TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 30, 2018) – The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay recently announced recipients of more than $60,000 in grants that focus on increasing accessibility to arts and culture in the Tampa Bay region. The grants benefit organizations from museums and theatres to community concerts.
The Tampa Museum of Art received a $16,000 grant to support its Teen Open Studio in Hillsborough County. With this grant, students from local schools such as Howard H. Blake High School are able to use the Studio to complete art projects. Art professionals provide guidance and assist students with their work at the studio.
The Teen Open Studio ties into the Museum’s other Adult and Teen Studio Programs, which have long provided resources for teens interested in art. The programs are taught by professional teachers and active Tampa Bay area artists, and are constructed for those ages 14 and older with skill levels ranging from beginner to advance.
Collective Soles Art Group, a not-for-profit performing arts organization dedicated to enriching lives through involvement in the performing arts, received $2,500 for its ColLab Series: Words Have Weight. The Collective Soles Dance Company is partnering with The Studio@620 to produce a series of performances in March 2018.
The funding will support the partnership between these two arts organizations, which is a unique cultural collaboration that crosses the bridge, as Collective Soles is based out of Tampa and Studio@620 is located in downtown St. Petersburg.
“Our donors are committed to making the arts more accessible in the Tampa Bay area,” said Marlene Spalten, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. “From programs supporting the performing arts to the visual arts, the Community Foundation is proud to facilitate these grants to local arts organizations that enrich the lives of our residents and visitors alike.”
Additionally, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has awarded the following arts and culture grants:
• The Straz Center for the Performing Arts received $20,000 for its Arts Education Partnerships Program, which aims to provide creative learning experiences for youth who face challenges to access performing arts in the Tampa Bay area. Straz Center teachers will deliver tailored curricula that help meet classroom objectives, and students and teachers will receive opportunities to attend study-related master classes and performances at the Straz Center.
• The Florida Orchestra was designated $5,000 to provide the free ‘Pops in the Park’ concert series in various outdoor locations in Tampa and St. Petersburg. The concerts will feature programs with pop tunes, film scores, Broadway hits and more.
• Friends of the Library of Hillsborough County, Inc. was granted $6,000 to support art classes at the John Crawford Studio at the SouthShore Regional Library in Ruskin.
• The South Shore Symphony Orchestra, a professional orchestra that promotes the understanding and appreciation of symphonic music in the South Shore and greater Tampa Bay areas, was awarded $5,000.
• The Women’s Chorus of Sun City Center, a Sun City Center Community Association Club, received $6,000 to support the local concerts it produces.
About the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
Founded in 1990, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay connects donors, nonprofits, community and business leaders, professional advisors, volunteers and residents to make the maximum positive impact in the Tampa Bay region. For more than 25 years, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has been dedicated to making giving easy and meaningful for donors as a way to strengthen nonprofit organizations and build a better, more vibrant community. Since its inception, its donors have enabled the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay to award nearly $200 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across the country.