Past
Grantees

NEW RADIO AND PERFORMING ARTS, Staten Island, New York, received a two-year grant of $32,000 in support of commissions to emerging artists to create and launch new works on the TURBULENCE web site. The organization was founded in 1981 to stimulate and advance the public's awareness of innovative work in the arts by producing and promoting experimental work for radio and live performance; and encouraging and participating in the development, production and distribution of high quality audio recordings for video and other means of distribution. The TURBULENCE web site was launched in 1996 to extend the organization's mandate to net art. TURBULENCE commissions allow artists to explore the networked medium using existing technologies and developing new applications. TURBULENCE seeks artists, from a variety of disciplines, who are engaged in experimentation and pushing the boundaries of new technologies. Panels meet twice a year to review applications and choose recipients. Jerome funds will support the creation of eight net or hybrid works over the next two years.

NEW RIVERS PRESS MSUM, Moorhead, Minnesota, received a two-year grant of $30,000 in support of the Many Voices Project (MVP). This will subsidize the selection, publication and promotion of six books by emerging writers in the MVP series. Eligibility is restricted to emerging writers based in Minnesota and New York City. This is an open competition for manuscripts, addressing the Press's mission of acquiring, editing and promoting books in all genres by new and emerging writers. New Rivers is also a teaching press, integrated into the Minnesota State University Moorhead curriculum.

NEW YORK CITY PLAYERS, New York City, received a grant of $10,000 in support of the development of STORY PROBLEM, Richard Maxwell's new work. New York City Players is dedicated to bringing innovation and exploration in theater to the public through text and music. It seeks to create out of something seemingly insignificant and irrelevant a live performance that proves to be profound and universal. STORY PROBLEM will create an environment in which everyday situations take on deeper meaning by rendering the most banal exchanges in a painstakingly heightened manner. Maxwell plans to make the entire play a hyper-extended conflict, a fight actually, that lasts for the entire evening with barely an explanation.

DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP, New York City, received $35,000 to support emerging artists' commissions through the Bessie Schnberg/First Light Program. Dance Theater Workshop identifies and nurtures talented artists working in diverse cultural contexts, stimulates an audience and public context for these artists and their works, and provides an interactive community laboratory for the imagination. This grant continues a history of support that the Foundation has authorized to the organization to seed the development and production of new work for presentation. Dance Theater Workshop staff carefully selects emerging choreographers. Commissions range from $1,000 to $4,000. Artists receive presentation fees and other support in addition to the commissions.

JILA NIKPAY received a grant in support of Rhythm of Tides, the third in a trilogy of short films that address issues of dislocation, loss and memory. The trilogy is a personal response to the current conditions in Nikpay's country of Iran, and part of a larger body of work of both film and photography. Rhythm of Tides will be a cinematic essay, halfway between narrative and metaphor. Nikpay will combine evocative visual imagery, sound-design, and minimal voice-over into a dense poetic film.

The Directors authorized a grant of $9,000 to INTERMEDIA ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, acting as fiscal agent for choreographer MARGO ABDO O'DELL. The mission of Intermedia Arts is to build understanding among people through art. It is a multidisciplinary center offering presentations in visual arts, media arts, performance, and interdisciplinary forms. O'Dell, in collaboration with flamenco dancer and choreographer Colette Marie Illarde and flamenco guitarist and composer Scott Mateo, will present a concert of new work titled Caravan: Cairo to Cordoba, which will expose and examine the artistry of the Arab, Spanish, and Muslim worlds. New works include a duet, titled Let's Talk, for O'Dell and Illarde; a second duet of cultural exploration, titled Danza Andaluza, fusing the classical forms of raks sharki and flamenco; and an experimental piece, titled El Baraka, which means blessing.

A grant to TOMOKO OGUCHI was awarded for Folklore Restaurant, an animated short film that explores the strength of three fox-tales originating from Native American, Finish and Japanese folklore. In all three stories, the fox is associated with fire. Animated characters are created with rare Japanese paper (washi) and sometimes appear on the background of originally filmed aurora borealis.

