Past
Grantees

The LOWER MANHATTAN CULTURAL COUNCIL (LMCC), New York City, received $23,000 in support of the 2009-10 Workspace program. The Council is an arts presenter, advocate, and service provider to artists and arts groups. Through progressive cultural planning, innovative artist studio programs, funding and training opportunities, and a rich calendar of free events in the visual, performing and new media arts, LMCC takes an integrated approach to enriching New York City's creative capital. Workspace gives artists, working in a range of media and genres, the space, time, and resources to develop new work. The artists have 24-hour a day, seven-day a week access to studios and a shared community area, receive a stipend for materials and supplies, benefit from curator and critic visits, engage in professional development seminars, and have access to additional resources and services to help strengthen their careers.

MABOU MINES, New York City, received a two-year grant of $60,000 in support of the Suite Resident Artist Program. Jerome support is directed to the participation of emerging New York City-based artists in this program. Mabou Mines is an artist-driven experimental theater collective generating original works and re-imagined adaptations of classic plays through multidisciplinary, technologically innovative collaborations among its members and a wide world of contemporary artists. Established in 1991, the Suite Resident Artist Program is a laboratory for artists to experiment with performance ideas. Suite is open to small companies and individual artists in all fields, any artist with a compelling performance idea in need of investigation. The first year of the program begins with nine artists or artist teams, selected via an open call and company review, as Resident Artists. The Program strives to develop a lively and artistically fertile community while offering guidance to the artists as they explore their individual projects. Mabou Mines' Artistic Directors and Associate Artists serve as mentors. In the second year, four Alumni Resident artists are invited to return to the program to continue work on projects. These residencies are individually designed to meet specific needs. The goal is to prepare and secure fully realized productions.

CRAIG MACNEILL received a grant for Henley, a narrative short about a ten-year-old boy named Ted Henley who lives with his father in their run down motel on a desolate stretch of road. He earns his tiny allowance by collecting and removing the road kill that litters the highway. But when the motel cash register starts to run dry, Ted decides to turn his attention to collecting bigger game. This film was inspired by Clay McLeod Chapman's Miss Corpus, which, according to Macneill, weaves together honest human emotion with peculiar and atypical situations.

JOHN MAGARY received support for Antoinette, a feature-length narrative about a womans unfinished battle with life, an ecstatic chronicle chasing its defiant subject across four decades as she raises seven kids amidst the pain, joy, death, and rebirth of the city she calls home. And where is her home? Its New Orleans, a place like no other, tumbling down the backside of Americas twentieth century. Scenes from Antoinettes life spill out in chronological disorder, in bursts short and long, with the random force of memorya history, a dance, a delirious harnessing. From her self-imposed name change at seven, to her first child at seventeen, to a disastrous brawl in the projects at twenty-nine, to her post-Katrina exile in San Antonio, Antoinette takes a hopscotch through time with ailing siblings, battered suitors, determined girls, belligerent boys, and one very tough woman.

Electronic composer, sound and multimedia artist LUIS MAURETTE, New York City, will travel to Chile and Argentina to conduct cultural research along the Qnapac an (Main Inca Road) from Santiago, Chile, to La Quica, Argentina. While there, he plans to research the charango, a small South American stringed instrument used in the traditional music of the area and central to his compositions. He will collect field recordings, meet with musicians and music scholars, and talk with people along the way about the stories and beliefs behind the music.

CONOR MCGRADY and DARIO SOLMAN, artists living in Brooklyn, New York, will travel to Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia to interview select cultural leaders on the nature of mythology and ideology and to document architecture and urban spaces to form the basis for a new collaborative body of work. The artists employ a similar aesthetic approach featuring the iconographic use of the future to represent the individual's relationship to ideology and power. The impact of shifting mythologies in these geographic locations, their impact on urban space and concepts of national identity, will form the basis for the research trip.

GRANTMAKERS IN FILM + ELECTRONIC MEDIA, Baltimore, Maryland, received $2,500 in support of 2009 programs and services. This affinity group of the Council on Foundations is an association of grantmakers committed to advancing the field of media arts and public interest media funding. It is a resource for grantmakers who fund media content, infrastructure and policy and those who employ media to further their program goals. It also serves funders who want to learn more about supporting media. The Jerome Foundation has been a member since 2005.

