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Gold Star Award Projects

Acton

Acton-Boxborough Cultural Council
Project: Acton Memorial Library, The Robert Creeley Poetry Award

The Robert Creeley Poetry Award was established in 2001 to honor former Acton resident and renown poet Robert Creeley. Each year the Acton Memorial Library honors a different nationally and internationally-known published poet. That poet participates in an award ceremony and reading, and visits the local high school to encourage writing and the appreciation of good poetry and prose. In the six years since the award was established, hundreds of students have benefited from interaction with the honored poets. In addition, each award recipient is asked to recommend new books for the library's holdings; and since the award's inception approximately 100 books have been selected by the poets. Finally, local poets are invited to perform at the award ceremony as a showcase of Acton's local talent. Since 2001 the Robert Creeley award has honored: Robert Creeley (2001); Galway Kinnell (2002), Grace Paley (2003), Mart�n Espada (2004), C. D. Wright (2005) and Carolyn Forch� (2006).

Grant Amount: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

 

Acton-Boxborough Cultural Council
Project: Re-Visioning Acton: A Creative Model Building Activity

Architect and Mass Cultural Council creative teaching partner Ann Sussman led Re-Visioning Acton as a community planning and design project that invited residents to explore alternative possibilities for an underutilized local intersection. Through public workshops, exhibitions, and internet accessibility, participants used large scale aerial maps, planning diagrams, craft materials, and the online 3-D virtual reality site Second Life to create their own vision of an improved and walkable community.

Grant Amount: $700
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2010

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Amesbury

Amesbury Cultural Council
Project: Maudslay Sculpture Show, presented by the Open Air Sculpture Group

The Maudslay Sculpture Show is an annual open air sculpture exhibit at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport that involves dozens of artists from the Merrimac Valley. The annual exhibition has introduced sculpture to countless new audiences and helped promote local artists.

Grant: $250
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

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Amherst

Amherst Cultural Council
Project: Amherst Ballet's Classical and More Performances

Amherst Ballet presented Classical and More, a collage of works highlighting a variety of cultural influences and celebrating Amherst's past and present. In addition to classical ballet, performances included a lecture and presentation of Arabic music featuring Arabic ensemble Layali, as well as original dance set to Arabic music. The performances also featured excerpts from "Emily of Amherst," an original ballet depicting the poet's life, created in collaboration with the Emily Dickinson Museum. Classical and More continued Amherst Ballet's strong tradition of high quality arts education and introduced the community to new and diverse art forms.

Grant Amount: $1,250
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2011

Amherst Cultural Council
Project: TICO and The Golden Wings

Therese Brady Donohue founded the Picture Book Theatre in 2006. The organization aims to provide an authentic experience to the many children whose first theatre experience is with the Picture Book Theatre. The productions aim to replicate illustrations from books onto the stage so that children will be able to easily follow along.

The company brought to life the Leo Lionni story Tico and the Golden Wings in the fall of 2007. The performance blended life size puppets, puppeteers and young dancers from the Amherst Ballet for audiences at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Original music was written by Massachusetts composer Karen A. Tarlowand and the costumes, puppets and backdrops for the show were designed and created by Ms. Donohue. Each child left the performance with a complimentary copy of the book with the hope of increasing an interest in reading after having visually experienced the story.

Grant Amount: $600
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

 

Amherst Cultural Council
Project: The Equinox

The Equinox is a poetry journal published by Shelburne Falls resident Maureen Moore. The journal features the writings of local poets and is a welcome forum for new poets. In addition, Equinox hosts an open mic event called Write On! Open Mike for Wordsmiths, where writers can meet one another, sample their work, and get ideas for the future. The journal and open mike event are important opportunities for burgeoning writers to gain exposure, publications experience, and encouragement from their peers.

This project was supported by 8 Local Cultural Councils:
Amherst $100
Ashfield $100
Bernardston $50
Buckland $70
Greenfield $100
Hadley $50
Northampton $100
Northfield $100

Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

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Arlington

Arlington Cultural Council
Project: "Letters of War"

Arlington-based composer Betsy Schramm created an original orchestral piece which was inspired by and incorporated historic letters sent home by American soldiers during conflicts spanning back to the Civil War. As part of the project, Betsy also presented workshops on the composition process at two Arlington schools where students explored concepts like incorporating text and themes. The culminating concert was held in celebration of Veteran's Day and narrated by Representative Jay Kaufman. The concert brought the community together and used music in a unique way to bring history to life and recognize veterans in Arlington.

Grant Amount: $2,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2011

Arlington Cultural Council
Project: Arlington Heights Bus Depot Community Mural Project

Artist Tova Speter worked with a group of students from Dearborn Academy, a school for at-risk students, to design and create Arlington's first public mural. The mural depicts images from the history of Arlington and was painted by the Dearborn students as well as members of the larger community. This project was a unique collaboration between artists, students, local businesses, town officials and the MBTA.

Grant Amount: $1,600
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

Arlington Cultural Council
Project: Arlington Art Hunt

The Arlington Art Hunt highlights the art and architecture of Arlington. Coordinated by local artist Karen Dillon in partnership with the Arlington schools, the public library, and area businesses, the Art Hunt promotes awareness of Arlington landmarks, and provides a unique opportunity to teach young people and adults about their local history. This year marks Arlington's bicentennial, and the Art Hunt will be featured prominently in the community's yearlong celebration.

Grant Amount: $800
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

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Ashfield

Ashfield Cultural Council
Project: Short Film Competition

Recognizing that digital technology has brought a means to many aspiring filmmakers, the Ashfield Cultural Council established the Ashfield Short Film Competition as a way to include a younger generation in council programs. The contest, dedicated to the legendary filmmaker and Ashfield resident Cecil B. Demille, required that all entries be five minutes or less in length and feature an aspect of the town of Ashfield. A panel of volunteer judges viewed the submissions and winners were chosen.

The event culminated in a screening of the films, shown free of charge at Town Hall to an audience of more than 200 residents, including the filmmakers and many of the actors featured in the films. The winners were announced and prizes donated by local business were awarded. The enthuisastic response by the community has resulted in a second film competition being planned by the Ashfield Cultural Council for 2008.

Grant Amount: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

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Athol

Athol Cultural Council
Project: Royalston Open Mic

In its sixth year, Open Mic night is hosted by the Royalston Cultural Council. On the first Friday of every month, musicians of all ages and genres gather in the Royalston Town Hall to perform in front of a full house. Each month a "house band" emcees the evening and acts as a mentor to new performers and young musicians who are attending the Open Mic for the first time.