J.P. OLSEN received support for The Narcotics Farm, a historical documentary about the Federal Government's failed attempt to find a cure for drug addiction between 1935 and 1975. Through experimentation on drug-addicted prisoners at a prison farm in Lexington, Kentucky, this film explores the government's morally questionable research and treatment of prisoners.

PANGEA WORLD THEATRE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a $10,000 grant in support of Alternate Visions. Pangea is committed to international works, styles and traditions that illuminate the human condition, end divisiveness, and celebrate differences. It does this work through theater productions, workshops and speakers. Alternate Visions is a new initiative in which emerging playwrights from Minnesota and New York City will be given the time and support needed to develop their work from closed developmental workshops to rehearsal residencies that culminate in staged readings with audience feedback. At least half of the plays developed in Alternate Visions will be produced in the mainstage season. The goal for this program is to support and strengthen the creation of multicultural and cross-disciplinary work by playwrights from immigrant communities and communities of color through intensive, long-term developmental residencies.

PATRICK'S CABARET, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $20,000 in support of its 2005 Core Program and artist-led workshops. The mission of the Cabaret is to support artists in their growth and development by encouraging them to test new ideas, take risks and present works-in-progress. On the second and third weekends of every month, the Cabaret presents six unrelated performances of new works by artists of various experience levels and artistic disciplines as its Core Program. New voices constantly bring fresh visions to the mix. Each artist is given a 15-minute time slot. Selectively, the Cabaret contracts with master artists to lead workshops designed to develop new works by emerging artists.

BARI PEARLMAN was awarded support for Daughters of Wisdom, a feature-length documentary about the rebuilding and revitalizing of Northeast Tibet through the education and cultivation of women to their fullest potential. Situated on the Eastern Tibetan plateau north of the Himalayas, the Nangchen district of Kham (now China's Qinghai Province) is home to an estimated 60,000 subsistence farmers and nomadic herding families. Relegated to subservient roles in their families, the women of Nangchen have for centuries been regarded as simple creatures capable of little more than churning butter, bearing children and saying prayers. A woman in this culture has had to choose between marrying and being a servant to her husband, or becoming a nun, and remaining a servant to her family. But now, for the first time, the women of Nangchen are being given the skills and opportunities to become active participants in preserving Tibetan cultural heritage, improving their local educational infrastructure, and preparing their people to effectively navigate the encroaching modern world. This film will present a vividly intimate portrait of the lives of Nangchen's women.

MARA V. PELECIS received a grant in support of Souvenirs, a feature documentary exploring the suicide of the filmmaker's father, and the lives of other veterans. The work seeks to understand the emotional and spiritual impact of wars on those who fight them.

Jerome Foundation Directors authorized a grant of $42,500 to P.S. 122, New York City, in support of commissioning fees for emerging New York City-based artists scheduled to present new works at P.S. 122. This multidisciplinary arts center supports and presents live events created by artists who expand the boundaries of theater, dance, music, and performance art through the use of form, context and content. P.S. 122 offers its commissioned artists rehearsal and workshop space, technical and administrative support, performance opportunities, and guaranteed performance fees. Since 1986, it has provided commissions for at least 15 of its artists each season.

The Jerome Foundation Directors approved continuing membership and general support grants to the NEW YORK REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GRANTMAKERS and the COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS. This organization is a membership entity promoting responsible and effective philanthropy.

THE PILLSBURY HOUSE THEATRE/PILLSBURY UNITED COMMUNITIES, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a two-part grant. The Theatre's mission is to create challenging theatre to inspire choice, change and connection. Jerome Foundation made a two-year commitment of $24,000 in support of the development and production of new works by emerging playwrights. In addition to mainstage productions by Heather MacDonald, Kimberly Morgan and Tracey S. Wilson, the Theatre will present the Three Mondays: Reading Series showcasing the works of new and emerging playwrights. A grant of $34,500 was made in support of the 2005 Non-English Speaking Spoken Here: The Late Nite Series. Late Nite is a concept that represents a transformation of culture where text, music, spoken word, sounds and images weave together in a fearless celebration of new voices and new art. The Series presents opportunities for artists to develop and perform new works and works-in-progress in front of audiences. Late Nite is organized into three series each year, centered on a theme.

