LOCAL GROUPS EARN NATIONAL FUNDING
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded eight Art Works grants to Santa Fe arts and culture organizations for special projects and public programming that rise to the highest level of excellence and integrate the arts into the community. In this first round of 2020 grants, the NEA has approved $27.3 million for arts projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
The Lensic Performing Arts Center received $25,000 to support Lensic Hocus Focus, an arts education program for young people with autism and special needs. The organization has previously brought magician and special educator Kevin Spencer into Santa Fe classrooms, where he uses tricks and showmanship to teach social, cognitive, and motor skills. In 2020 Spencer will perform a two-week residency during which he will work with children, lead professional development sessions with teachers and school therapists, and perform a sensory-friendly magic show at the Lensic on March 28.
The Santa Fe Film Institute received $15,000 in support of the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival. This is the first time the Santa Fe Film Institute has received NEA funding, which will be used for artist travel and honoraria, as well as filmmaker awards. The Santa Fe Independent Film Festival will produce its 12th film festival in 2020.
Six other Santa Fe organizations received NEA Art Works grants.
▼ National Dance Institute/NDI New Mexico, $10,000 to support staff salaries for a pre-professional dance program
▼ Parallel Studios Inc./Currents New Media, $20,000 to support free and low-cost community engagement programs during the Currents New Media Festival
▼ Santa Fe Art Institute, $35,000 to support artist residency programs
▼ Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, $35,000 to support artist fees for the annual festival
▼ Santa Fe Desert Chorale, $20,000 to support a
choral music festival
▼ Santa Fe Opera, $80,000 to support the 2020 world premiere of M. Butterfly by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang