Program/Grant: GIG Fund

Play House Laboratories (PHL) will present a new work by choreographer and composer Leyya Mona Tawil - "Malayeen Voices" - a series of historic and ‘future’ folksongs from Syria and Palestine. "Malayeen Voices" uses sound art and physical performance for an interactive work that explores the diasporic experience through the lens of Tawil's background as a Syrian, Palestinian, and American artist.

The Great Lakes Hula Retreat will once again be providing an opportunity for local Polynesian dance and cultural arts students to learn directly from Hawaii based Kumu Hula (master instructors) during a full weekend of classes and workshops.

We are seeking funding to support the creation of "Rodeo Reimagined", taking Agnes deMille's "Rodeo" and making it the first classic masterpiece to be reimagined for a physically integrated company composed of dancers with and without disabilities.

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s Body Passages residency program will unite 10 dance, visual, theatre, and poetry activist artists and give space for creating new individual and collaborative works. Artists will have professional development opportunities to learn from each other, lead master classes, and present their works in a final performance and visual art gallery.

A visual art exhibition and performances featuring Indigenous artists of the Woodland Tribes, curated by Ho-Chunk Nation Tribal Member Robert Blackdeer at Pump House Regional Arts Center, La Crosse, WI.

Pure Winds, in collaboration with Detroit Harmony, will organize visits to David Ellis Academy, Detroit Edison Academy, and Detroit Prep Academy during May 2025 to introduce 5th grade students to instruments from the woodwind and brass families. After the visits, Detroit Harmony will host an evening instrument fitting event where students can actually try out instruments.

We are organizing a community concert series that brings together world-renowned artists to celebrate Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, and Soul, featuring educational workshops and performances accessible to all, including underserved communities.

Red Cedar Chamber Music will bring an innovative quartet of violin, cello, double bass, and electric guitar to Johnson STEAM Academy. The lesson plans, enhanced with videos and slides, will focus on the history of jazz as a creation of black Americans and its continued impact on our musical culture. A free public concert will also be presented at the Cedar Rapids Public Library.

Que Blackout Media Arts Youth Theater distinguishes itself from traditional youth theaters by prioritizing students in backstage roles, such as broadcasting and marketing, while providing a platform for skill development in performance, technical theater, and media production, fostering creativity and individual growth.

The Premiere Premieres Program offers a year long collaborative process that brings locally-written new one-act plays to life on stage. Writers (age 14 and older) have the rare opportunity to identify, develop and share their ideas by attending free playwriting courses, and submitting a One-Act Play for production consideration. This allows open expressive personal and cultural storytelling.