THE PILLSBURY HOUSE THEATRE/PILLSBURY UNITED COMMUNITIES, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a two-part grant. The Theatre's mission is to create challenging theatre to inspire choice, change and connection. Jerome Foundation made a two-year commitment of $24,000 in support of the development and production of new works by emerging playwrights. In addition to mainstage productions by Heather MacDonald, Kimberly Morgan and Tracey S. Wilson, the Theatre will present the Three Mondays: Reading Series showcasing the works of new and emerging playwrights. A grant of $34,500 was made in support of the 2005 Non-English Speaking Spoken Here: The Late Nite Series. Late Nite is a concept that represents a transformation of culture where text, music, spoken word, sounds and images weave together in a fearless celebration of new voices and new art. The Series presents opportunities for artists to develop and perform new works and works-in-progress in front of audiences. Late Nite is organized into three series each year, centered on a theme.

THE PLAYWRIGHTS' CENTER, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $81,000 to support the 2005-06 Jerome Playwriting Residency Fellowships and the Many Voices Program. The Center fuels the theater by providing services that support playwrights and playwriting. It nurtures artistic excellence and new visions of theater, fosters playwright initiative and leadership, practices cultural pluralism, discovers emerging artists, advocates for playwrights and their work, connects playwrights with their audiences, and develops a community for new work. In the Residency Program, five fellowships are awarded to competitively selected emerging playwrights who spend the fellowship year in Minnesota and participate in readings, workshops and related program opportunities. The writers develop new work in a variety of ways for a variety of venues. Jerome support was also authorized for the Many Voices Program, designed to develop playwrights of color through stipends, education, and opportunities to develop new work with theater professionals. Eight nine-month residencies are awarded. The playwrights meet twice a month to read works in development, undertake writing assignments and exercises, discuss issues relating to their work, and engage in a peer support and learning network.

THE PLAYWRIGHTS' CENTER, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $81,000 to support the 2005-06 Jerome Playwriting Residency Fellowships and the Many Voices Program. The Center fuels the theater by providing services that support playwrights and playwriting. It nurtures artistic excellence and new visions of theater, fosters playwright initiative and leadership, practices cultural pluralism, discovers emerging artists, advocates for playwrights and their work, connects playwrights with their audiences, and develops a community for new work. In the Residency Program, five fellowships are awarded to competitively selected emerging playwrights who spend the fellowship year in Minnesota and participate in readings, workshops and related program opportunities. The writers develop new work in a variety of ways for a variety of venues. Jerome support was also authorized for the Many Voices Program, designed to develop playwrights of color through stipends, education, and opportunities to develop new work with theater professionals. Eight nine-month residencies are awarded. The playwrights meet twice a month to read works in development, undertake writing assignments and exercises, discuss issues relating to their work, and engage in a peer support and learning network.

The QUEENS THEATRE IN THE PARK, Flushing, New York, received $10,000 in support of its Immigrant Voices Project. The mission of this Theatre is to provide high quality and diverse performing arts activities that are economically and geographically accessible to the residents of Queens. Integral to its mission is the Immigrant Voices Project, which fosters cultural appreciation, presents new and ethnically diverse works, reflects on the wide range of cultures that make up the borough of Queens, and supports emerging writers who reflect and address issues relevant to Queens. Emerging playwrights are given opportunities to develop their works through readings, workshops and fully staged productions.

DANIEL RAGUSSIS received a grant in support of a 30-minute narrative short, titled Haber, which tells the story of one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century, and the terrible moral dilemma he faced. Fritz Haber was a brilliant German chemist with one of the most extraordinary dual legacies in history. On the one hand, his revolutionary process for creating synthetic fertilizers averted the greatest overpopulation crisis the world has ever known, won him the Nobel Prize in 1918, and now feeds over 2 billion people. On the other hand, he is the father of modern chemical warfare, a dubious accomplishment that resulted in his wife committing suicide.