MEET THE COMPOSER, New York City, received $15,000 in support of the participation of New York City and Minnesota based emerging composers in the 2010 Creative Connections program. Meet The Composer fosters the creation, performance, dissemination, and appreciation of music by contemporary composers. It is dedicated to supporting living composers through direct financial assistance and opportunities to connect with audiences. The Creative Connections program provides support to composers to engage with broad audiences in conjunction with live performances of their work. Activities may include workshops, discussions, interactive presentations, and in-school residencies. Four times a year, the program distributes funds ranging from $250 to $5,000 for a broad range of composer activities and venues.

ALISSA MELLO, puppeteer and playwright living in Jackson Heights in Queens, New York, will travel to Charleville-Mzire, France, to participate in a one-month workshop led by Philippe Genty and Mary Underwood, founders of the Compagnie Philippe Genty, renowned for visual theater that combines puppetry, dance, and illusion. Mello is interested in expanding her artistic palette and exploring new techniques to work with performers, transform raw materials and performing objects, and use performer generated content as part of the creative development process.

MILKWEED EDITIONS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $20,700 in support of the publication of single author books of fiction by emerging writers. Founded in 1979, Milkweed Editions publishes 15-20 books per year with over 250 titles in print and over a million copies of its books in circulation. Its mission is to publish books that have the potential to make a humane impact on society, in the belief that literature is a transformative art. Its commitment to publishing work by emerging artists has resulted in Jerome support of this independent press since 1980. The publication of these books by emerging writers will significantly contribute to their development and the advancement of their work and careers. Authors are selected by the editorial staff of the press and receive the full development, distribution and promotion support of the organization.

The MINNEAPOLIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN (MCAD), Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $71,100 in support of the 2009-10 MCAD/Jerome Fellowships for Emerging Artists. The goal is to advance, artistically and critically, the work of emerging Minnesota visual artists. Four emerging artists will be chosen to receive $10,000 fellowships to cover a working period of 12 months. They will meet with visiting critics/curators individually and as a group. The College will provide technical assistance and a supportive framework for the year. There will be a culminating exhibition in the College gallery with a catalog. The program invites artists applications in response to an annual open call. A jury of experienced professionals narrows the field to finalists, who then receive studio visits from the jury prior to the selection of the recipients. Artists must be at an early stage of career development, without wide exhibition exposure locally and nationally and without having received other prestigious grant awards. Founded in 1986, MCAD is an independent, accredited institution offering a four-year curriculum and a graduate degree program. It educates individuals to be professional artists and designers, effective leaders and active citizens, thereby advancing the cultural life of its community.

The MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $19,600 in support of the participation of emerging artists in the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP). The mission of the Institute is to enrich the community by collecting, preserving and making accessible outstanding works of art from the world's diverse cultures. Initiated in 1975, the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program plays a key role in the Institute's efforts to enrich the community by providing a dynamic forum for contemporary ideas and practices. An independent curatorial program operated by and for the artists of Minnesota, the MAEP exhibits Minnesota artists' works on a regular basis; fosters the exchange of ideas among artists; stimulates interaction among artists, the museum and the public; and facilitates the creation and presentation of work in a context that is not inhibited by aesthetic fashion or commercial demand. The MAEP is directed by a panel of seven artists, democratically elected by artists in the State of Minnesota, and linked to the Institute by a jointly selected Program Coordinator. Annual programming includes gallery exhibitions, artist-led tours, lectures, panel discussions, podcasts and the Critics Trialogue Series.

The MINNESOTA COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $5,555 in support of 2009 programs and services. The mission of the Council is to strengthen and expand philanthropy. It seeks to inspire and lead an ever-expanding community of grantmakers to achieve, both individually and collectively, the highest standards of purpose and action. The Minnesota Council's membership represents 69% of the total assets of Minnesota grantmakers and 75% of total Minnesota grantmaking in 2008. Twenty percent of its membership has supported the Council for 30 years or more. Jerome Foundation falls in that category. In making this grant commitment, the Jerome Foundation Board of Directors also subscribe to the Principles for Minnesota Grantmakers.

