Howard County Council Chair Mary Kay Sigaty announced that 44 arts and cultural organizations will receive $488,190 in matching grants from the Howard County Arts Council for Fiscal Year 2013.  The awards were announced at the Arts Council’s annual meeting and reception at the Howard County Center for the Arts on September 14, 2012.  These matching grants will be used by 17 Howard County organizations; 15 Howard County public schools; 11 key Baltimore City organizations; and a choreographer to support general operations, artist residencies, and special projects in the arts.

Community Arts Development Grants fund day-to-day activities for Howard County arts organizations as well as special projects in the arts. $263,340 was awarded to the following organizations for FY2013:

Candlelight Concert Society:  $32,000.00

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company:  $39,169.00

Columbia Bands: $3,000.00

Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts: $50,425.00

Columbia Festival of the Arts:  $42,655.00

The Columbia Orchestra:  $26,670.00

Columbia Pro Cantare:  $21,596.00

Howard County Ballet: $6,000.00

Howard County Poetry & Literature Society:  $11,500.00

Kinetics Dance Theatre:  $10,325.00

Little Patuxent Review:  $2,500.00

Misako Ballet Company:  $3,000.00

Orchestra of St. John’s: $3,000.00

Rep Stage:  $3,000.00

ShowTime Singers:  $3,000.00

Silhouette Stages: $3,000.00

Sundays At Three:  $2,500.00

Artist-in-Education Project Grants are a partnership between the Arts Council and local Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to place professional artists in residence at Howard County Schools to help students foster creative expression.  $23,999.00 in funding was awarded to the following schools for FY2013:

Bonnie Branch MS PTA:  $250.00

Bryant Woods ES PTA:  $2,333.00

Folly Quarter MS PTA:  $1,953.34

Glenwood MS PTA:  $2,133.33

Harper’s Choice MS PTA: $1,192.00

Hollifield Station ES PTA: $1,275.00

Ilchester ES PTA: $1,567.00

Lime Kiln MS PTA: $2,000.00

Northfield ES PTA: $1,053.00

Pointers Run ES PTA:  $1,288.33

Running Brook ES PTA:  $2,547.00

Swansfield ES PTA:  $1,990.00

Talbott Springs ES PTA: $1,950.00

West Friendship ES PTA:  $1,200.00

Wilde Lake MS PTA: $1,267.00

Baltimore City Arts and Cultural Grants provide funding to key Baltimore City organizations that provide significant services to Howard County residents.  $160,051.00 was awarded to the following organizations for FY2013:

American Visionary Art Museum: $6,667.00

Baltimore Museum of Art: $25,597.00

Baltimore Museum of Industry: $5,137.00

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: $24,474.00

Center Stage Associates, Inc.: $21,396.00

Maryland Historical Society: $3,923.00

Maryland Science Center: $13,706.00

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore: $11,391.00

National Aquarium in Baltimore: $22,497.00

Port Discovery Children’s Museum: $7,263.00

Walters Art Museum: $18,000.00

The Mark Ryder Original Choreography Grant recognizes individual creative expression and provides financial assistance to dance choreographers to create new original work. $800 was awarded to Angelica Daniele of Full Circle Dance Company.

Howard County Arts Council grants are awarded on the basis of artistic merit, ability of the applicant to carry out the project, and level of service to the community.  Grants are made through a competitive process in which applications are reviewed by an advisory panel made up of academics and artists representing a variety of disciplines.  Grant award recommendations are then reviewed and approved by the Howard County Arts Council Board of Directors.

The Arts Council’s grant program is supported through grants from the Howard County government and the Maryland State Arts Council as well as through the Howard County Arts Council’s own foundation, corporate, and individual giving initiatives.