The Royalston Open Mic provides a great venue for live entertainment in the area and draws participants from neighboring communities. The evenings are a result of collaboration between many residents and town committees. It provides the opportunity for the community to gather and connect with one another and for musicians to perform and network.

Grant Amount: $100
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

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Attleboro

Attleboro Cultural Council
Project: Attleboro's 1 ABC

"The Big Read," a national project organized by the National Endowment for the Arts, provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their community. The city of Attleboro took part in "The Big Read" with the "1 Adventure, 1 Book, 1 City" project. Seven thousand Attelboro residents read "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury and participated in more than 40 literary and cultural events. The events promoted community dialogue and included a movie screening and discussion, public book groups, and school programs where students created art based on themes from the book.

Grant Amount: $3,500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

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Bedford

Bedford Cultural Council
Project: Three Apples Storytelling Festival and Library Preview

The Three Apples Storytelling Festival of New England's largest storytelling events, featuring some of the best storytellers in the nation. The festival also highlighted five Bedford resident storytellers, some who told stories based on the history of the town. Prior to and after the festival, storytellers visited local elementary schools and performed for students.

Grant Amount: $300
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

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Belchertown

Belchertown Cultural Council
Project: Living History Day at the Stone House Museum, presented by the Belchertown Historical Association & the Stone House Museum
Contact: http://www.stonehousemuseum.org

Living History Day at the Stone House Museum in July 2004 brought hundreds of community members together to experience what life was like in 19th century Belchertown. A Civil War encampment in the center of town set the scene for a weekend of historical reenactments, musical performances, folk art exhibits, and 19th-century games of baseball and cards. The celebration succeeded in raising $25,000 to restore a town monument.

Grant: $500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

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Belmont

Belmont Cultural Council
Project: Belmont Gallery of Art
Contact: http://www.belmontgallery.org

Recognizing the need for a public visual arts venue in Belmont, the Belmont Cultural Council worked with the local community to establish the Belmont Gallery of Art (BGA) in the newly renovated Homer Municipal Building. The immensely successful inaugural exhibition, held in the summer of 2005, presented paintings, photographs, sculptures, drawings, textile art, and mixed media works by nearly sixty artists living and working in Belmont. Subsequent juried shows have brought a variety of regional professional arts media to this public space. A second exhibition featuring the work of Belmont artists, "ART 02478" will run from June to August 2007. In order to continue to be self-sustaining, at the end of its first year of operation, the BGA recognized the need for a strategic plan. Mass Cultural Council supported this project through LCO grant funding and the Peer Advisor program. Overall, the Gallery builds social capital by creating a space for civic engagement in Belmont.

Grant Amount: $275
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

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Bourne

Bourne Cultural Council
Project: Cataumet Art Center's The Artists' Forum

This unique project consists of four forums that cover a wide range of professional and technical topics of particular interest to artists in the Bourne area. Andrea York, Cataumet Arts Center director, has donated a significant amount of volunteer time to help produce this successful event. The project provides an opportunity for emerging and established artists to foster dialogue in interactive forums throughout the year and strengthens the network of artists and arts professionals in the area.

Grant Amount: $400
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

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Brookline

Brookline Commission for the Arts
Project: Company One's "Stage One: Theatrical Training"

Stage One is a progressive theatrical training program designed for teens. It provides students with basic theatrical skills and technique while encouraging individual creative expression. The program will institute a junior instructor and mentoring programs involving older students. The program has been well integrated into the strategic plan of Company One Inc, the parent company and positions itself in part to develop new audiences and artists for the theater. Coolidge Corner Theater and other area businesses have shown strong support through their consistent in-kind contributions.

Grant Amount: $1,100
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

 

Brookline Commission for the Arts
Project: Brookline Arts Center's "Community Authors"
Contact: www.brooklineartscenter.com

A program designed to develop audiences for the visual arts and contemporary literature while, at the same time, encouraging the work of emerging writers. The program thematically links writing to art displayed in the Brookline Arts Center Gallery, and combines its efforts with "Open Mike" night at Club Passim in Cambridge, and with a writer's critique group. The project's interdisciplinary approach fosters dialogue between visual and literary artists, reaching out beyond Brookline to Cambridge and Boston to nurture emerging artists.

Grant Amount: $900
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Cambridge

Cambridge Arts Council
Project: Actors' Shakespeare Project, ASP Neighborhood Projects
Contact: http://www.actorsshakespeareproject.org

Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP) passionately believes that Shakespeare's work is deeply relevant to the issues and themes of modern life and strives to make those connections apparent, often performing in unusual venues for nontraditional audiences. In 2006, ASP moved into offices in the Cambridge YMCA and opened their work to the male residents of the Central House, the Y's affordable, substance free housing. ASP then expanded this outreach to senior citizens active in the Sunrise Club of the East End House, and to two Salvation Army programs, the Umoja Program for Homeless Men and the Bridging the Gap program for at-risk youth.

Actors met with the groups to present a short scene, offer an activity that explored the text and responded to questions. Participants were then given a block of tickets to a performance where the actors were available for a talk-back session after the performance. The organizations that worked with ASP were uniformly delighted to have the chance to offer their constituents such a high caliber artistic experience. The response has been so positive from both the audience and the actors that the program is continuing in 2007, around ASP's The Winter's Tale.

Grant Amount: $2,160
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

 

Cambridge Arts Council
Project: Prometheus Dance Elders Ensemble, Cambridge
Contact: www.prometheusdance.org/edprograms/index.html

The Prometheus Dance Elders Ensemble is breaking down barriers by providing opportunities for older dancers to perform. "Because dance has been perceived as a young person's profession, this project seeks to address the neglect of the elder dancer. We believe that opportunities should be created that allow these artists to express the grace and depth of the experience that is physically and spiritually unique to them," says Tommy Neblett, Prometheus Co-Artistic Director. The Elders Ensemble has given performances for audiences at senior centers and assisted living facilities. The elder dancers - all age 55 and older - have valued the opportunity to immerse themselves in the artistic and physical challenges of taking dance classes and learning new choreography. Their audiences are enlightened with positive images of elders as graceful and vibrant dancers.

Grant Amount: $3,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2006

 

Cambridge Arts Council
Project: Cambridge Cares About AIDS/Youth on Fire's Homeless Youth Arts Collaborative

This project proposes a year-long visual art instruction program for homeless youth aged 14-24, who are members of Youth On Fire, a program of Cambridge Cares About AIDS, the multi-service center in Harvard Square for homeless youth. Members will receive weekly art sessions to create three public events: two public murals and an open studio night to be held in conjunction with Cambridgeport Artist Open Studios (CAOS). Distinctively, this project showcases the talents of these youth while at the same time engages the community in an important social issue. This project supports an underserved population using the arts as a vehicle for personal expression and public education.

