more about the grant offerings that are available through the National Endowment for the Arts, visit their website today, or contact Kathy Shaw at the Maine Arts Commission, 207-287-2750, kathy.shaw@maine.gov.