MIZNA, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a two-year grant of $32,000 in support of artists' fees and publication expenses to produce four issues of the Mizna Journal.  Mizna seeks to present the complexity of its community, painting a portrait that captures nuance and avoids broad brushstrokes.  It is devoted to promoting Arab American culture in all of its diversity, and showcasing its artists.  Its programs give voice to Arab Americans through literature and art.  Mizna: Prose, Poetry, and Art Exploring Arab America exposes readers to the breadth and depth of the vital cultures of the Middle East and of Arabs in America.  All content is original; and the contributors are primarily emerging artists, a majority of those from Minnesota and New York City.  Each issue contains poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and the work of a visual artist.  The selection process begins with a call for submissions, reviewed by the Editors and an Editorial Committee.

ANNA MOENCH, New York City, will travel to Beijing; Loess Plateau Chenjiayvan, Shaanxi Province; Qinjiagelao, Shaanxi Prov; Lanquan, Shaanxi, China, to research the rural Chinese folk custom of minghun (afterlife or spirit marriage). She will consult with experts at Tsinghua University and attend Peking opera and puppetry performances in Beijing. She wants to incorporate this research into a new play.

MOMENTA ART, Brooklyn, New York, received $13,500 in support of the participation of emerging artists in the 2009-10 exhibition program. Momenta promotes the work of under-represented and emerging artists, alternating between critically focused group shows and individual exhibitions. The annual exhibition program includes at least five exhibitions and over ten events such as artists talks, performances, and screenings. The organization maintains an open process for artists submissions and staff review including studio visits. Momenta programming brings together conceptual and aesthetic concerns presented by an ethnically diverse group of artists. Exhibitions include a wide range of artistic approaches and media, including photography, installation, and video.

MU PERFORMING ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $14,000 to support the New Performance Program. Mu Performing Arts is a pan-Asian performing arts organization whose mission is to be a premier artistic company that creates theater and taiko from the heart of the Asian American experience. The New Performance Program brings emerging artists who create new work in performance, spoken word, hip hop, and experimental theater to Mu Performing Arts. Four artists will participate in this second round of the New Performance Program, receiving commissions and developmental support encompassing workshop readings as well as staged readings within the New Eyes Festival.

The MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, New York City, received $6,300 to support the acquisition of Jerome Foundation-supported films and videos by emerging artists for the Museums permanent collection. As early as 1935, the Museum of Modern Art embraced motion pictures as an art form. In 1939, it began regular screenings to share works with the public. The Department of Film combines preservation with exhibition. Its collection is made publicly accessible through ongoing programs of classic and contemporary films that range from retrospectives and historical surveys to introductions of works by independent and experimental film and video makers. Since 1996, the Museum has received modest annual support, which it uses to purchase film and video works funded by the Jerome Foundation through its New York City and Minnesota Film and Video Grant Programs. The titles are chosen by Department of Film curators.

NEW DRAMATISTS, New York City, received $36,000, $24,750 in support of its Playwrights Lab and $11,250 in support of the Composer-Librettist Studio. New Dramatists is dedicated to the playwright, and pursues a singular mission to find gifted playwrights and give them the time, space, and tools to develop their craft so that they may fulfill their potential and make lasting contributions to the theatre. New Dramatists has remained a pioneer in the field of new play development since its inception in 1949. The Playwrights Lab is a constellation of programs through which New Dramatists resident playwrights develop their work. The organizations seven-year commitment to writers ensures that they can develop work over time and access a wide variety of resources according to needs of any given project. New Dramatists provides free rehearsal space, stage managers, and professional collaborators, hiring over 450 actors, directors, and dramaturgs each season. The Composer-Librettist Studio is a two-week session conducted in partnership with Nautilus Music Theater of St. Paul, Minnesota. The Studio focuses simultaneously on music-theater development and the principles of collaboration, teaming five New Dramatists writers with five composers and five performers to develop new musical theatre works.

NEW RADIO AND PERFORMING ARTS, Staten Island, New York, received $14,400 in support of commissions for emerging artists to create networked art for the Turbulence website. New Radio and Performing Arts fosters the development of new and experimental work for radio, sound arts, and Net art. The last is served by the website Turbulence, which commissions, exhibits, and archives works that explore networked technologies, and supports experimentation with distributed real-time multilocation performance events. Turbulence emerging artist commissions support the creation of new Net works that provide meaningful experiences, provoke thought, facilitate dialogue, and offer interactive and/or participatory experiences to audiences while also encouraging the dissolution of boundaries between artistic disciplines, artists and non-artists, artists and audiences, and between art and science.