Grant Amount: $3,500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

 

Cambridge Arts Council
Project: Zeitgeist Gallery's First Thursdays at Studio Z

First Thursdays at Studio Z are monthly "salons" sponsored by the Zeitgeist Gallery featuring the visual art work of 3-12 artists per event concluding with a dialogue between the artists and audience. The salons will provide a festive and informal event held to encourage interaction between artists and neighborhood residents. While the salons support new artists, they also expose the artists' work to new audiences. These monthly salons create a great venue where artists can collaborate on a regular monthly basis.

Grant Amount: $1,500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

 

Cambridge Arts Council
Project: Friends of Alewife Reservation's Alewife Arts Mural

Noted Muralist David Fichter will create a permanent public mural depicting the ecology of the Alewife Reservation resulting from an intricate nature study researched by the area high school students. This project has leveraged a significant amount of funding ($12,000) by Ellen Mass and the Friends of the Alewife Reservation (FAR). The 80-foot long mural will be installed at the Alewife T Station to educate people about the Mystic watershed area and the conservation wildlife and plant life.

Grant Amount: $2,924
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

 

Cambridge Arts Council
Project: Theater Offensive's DAGGER & True Colors: Pride in Cambridge

DAGGER, the Theater Offensive's queer women's multicultural guerilla troupe, is collaborating with True Colors: Out Youth theater to create a performance that addresses intergenerational and multi-racial Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender issues. Theater Offensive is well known for using theater as a community building tool. This project is designed to give young people an opportunity to take leadership by making a cultural statement during LGBT PRIDE month.

Grant Amount: $1,875
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

 

Cambridge Arts Council
Project: Community Art Center's "Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Film and Video Festival"
Contact: www.communityartcenter.org/tmp.html

"Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Film and Video Festival" is the only one of its kind in the country run by young people 12-19 years old. In eight years, the festival has grown to include more than 150 entries from across the U.S. Members of the Community Art Center's Teen Media Program manage all aspects of the festival including outreach, planning, implementation and evaluation. Teen Media participants gain important job and life skills, while improving the potential of young people in one of Cambridge's neediest neighborhoods.

Grant Amount: $3,750
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

 

Cambridge Arts Council
Project: Rachel Vidal/Outside the Lines Studio – Outdoor Mural

This project gives artists with profound developmental and mental disabilities the opportunity to create an outdoor mural. Featuring eight self-portraits, the mural confronts the stigma associated with mental illness, challenges many preconceived notions, and educates the community about a commonly marginalized and often invisible population.

Grant Amount: $4,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Carlisle

Carlisle Cultural Council
Project: Carlisle's Chinese New Year Celebration

The Carlisle Chinese New Year Celebration is a family-oriented, community event that pays tribute to the cultural heritage of Carlisle's Chinese-American residents. The program was created by artist Chiao Bin Huang to expose the community to the art and culture of her native country. Carlisle school children learn and perform a traditional ribbon dance, attendees make paper lanterns, and Chinese artists demonstrate Chinese brushwork and language characters. The celebration has become a valued community tradition.

Grant Amount: $680
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2006

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Charlemont-Hawley

Charlemont-Hawley Cultural Council
Project: Tyler Memorial Library's Frog Castle Camp at your Library

Frog Castle Camp at your Library is a two-week artistic experience for children in grades 2-8 to create masks, stories, and other imaginary three-dimensional environments. Using creativity and imagination, the students will have the opportunity to install their creations on a float and participate in Charlemont-Hawley's annual Yankee Doodle Days Parade in full costume. This year the theme for the float will be "You are the Open Book". This arts camp has fulfilled a much-desired need for 20 years, and has served approximately 400 children since its inception.

Grant Amount: $500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

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Chatham

Chatham Cultural Council
Project: Chatham Marconi Maritime Center's WCC Chatham's Ship to Shore Station Documentary

This documentary preserves the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center, a wireless communication station which was in operation from 1914-1993 by chronicling the people and work of the center.

Last year Chatham marked the 100th anniversary of the first transatlantic wireless message transmitted by Guglielmo Marconi from this shore station. This documentary is an oral history that focuses on humanities and brings together variety of groups that are united to perpetuate the story of Marconi Station. The project exemplifies a committed collaboration of retired Marconi employees, Navy veterans stationed during WWII, and the CMMC Historic Preservation Committee, a volunteer group that began in 2001 to promote and preserve the Marconi Maritime Center.

Grant Amount: $600
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

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Chelmsford

Chelmsford Cultural Council
Project: Chelmsford Glass to Art Glass, produced by Judith Buswick

This film by Judith Buswick showcases the Chelmsford Glass to Art Glass collection at the Barrett-Byam House and connects the glass blowing tradition in Chelmsford to the early development of glass blowing and the work of contemporary artists. The film has been included in the town's 350th anniversary celebrations.

Grant: $1,645
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

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Chelsea

Chelsea Cultural Council
Project: Chelsea Art Walk

The first annual Chelsea Art Walk was a citywide exhibition intended to create a broad community art experience reflecting the diversity of the numerous distinct ethnic groups in Chelsea. The walk used a multi-disciplinary approach with themed exhibits in galleries and alternative spaces throughout town, including City Hall. The project highlighted the work of regional artists and performers, and reintroduced Chelsea as a vibrant, artistic neighborhood to visitors and residents alike.

Grant: $2,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2010

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Chicopee

Chicopee Cultural Council
Project: Voices from Inside

Voices from Inside conducts writing workshops for women incarcerated in medium-security facilities in western Massachusetts. Participants gain the skills and confidence to become empowered and engage positively with the communities to which they return. Graduates of the program frequently pursue further education and return to the program serve as facilitators. The program's outreach includes an anthology and public performances of the poems and prose created in the workshops as a way to encourage dialogue throughout the community and change public perception of incarcerated women.

Grant Amount: $5,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2011

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Dartmouth

Dartmouth Cultural Council
Project: Working Waterfront Festival, presented by the Community Economic Development Center
Contact: http://www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org

In September 2004, the Working Waterfront Festival gave 12,000 New Bedford residents a taste of the lives, skills, and traditions of the area's rich commercial fishing industry. The festival helped to illuminate the culture of the working waterfront by weaving demonstrations and narrative about the fishermen's work with art, folklore, literature, history, and song inspired by the fishing community. The festival was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from the community, and plans for next year's Working Waterfront Festival are underway.

