Medfield Cultural Council Announces its 2011 Grant Award Recipients

The Medfield Cultural Council recently announced its award recipients for fiscal year 2011. The Council received 25 applications for requests totaling $15,430 and selected eight groups to receive the Council’s full allocation of $4,450. Grants are being awarded in the categories of music, theater, visual artists, media arts and history.

 Recipients include The Fringe Jazz Concert performing April 28 and the Tickle Juice Jazz Concert on April 30. Both performances will be at the on North Street and benefit the Lowell Mason House. Additional support is awarded to the Medfield Brass Quintet to perform holiday concerts in all of the Medfield schools and to the Shane Wood Jazz Trio to perform standards at the gazebo this summer.

 In theater and history: Friends of the Dwight-Derby House will produce an event with costumes and music of the Civil War era and the Gazebo Players of Medfield received support for their Summer Shakespeare in the Park production. The Vine Lake Preservation Trust received support to produce a self-guided walking tour of both sections of the cemetery.

 In the visual arts, Master Chainsaw sculptor Jesse Green received support to produce a six foot tall landmark at to illustrate an aspect of Medfield history.

 In the media arts, the Monday Morning Medfield News received support for the ongoing weekly newsletter, blog, and networking efforts to inform residents about news and cultural events.

 These grants are awarded through a competitive process. The grants signify that the recipients provide a high level of public value through their programs or community service. Grant recipients are anticipated to serve over 3,500 Medfield residents this year.

The Medfield Cultural Council is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). MCC is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities. The not-for-profit cultural industry has a $4.2 billion economic impact in the state.

MCC is committed to building a central place for arts and culture in the everyday lives of communities across the Commonwealth. MCC pursues this mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists.

In 2011, the Massachusetts Cultural Council will distribute $2.3 million to the Local Cultural Council (LCC) program, representing nearly 21 percent of its total budget. MCC has a budget of $11 million, including an appropriation of $9.1 million from the state of Massachusetts and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources.

 The Local Cultural Councils (LCC) provide the most extensive public cultural funding network in the nation. They provide funding to every Massachusetts city and town through 329 LCCs and more than 2,000 volunteers. The LCCs support local arts and history, fund school field trips, and sponsor local concerts and exhibitions. Grants to local councils range from approximately $4,000 for small towns like Medfield to $74,270 for Worcester and $133,320 for Boston, according to a formula that reflects the state’s local aid system.

 Unfortunately, Governor Deval Patrick’s proposed state budget for the coming fiscal year continues to slash MCC’s budget down to 2002 levels which already followed massive budget cuts at that time.

"Once again the Governor faced a severe budget shortfall and had to make difficult choices," said Anita Walker, MCC Executive Director. "We understand that, but we also know that investing in the arts, humanities, and sciences pays dividends to our state.

"Our nonprofit cultural organizations provide jobs and attract visitors and income from around the world. Our schools and teaching artists nurture creativity in our children. And our network of over 2,000 local cultural council volunteers improve life in their communities every day. We cannot stop investing in this work despite our challenges."

Walker urges people to contact their state representatives and senators to convey the value of the arts and the importance of state funding to their communities. Detailed information on legislators can be found at the following website. 

The Medfield Cultural Council volunteer members are Steve Catanese, Ron Gustavson, Jean Mineo, Patricia Pembroke, Bill Pope, David Temple, and Isabelle Wood.

 More information about the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Local Cultural Council programs is available at MassCulturalCouncil.org