Arts Council Awards Nearly $85,000 to Pittsburgh-Area Artists

Pittsburgh—Aug. 5, 2019 – Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council announced $84,985 in awards as part of its Artist Opportunity Grant and Lift Grant programs, which both support the creative careers of Greater Pittsburgh artists.

Thirteen artists were awarded grants ranging from $831 to $20,000 as part of the two grant programs.

“The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s grant programs directly support artists and arts collectives for projects intended to lift and advance their creative practice,” said Anne Mulgrave, Director of Grants and Accessibility at GPAC.

The Artist Opportunity Grant provides financial support for technical needs, travel, lodging and presentations associated with improving an artist’s practice or accessing career opportunities. GPAC awards Artist Opportunity Grants three times a year through a panel comprised of local arts professionals.

The Lift Grant provides project-specific funding to support the production and presentation of the arts, lifting both the careers of working artists and the cultural offerings in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Lift Grant projects often advance the careers and enhance the reputations of the applicants.

Artist Opportunity Grant Awardees: $10,000 in Awards

• $2,500 awarded to Roger Dannenberg for documentation of the U.S. premier of opera “Mother of Fishes” at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts in February 2020.
• $1,600 awarded to Federico Garcia-De Castro to assist with travel costs to Panama City, Panama to conduct with the Panama National Symphony for the premier of his concerto for percussion.
• $1,300 awarded to Joshua Brown to assist with the cost of tuition for the Sao Paulo Contemporary Composers Festival in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
• $831 awarded to Jenna Houston to assist with the costs of framing artwork for her first solo exhibit at the Klemm Gallery at Siena Heights University in Adrian, MI.
• $1,200 awarded to Wali Jamal Abdullah to assist with the transportation of set and technology to the Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, NC.
• $1,016 awarded to Rachel Masilamani to assist with the cost of exhibiting at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD.
• $1,553 awarded to Mary Tremonte to assist with the costs of a printmaking residency at Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY.

Lift Grant Awardees: $74,985 in Awards

• $8,075 awarded to Celeta Hickman to complete "The Black Bead Story: A Digital Spectacle," a series of multidisciplinary performance videos showcasing dance, beadwork, and fashion design.
• $6,950 awarded to Molly Joyce to complete “Breaking and Entering,” a full-length album that draws upon experience and education as a composer, practice as a performer, and pursuit of a comprehensive artistic practice grounded in reimagining disability.
• $19,960 awarded to Doree Simon to complete “Gentle By Birth,” a short documentary film that challenges the stigma of addiction by exploring the fatal struggle of Kevin, Ms. Simon's brother, with substance use disorder.
• $20,000 awarded to Ferdinand the Bull to complete a multimedia project consisting of a musical album of 10 songs, four music videos, studio art created by local painters, professional photography, and a nationwide tour to showcase the end result following the local album release show.
• $20,000 awarded to Edda Fields-Black and John Wineglass to complete “Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice,” an original contemporary, classical music composition and the first full symphonic work written about slavery.

For more information on Greater Pittsburgh Art Council grant programs, please visit our grants page.

Artist Opportunity Grants are made possible thanks to support from The Heinz Endowments and The Pittsburgh Foundation. Lift Grants are generously supported by The Hillman Foundation.

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