Grant: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

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Dennis

Dennis Arts and Cultural Council
This project is an LCC Originated project, sponsored by Dennis in response to an unmet community need, and required significant planning and community support.
Project: "Rising Stars" Exhibition


"Rising Stars – The Next Generation of Visual Artists" is the first visual art exhibition of its kind for Cape & Islands high school art students. The Dennis Arts and Cultural Council, in cooperation with the Cape Museum of Fine Arts, will organize a public exhibition of local winners from the Scholastic Art Competition, held annually in Boston. The financial support of 10 LCCs, in addition to public and private contributions, will provide families, friends, and their communities with a unique opportunity to view the artwork of local youth. This project was funded by 10 LCCs: Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Harwich, Mashpee, Orleans, Sandwich and Truro.

Grant Amount: $2,100
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Duxbury

Duxbury Cultural Council
Project: Japanese Tea Ceremony at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury

The Japanese Tea Ceremony program at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury introduces second-graders to Japanese culture through a specially designed curriculum and tea ceremony experience. Led by Museum staff, students make a cup of tea, learn the art of Sumi-e painting, create a rice paper scroll, and participate in a traditional tea ceremony at the Museum. The project was designed by second-grade teacher Helen Fowler as part of a Fulbright grant to develop curriculum on Japanese culture for students. The program is a wonderful collaboration between the Duxbury schools and the Art Complex Museum. It demonstrates the role that state funding can play in the development of quality educational programming.

Grant Amount: $250
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2006

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Easthampton

Easthampton Cultural Council
Project: Easthampton Spring Fling

The Easthampton Spring Fling is a free, all-inclusive, town-wide social event held at the historic Town Hall Ballroom featuring a variety of musical acts and decorative "artwork" made by community members at Flywheel Community Arts Space. This is a project that exemplifies community building-attracting seniors and families from all parts of the community to enjoy a variety of music, dance and artmaking.

Grant Amount : $700
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

 

Easthampton Cultural Council
Project: Easthampton Bear Fest

Easthampton City Arts headed a major public art event celebrating the history and identity of the town, revolving around an exhibit of life-sized bear sculptures decorated and painted by local and regional artists. With the support and involvement of countless volunteers and local businesses, the Bear Fest kicked off with a citywide weekend festival in June and ended with a week-long celebration and auction in October.

Grant Amount: $4,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2010

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Great Barrington

Great Barrington Cultural Council
Project: Teaching Math and Science through Ceramics

Jane Burke, a professional potter with degrees in chemistry and science education, developed Teaching Math and Science through Ceramics. This unique, interdisciplinary project served 80 3rd grade children and taught them about the geology of local clay and the chemistry of glazing. Students started by making their own clay recipes that taught them about fractions and quantities. They learned how to shape the clay into pinch pots which were then fired in a kiln, demonstrating how the firing process is like a volcano returning rock to a molten state.

Ms. Burke worked closely with classroom teachers to develop a tailored lesson that aligned with the students' curriculum. After seeing the success of this program, Ms. Burke is looking forward to strengthening her relationships within the school so that more programs like this can come to fruition. She is currently collaborating with the math department in Great Barrington.

Grant Amount: $300
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

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Haverhill

Haverhill Cultural Council
Project: Inca Son Residency in the Haverhill Public Schools

Inca Son, an internationally acclaimed Peruvian music and dance ensemble, conducted workshops for all 5th grade students in the Haverhill school district. As part of their residency, students did projects related to pre-Columbian civilizations in their social studies, visual arts, dance and music classes, and Inca Son offered a professional development workshop for teachers. The event culminated in concerts, which were open to the public, at all four schools.

Grant Amount: $4,560
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

Haverhill Cultural Council
Project: Art & Photography Classes at Haverhill Boys Club

The weekly art and photography classes at the Haverhill Boys Club serve approximately 100 boys, ages ranging from 6-17. The program is the only arts education program based in Haverhill's downtown. The program offers valuable art instruction that is often not being provided in the schools, and gives the participants a sense of pride and accomplishment. Taught by artist Sharon Silverman, the program also offers students the opportunity to display their work in a community exhibition. Judges pick winners in several categories, who are then entered to compete in regional and state wide art contests within the Boys Club affiliation.

Grant Amount: $1,350
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

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Hingham

Hingham Cultural Council
Project: Hingham Celebrates Diversity - A Photography Project at Hingham High School

Hingham Celebrates Diversity is a student-driven project and is the first visual art exhibit of its kind held in Hingham. Students from Hingham High School Photography Club and the Anti-Defamation League will create 75 banners displaying large photographs of Hingham residents engaged in a variety of work and recreational activities. The banners will be displayed in the middle and high school as well at Hingham's 4th of July Parade. This project will provide a unique opportunity to view the diversity that exists in Hingham but will also pay visual testament to the artwork of local youth.

Grant Amount: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

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Hull

Hull Cultural Council
Project: On This River

Hull Performing Arts presented an original musical theater production about the Weir River Estuary, written by Cinzi Lavin and directed by Lindsay Clinton. The performance honored Hull's history and promoted environmental conservation. The success of the show led to additional town performances and sing-alongs, a studio-recorded CD, and the honor of one song becoming the official town song of Hull.

Grant Amount: $400
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2010

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Lakeville

Lakeville Arts Council
Project: Lakeville Arts & Music Festival 2007

The 3rd annual Arts & Music Festival, hosted on September 29, 2007, has evolved into the biggest cultural event in Lakeville. This annual event is designed to be a model of celebration and inclusion for the community of Lakeville.

The festival features local music, crafts, visual and performing arts, and demonstrations of fine art, pottery, weaving and wood carving. It also includes a high-quality juried art show and is a venue for local businesses, nonprofit organizations, churches and schools to spread awareness within the community. Lakeville residents and neighboring communities will enjoy another year of festivities, as the cultural council is planning the next Arts & Music Festival for fall 2008.

Grant Amount: $2,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

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Lawrence

Lawrence Cultural Council
Project: Irish Foundation, Irish Heritage Month

Irish Heritage month in Lawrence is an inclusive community celebration featuring 20 individual events over the course of March. The events include a literature exhibit, an art exhibit, children's story telling (featuring the Irish vice-consul), two authors' weekends, a film festival, concerts ranging from pipe bands to a traditional Irish music recital for voice and piano, a performance by the internationally known performers Cherish the Ladies, a parade, a ballet, a road race and a dinner dance. Lawrence is known as "Immigrant City." Events organized around the city's ethnic roots have traditionally played a large role in uniting its very diverse community. Many other ethnic celebrations are dear to the hearts of all Lawrencians, such as the Italian Feast of the Three Saints and the Latino Semana Hispana.

Grant Amount: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

 

Lawrence Cultural Council
Project: History of Arts in Lawrence

History of Arts in Lawrence project is an exhibit that reflects the duality of the rich history and the present cultural and artistic vitality of the city. It is the first unique collaboration between the Lawrence History Center, Lawrence Public Library, Lawrence Cultural Alliance, and Arts for Lawrence focusing on the impact of the arts on the history of the city. The project draws attention to Lawrence's efforts to touch the lives of its citizens through the arts and humanities while helping raise the public consciousness of the many artistic and cultural groups in the city.

Grant Amount: $3,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

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Lincoln

Lincoln Cultural Council
Project: Buccaneers of Buzz � Celebrating the Honeybee

Buccaneers of Buzz is an original multi-media event combining video footage, voice, music and dance to inform audiences about the crucial role the honeybee plays in the production of our food. Beekeepers from Lexington and Pembroke gave a pre-show talk and live hive demonstration. Local beekeepers were also able to connect with the broader community, which was largely unaware of their presence and of the impact local beekeepers have on bee populations.

Grant Amount: $900
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

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Lowell

Lowell Cultural Council
Project: Cambodian Folktale Project

"Light of Cambodian Children" was established in 1998 by a group of Cambodian college students and young professionals. Recognizing the challenges that many Cambodian youth face, the organization offers mentoring, scholarships and programs that encourage self-reliance and a commitment to their community.

The Cambodian Folktale Project introduced Cambodian youth to storytelling and book illustration through an intensive scholarly and artistic exploration of Cambodian folktales. The students were trained in interview techniques and then used their skills to collect the age-old folktales from their Cambodian elders.

Written in Khmer and English, the illustrated folktales have the potential to boost literacy for students of all ages who want to learn these languages. "The Tiger and the Elephant," produced in 2007, is the inaugural book in the series. This is the first bilingual Cambodian folktale to be published in the United States.

Grant Amount: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

 

Lowell Cultural Council
Project: Angkor Dance Troupe's Monkey Dance Project
Contact: http://ecommunity.uml.edu/angkor

Angkor Dance Troupe is nationally recognized as one of the most accomplished U.S.-based Cambodian dance ensembles. This workshop series recruits teenage boys considered at-risk of participating in neighborhood violence, gang involvement and other high-risk behavior. The project will provide in-depth, high-quality dance classes with master dancer Thavarak Soeur, considered one of the world's leading teachers of the traditional and highly revered "Monkey Dance." In 1998, Angkor broke new ground artistically with the introduction of hip hop and break dance elements into Monkey Dance tradition. The resulting cultural fusion provides a metaphor for the melding of traditional and contemporary youth culture and has been wildly popular with audiences.

Grant Amount: $3,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Lynn

Lynn Cultural Council
Project: Reel to Reel Digital Film School, Raw Art Works
Contact: www.rawart.org

Raw Art Work's Reel to Reel provides intensive training in all aspects of filmmaking to Lynn teenagers. The program provides a creative outlet for young people and encourages the development of critical life skills and self-esteem. Last year, the program served 52 teen filmmakers, several of whom traveled to Paris last summer to meet with French youth filmmakers. The Lynn Cultural Council feels strongly that programs like Reel to Reel will benefit the greater Lynn community for years to come, and is proud to support Raw Art Work's efforts.

Grant Amount: $3,500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2006

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Lynnfield

Lynnfield Cultural Council
Project: Building Bridges with Art and Music, presented by METCO (Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) Helping Hands

The "Building Bridges" multicultural schools presentation successfully used art, music and dance to build intercultural exchange and understanding between Lynnfield's white and urban African-American METCO students. The evening consisted of performances by Lynnfield High School music ensembles, hip hop, and gospel groups, and a display of art work reflecting METCO students' lives in their urban communities. METCO is a private non-profit organization that seeks to eliminate racial imbalance by providing educational opportunities for Boston students of color in participating suburban towns.

Grant: $400
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

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Malden

Malden Cultural Council
Project: Malden Windows Art Project

The Malden Windows Art Project, created by Naomi Brave and Kelvy Bird, is a new annual citywide arts event that engages downtown Malden storefront businesses as showcase venues for local artists. Launched in 2006, the three-week exhibit spread over storefronts throughout the downtown, and was kicked off by an outdoor festival that honored Malden's diversity with performances by a youth dance school, a Chinese orchestra, a faith-based youth choir and band, and others. The kick-off festival included printed maps, guided walking tours, an interactive mural wall, and other features to help people access and enjoy the exhibit. As a juried exhibit, Window Arts was almost like a sprawling downtown gallery including painting, photography, 3-D installations and media art. The project catalyzed community involvement, attracting dozens of volunteers. The project also bridged connections between Malden's growing artist community and the city's business owners and residents.

Grant Amount: $6,150
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

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Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard Cultural Council
Project: The Island Family Exhibit

Martha's Vineyard Community Services celebrated 40 years of service with a series of events dedicated to island families and a healthy community. After last year's inaugural Island Family Exhibit, the community has requested support for making this a permanent display by adding four new families to the collection annually. This project is a traveling photo-text exhibit that profiles the lives of the growing number of families residing permanently on Martha's Vineyard. The exhibit represents the richness of diversity of family experience indicative of the island life including families of African Americans, Brazilians, and Wampanoag Tribe, to name a few.

Grant Amount: $1,009
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

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Medford

Co-Nominated by the Medford Arts Council and Winchester Cultural Council
Project: Dance in the Fells

Movement artists Kyna Hamill and Wanda Strukus collaborated to celebrate the Middlesex Fells Reservation through site-specific dance. Contemporary choreographers were assigned to different sites throughout the Fells and created outdoor works to interpret or showcase their individual location. Performances took place simultaneously over the course of five hours. This successful event raised awareness of both a unique natural resource and the presence of a local dance scene within the Medford and Winchester communities.

Grant Amount: $1,300, Winchester; $1,000, Medford
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2011

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Montgomery

Montgomery Cultural Council and Huntington Cultural Council
Project: Edward Wirt's New England Jazz Band Performance
Contact: twirt@landmark.edu or http://www.bandshack.com/newenglandlivemusic

A free community concert co-sponsored by the Montgomery and Huntington Cultural Councils. The New England Jazz Band is based in Western Massachusetts and composed mostly of music teachers. The performance highlights well-known Neville Brothers musician Charles Neville, now a resident of Huntington, MA. This concert brings two communities together to enjoy local talent.

Grant Amount: $1,200
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Natick

Natick Cultural Council
Project: Historic District Art

Russian-born artist Phillip Ilatovsky offers a unique photographic exhibit to be displayed at Natick's Morse Institute Library. Vintage photographic images of familiar town structures will be presented with letters from World War II, antique cars, and other original artifacts to create a series that offers a unique view of Natick that will inspire a shared sense of the town's past, connecting the local community to the rich local history of Natick Center. The formal display of the artist's work is a culmination of extensive research and creative production of the materials.

Grant Amount: $500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

 

Natick Cultural Council
Project: Gianna Bird's Natick Wire Works
Contact: www.silvermoondesigns.biz/grant.htm

Artist Gianna Bird will conduct 10 workshops for preteens, teens and adults to learn the art of silversmithing. The finished artwork will be donated to a local art gallery, where the proceeds from sales will benefit Kids Connect, Inc., a local community service agency dedicated to working with Natick's middle school children. This project showcases the collaboration between an artist, community groups and small local businesses to benefit area youth and create support for another service agency.

Grant Amount: $700
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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New Bedford

New Bedford Cultural Council
Project: Schooner Ernestina Commission's New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus
Contact: www.ernestina.org

The New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus will prepare a program of historical maritime songs to be presented throughout New Bedford and Southern New England. This project supports an all-volunteer chorus, half of whom live or work in New Bedford. It also highlights an important aspect of New Bedford's history, and the experience of immigrant communities from the Azores and Cape Verde.

Grant Amount: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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New Marlborough

New Marlborough Cultural Council
Project: Project Bee

Project Bee is a multidisciplinary program initiated in response to the national Colony Collapse Disorder crisis currently impacting honeybees. This multifaceted project included creation of arts and science curricula for local schools, development of an innovative new hive structure, and establishment of monthly meetings and an online forum to discuss best beekeeping practices. Through the support of local businesses and community events, Project Bee used arts, science and the humanities to successfully raise public awareness of honeybees and beekeeping through community-centered programming.

Grant Amount: $2,500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2011

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Northampton

Northampton Arts Council
Project: Luke Jaeger Fundraiser Sculpture
Contact: www.trickfilm.org

Artist Luke Jaeger will create a coin-operated public sculpture installation (built from salvaged materials) that will raise money for local arts funding. Conceived in response to the recent cuts to arts funding in Massachusetts, this public sculpture will be built from grant money awarded by Northampton Arts Council, and money raised will be given back to the Council. The project is community-driven – the artist creates a sculpture to benefit the community and the viewer becomes a supporter of local arts.

Grant Amount: $416
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Northern Berkshire County

Cultural Council of Northern Berkshires
Project: North Adams Open Studios

The North Adams Open Studios showcased more than 80 artists working in North Adams and the Northern Berkshires. This is a free citywide event with many partners in the community including the Mayor's office for Culture and Tourism, Mass MoCA, Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, local artists, business owners and students.

Grant Amount: $825
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

 

Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire
Project: The New Opera

The New Opera, based in Williamstown, MA was founded in the spring of 2003. The vocal company of The New Opera consists mainly of young artists who are preparing for careers as professional singers. Performances normally feature the participation of one or two veteran artists. In this way, the projects provide younger artists with the opportunity to perform major roles with orchestra while also offering them the chance to learn from more seasoned performers. In collaboration with Williams College, Aspen Music Festival and The Berkshire Opera Company, The New Opera Company exposes under-served constituencies of the Northern Berkshire area to opera performance. The New Opera's productions have been an exciting way to expose area residents and students to the wonderful world of opera.

Grant Amount: $1,880
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

 

Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire County
Project: Northern Berkshire Creative Arts
Contact: http://www.nbcreativearts.org

One of the few organizations to offer arts instruction to the public in Northern Berkshire county, the Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, Inc. encourages and nurtures participation in the arts for all individuals. The cultural council's grant has allowed NB Creative Arts to offer scholarship assistance to some of its students and to reach out to residents at a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, a veteran center, and a home for victims of domestic abuse.

Grant: $4,500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

 

Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire
Project: Local Music Heritage Workshop Series with Tony Pisano, Elena Traister & Dale Ott
Contact: antpisano@hotmail.com or http://users.adelphia.net/~daleott1/garbanzos/fgs1.html

Pisano, Traister and Ott have organized weekly workshops that join local volunteer musicians with children from the Mohawk Forest Housing Development to explore instruments and music styles not taught in schools. The series culminates with a public performance in conjunction with the First Friday community event. This project leverages significant volunteer time and gives children an opportunity to explore music with cultural significance specific to the region.

Grant Amount: $1,185
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

 

Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire
Project: Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's Natural Bridge State Park Guardian Sculptures

Local high school students created sculptures as part of the CommUNITY (United, Neighboring, Interdependent, Trusted Youth) Arts Program which will be installed at Natural Bridge State Park in North Adams. A collaboration between Northern Berkshire Community Coalition and the Department of Environmental Management, the project increases a sense of community ownership by providing the opportunity for teens to make their mark in a meaningful way.

Grant Amount: $2,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

 

Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire
Project: Walden Chamber Players' "Music and the Social Conscience" Program
Contact: www.waldenchamberplayers.org

This is a three-day residency for music and history students in Hoosac Valley High School, Adams Memorial Middle School and Drury High School. By learning about specific historical moments in music that helped to catalyze and record social change, students will be exposed to popular music from Chile and South Africa, classical music from the Soviet Union, as well as slave songs and Rap/Hip Hop from the United States. This residency brings professional musicians to perform in the schools and links the arts to the school curriculum.

Grant Amount: $1,524
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Orange

Orange Cultural Council
Project: Starry Starry Night, presented by the Orange Revitalization Partnership

Starry Starry Night is Orange's annual New Year's Eve family festival with music, comedy, storytelling, dancing, fireworks, and ice sculptures. Support from the Orange Cultural Council has helped keep Starry Starry Night a free evening of art and culture.

Grant: $700
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

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Pelham

Pelham Cultural Council
Project: Cultural Evolution of a Connecticut Valley Town, Pelham Historical Commission

The Pelham Historical Commission is conducting historical surveys of the town's oldest buildings to better understand the development of town life in Pelham. Residents of Pelham have been touched by the findings that Historical Society members have presented in the community. The new records have triggered important personal memories and given light to new insights on the development of community life in the hill towns of Western Massachusetts.

Grant Amount: $7,440
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2006

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Pittsfield

Pittsfield Cultural Council
Project: Shakespeare in the Courts

Shakespeare in the Courts is a collaborative partnership between the Berkshire Juvenile Court and the professional theatre group Shakespeare & Company. Adjudicated teens are "sentenced" to the project by the court and work with Shakespeare & Company artists to learn how to direct their emotions into a positive release by enacting Shakespeare's plays. The program culminates in a final performance before family, friends and court personnel. Since beginning in 2001, over 165 at-risk youth have completed this extremely successful program.

Grant Amount: $1,500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2011

Pittsfield Cultural Council
Project: Focus is Our Children

Focus is Our Children is a free, high quality dance program for underserved girls ages 5-17. It is taught by a dancer who is trained in psychology and community development. The program focuses on all aspects of the student's well-being including self esteem, nutrition, exercise and academic performance. Over the years the students have performed, free of charge, at the mall, local parades and celebrations, and at senior centers. The program culminates in a public recital at the end of the year.

Grant Amount: $1,500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

 

Pittsfield Cultural Council
Project: AfterSchool Poets

AfterSchool Poets is an after-school poetry writing program for 4th- and 5th-grade students from Pittsfield's Conte School. Program founder Carol Stroll encourages her students to find their voice through poetry. Last year, the students attended a reading by former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins and had the opportunity to meet him.

Grant Amount: $1,200
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

 

Pittsfield Cultural Council
Project: CATA on Tour in Schools

Community Access to the Arts is non-profit arts organization that has been serving individuals with physical, mental and emotional disabilities for over 11 years. Pittsfield public school students will have the opportunity to attend a performance by CATA's three performing arts companies. The program's mission is to reduce the stigma often felt by people with disabilities and to enhance public awareness of the valuable roles these individuals play in our community through shared artistic experiences.

This project was supported by 11 Local Cultural Councils:
Alford-Egremont $100
Great Barrington $195
Lee $200
Monterey $195
Mount Washington $100
New Marlborough $155
Pittsfield $775
Sheffield $155
Stockbridge $195
Tyringham $100
West Stockbridge $100

Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

 

Pittsfield Cultural Council
Project: VOICES Consumer Theater Company's "A Christmas Carol"
Contact: sallysallysj@aol.com

This touring production of "A Christmas Carol" is presented by a unique company of artists, consisting principally of adults with mental illness and other disabilities. Over the past several years, the company has performed for groups in Berkshire County free of charge. This season, the company of 14 artists performed at a dinner for the homeless, at a major senior center and at the Berkshire Athenaeum. This program provides structure to sometimes unstructured lives, giving participants an opportunity to contribute to the community.

Grant Amount: $800
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Plymouth

Plymouth Cultural Council
Project: Plymouth South High School and Jordan Hospital Partnership, led by Lauren Buckman

Plymouth South High School student-teacher Lauren Buckman led students from Plymouth in creating paintings based on their favorite children's stories to donate to Jordan Hospital's pediatric unit. Students also spent time in the unit reading their stories to patients.

Grant: $250
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

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Provincetown

Provincetown Cultural Council
Project: Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM)'s Youth Education Program
Contact: www.paam.org

An eight-month program for regional students in grades 2-12 that allows them to curate and exhibit art in a museum. Students participate in critical discussion; research historic and technical aspects of works chosen from the Provincetown Art Association and Museum collection; and compose label and catalogue text. Working with teachers, artists and members of the PAAM staff, students develop oral and written language skills. This program builds community, brings the arts and the community together, supports talented local individual artists and empowers young people.

Grant Amount: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Reading

Reading Cultural Council
Project: Reading Symphony Orchestra's Children's Concert

The RSO Children's Concert is a performance for elementary and middle school students, their parents, grandparents and community members. This unique concert will include compositions written by elementary school through high school students under the guidance of their music teachers. Students will also have the opportunity to conduct the orchestra. Arianna Warsaw, a talented 18 year-old violinist, will perform four pieces with the RSO including Vivaldi's "Four Seasons". This concert illustrates the importance of music education in the development of young people while providing a vehicle for bringing a broad spectrum of the community together. This innovative project is result of a dynamic collaboration between the Reading Symphony Orchestra, the Reading schools and the emerging musicians.

Grant Amount: $500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

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Salem

Salem Cultural Council
Project: Writer's Group of the Salem Council on Aging

The Writer's Group of the Salem Council on Aging is made up of 16 Salem residents in their 70s 80s and 90s. The seniors worked on a project documenting their personal recollections on the changing face of Salem over the years. From these accounts, the Writer's Group produced a book Personal Perspectives of a Changing Salem, featuring 60 short essays.

The initial print run sold out and the book is now in its fifth printing. Having sold more than 1,200 copies since October of 2007, the book's profits go towards the Senior Center. The work spawned many events at which the authors read from their work, signed books, and learned about marketing techniques from professional authors. The writers will be going into a Salem Elementary School to work with students on another writing project. The book was so successful that a second edition is in the works.

Grant Amount: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

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Somerville

Somerville Arts Council
Project: Brickbottom Artists Association Gallery
Contact: www.brickbottomartists.com

Brickbottom Artists Association is one of the oldest artist associations in the Boston area and is Somerville's only not-for-profit contemporary gallery. In addition to holding biannual Open Studios events, Brickbottom Gallery curates shows that feature local artists and allows artists the opportunity to create shows that would not ordinarily have a home in a commercial gallery. Brickbottom also hosts free performing arts, film, and literary programming in its gallery space.

Grant: $150
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

 

Somerville Cultural Council
Project: Somerville Public Schools Summer Music Program

This is a two-week summer string camp for schoolchildren sponsored by the Music Department of Somerville Public Schools. The intensive music experience is aimed at school children from diverse backgrounds who are enrolled in string programs during the year, and draws on a strong collaboration by the Longy Music School, community volunteers and parents. Under the leadership of music teacher Rita Ranucci, this program has been operating successfully for eleven years.

Grant Amount: $500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2004

 

Somerville Arts Council
Project: Somerville Community Access TV's SAY Media! (Somerville Access Youth Media!)
Contact: www.access-youth.org

An after-school program for immigrant and at-risk youth, SAY Media! has a wide-reaching network of collaborating agencies including the Somerville High School Bilingual Education Department, Centro Presente, Community Action Agency of Somerville, Tufts University and Emerson College. Participants receive college preparation workshops and multimedia skills. Additionally, teens learn to decipher the messages behind mainstream media and to create alternative programming that addresses their aspirations and perspectives.

Grant Amount: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Southampton

Southampton Cultural Council
Project: Robert Floyd's Southampton Farmers photo exhibit
Contact: rfphoto@mailstation.com

Photographer Robert Floyd will photograph farmers and harvesters of Southampton, MA. The resulting photographs and oral histories will document a diminishing way of life. By celebrating a part of the community that often goes unrecognized, this project will increase awareness and personalize the issues related to farmlands and open space.

Grant Amount: $700
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Springfield

Springfield Cultural Council
Project: Springfield Boys & Girls Club's "Kids in Charge" Program (Hand Chime Choir)
Contact: www.sbgc.org

This program brings a distinctive and ancient art form to underserved youth, while simultaneously helping them gain self-esteem and develop life-long learning skills. Twenty-two young people in Beginner and Advanced levels experience literal "hands-on" music making at numerous rehearsals and during performances. Through this program, the young musicians learn about cooperation, teamwork and self-discipline. They have performed at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Annual Springfield Boys & Girls Club Board Meeting and several other outlets.

Grant Amount: $1,600
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Sterling

Sterling Cultural Council
Project: Sterling Battle of the Bands, organized by Peter Cormier
Contact: http://sterlingmusic.org

Now in its third year, Sterling's Battle of the Bands gives young adults an opportunity to perform and listen to music from their peers while also learning about the importance of community involvement. Peter Cormier, the event's founder, has recruited Sterling teens to become active in the planning, promotion, and execution of the annual Battle of the Bands event. The event also exposes teens to community service opportunities by inviting non-profit service agencies like Habitat for Humanity, Heifer Project International, and Rock the Vote, to come and promote their work.

Grant: $200
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

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Taunton

Taunton Cultural Council
Project: How to Get A Head...Through Clay Modeling

Artist Pam Foley led a high quality artist-in-residence program at an assisted living center, where seniors were able to participate in a hands-on sculpting workshop. The three-part project involved Foley's demonstration of clay sculpting in action, the creation of plaster molds of the participant's faces, and clay sculpture busts of fellow residents. The residents' family members also became involved, and the finalized works were displayed in the facility's conference room, which is frequently used by community groups.

Grant: $1,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2010

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Tyngsborough

Tyngsborough Cultural Council
Project: Picture Us, Everyday Joy
Contact: www.everydayjoy.org/programs/

Through Picture Us!, Tyngsborough-area children have exchanged photographic journals, artwork, and poetry with children in Iraq, Morocco, Ireland, Mexico, Zambia and Nepal. The program promotes self-expression, understanding, and friendship between children and adults of different cultures. Photographer and Picture Us! founder Kathleen Geraghty created the program for her son's school as a way of bringing together her artistic skills with her desire to be involved in her children's lives. The program has received overwhelming support and Geraghty has established a non-profit, Everyday Joy, to carry on the work.

Grant Amount: $200
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2006

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Waltham

Waltham Cultural Council
Project: GWARC Arts Enrichment Program

GWARC Arts Enrichment Program is an art program for adults with developmental disabilities. It was taught by a member of the Waltham Mills Artists Association, and culminated in a public exhibition. The participants in the program also produced a calendar of their artwork, which gave them a way to thank their sponsors, and also offered a new opportunity to fundraise and prolong the work of the exhibition long after the displays had been taken down.

Grant Amount: $600
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2008

 

Waltham Cultural Council
Project: Music and Poetry at More Than Words

The youth-run monthly open mic events at More Than Words bookstore and art gallery feature poetry, music, and performance art by local talent. The events draw an average of 50 performers and audience members of all ages, ethnicities, and experience. Professional poets, including members of the Boston Poetry Slam Team and local universities, have provided feature performances, workshops, feedback, and encouragement. The poetry ranges from rap, to free verse, to more traditional rhymes and meters, and draws from rich themes of love, war, hope, fear, and social commentary. The majority of the youth who plan and coordinate the open mic programs are in state custody programs, such as foster care, the court system, and/or behavioral or alternative education programs. The experience of running these events, as well as writing and performing for them, helps to empower these at-risk teens and build their self-esteem. It also gives them an outlet for self-expression, and a chance to network with other poets and artists.

Grant Amount: $450
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2007

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Watertown

Watertown Cultural Council
Project: "Film Talks," presented by Filmmakers Collaborative

Last year Filmmakers Collaborative, an association of independent film and videomakers dedicated to spotlighting diverse ethnic communities and cultures through film, presented screenings of Michal Goldman's Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt and Bob Nesson's Russian Documentaries Today. Both screenings included opportunities for audience members to engage with the filmmakers on issues and ideas raised by the films.

Grant: $650
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

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West Tisbury

West Tisbury Cultural Council
Project: Linsey Lee and Martha's Vineyard Historical Society's "Vineyard Voices – American Stories"
Contact: www.marthasvineyardhistory.org

A documentary film aimed at preserving and enhancing local oral histories collected through the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society. The project will represent all segments of the community, including the Wampanoag Tribe, generations of African-Americans, Portuguese Americans, and descendants of whalers and fishermen. These stories will help residents and visitors understand the island's past as it makes decisions for the future. This project was funded by five LCCs: Aquinnah, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury and West Tisbury.

Grant Amount: $1,600
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2003

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Worcester

Worcester Cultural Commission
Project: Audio Journal's Cultural Calendar
Contact: www.audiojournal.net

Cultural Calendar is a program of the Audio Journal, a radio service for blind and print disabled individuals in the Worcester area. Audio Journal involves disabled individuals in radio production, raises awareness among young people about the experience of being blind, and partners with area cultural organizations to make exhibitions like Worcester Art Museum's "Art During the Plague" exhibition accessible to all.

Grant: $1,500
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2005

 

Worcester Cultural Commission
Project: Art in the Park
Contact: Art in the Park

The second annual Art in the Park was a two month exhibit of large-scale, high-quality, contemporary public art in historic Elm Park. The project featured artists from around Massachusetts and engaged a diverse cross-section of the community. The LCC-originated project was used as an opportunity to develop numerous partnerships with local cultural institutions, community groups, stores and restaurants, and artists and performers. With the Commission, these groups planned related events surrounding the exhibition that enhanced the project's impact.

Grant: $15,000
Gold Star Awarded: Fiscal Year 2010

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