Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural AffairsSupports Arts and Culture Through $21,825 in Minigrants

LANSING, Jan. 5, 2015—The Arts Council of Greater Lansing, regional regranting administrators for the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Minigrant Program, is proud to announce $21,825 in funds have been awarded for 2015.The funds will be granted through MCACA’s state-wide program, supporting arts and cultural events taking place between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2015.

The Minigrant program funds both Arts Projects and Professional and Organizational Development grants. The Arts Project Minigrants provide funding for locally-developed, high-quality arts and cultural projects that are free or low cost to area residents. The Professional and Organizational Development Minigrants assist non-profit organizations, administrators and professional artists, supporting unique experiences such as attending conferences, workshops and seminars or hiring short-term consultants.

The 2015 Minigrant recipients include:

Arts Projects Minigrants:    

Cole Academy will provide Art in Action, an in-depth art experience in coordination with Lansing Art Gallery. Three local teaching artists will work in the classroom over three weeks. Students will experience the mediums of clay, fiber, and printmaking. A collective art exhibition of student artwork will be held at Lansing Art Gallery for family and friends. Twelve pieces of artwork will be chosen and professionally matted for Lansing Art Gallery’s student gallery display.

East Lansing Department of Parks, Recreation & Art will provide a Young Playwrights Festival through the All-of-us Express Children’s Theatre. The Young Playwrights Festival is for youth, ages 11-18. Interested youth from the mid-Michigan area will be asked to write and submit original, one-act scripts. The scripts will be reviewed and six finalists will be chosen from the pool of applicants to work with an All-of-us Express mentor/director to refine their scripts and then each script will be performed on stage.

Grand Ledge Area District Library will present programs and special events to attract residents to the library, to engage them in something meaningful, and then retain them as patrons. They will bring special performers to the Grand ledge area to provide 6-8 performances to enhance their summer theme of Heroes. Library staff will also be presenting additional activities for all ages. They combine reading and cultural activities to bridge the self-discovery of reading with the sharing and discovery found in group activities.

Holt Community Arts Council will present “Music in the Garden,” a unique summertime concert experience in Delhi Township. They offer a series of four free 90-minute concerts. The performers are professional musicians representing different genres. The concerts will take place on Thursday evenings – July 9, 16, 23, and 30 – before audiences ranging in size from 500 to more than 1,200 persons. Music in the Garden provides nearly every member of our community with an opportunity to experience high-quality musical entertainment in a public setting at no charge.

Lansing Concert Band will provide their annual Young Person’s Concert, which is a fast-paced, hour-long concert designed to introduce 3rd-5th grade students to the sights and sounds of the traditional American concert band. This year’s concert theme is “Music All Around Us,” and will feature a program of musical excepts from movies, TV shows, sporting events and other examples of recognizable tunes from everyday life.

Meridian Community Band will present The Red Cedar Festival of Community Bands. The festival is a one-day event in which each band performs a brief, public concert followed by an educational post-concert clinic. The clinics, directed by university-level conductors, provide insight and techniques for improving musicianship. 

Summer Solstice Jazz Festival will present a free, two-day, multi-venue festival attended by more than 8,000 people. The event, staged under a big tent, takes place in the heart of downtown East Lansing. The Summer Solstice Jazz Festival is a celebration of jazz music that features national, regional, and local jazz artists. The festival seeks to attract visitors to the Greater Lansing area while promoting arts, culture and education.

Professional and Organizational Development Minigrants:

Kyle Zeuch will attend the American Choral Directors Association National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference offers a comprehensive education and performance experience for choral music professionals to enhance their skills sets in the areas of rehearsal techniques, literature, pedagogy and technology. In addition to attending this conference, Kyle has submitted for the opportunity to conduct in a master class with some of the world’s greatest choral conductors.

Lansing Art Gallery will hire a consultant to facilitate strategic planning that will improve the Lansing Art Gallery by recognizing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as it approaches fifty years serving the community. Strategic planning will develop a better understanding of tactical issues facing the organization and recognition of the different roles of leadership.

The MCACA Minigrant Program provides financial assistance on a matching basis to non-profit organizations that address community need for arts and cultural programming. A qualified peer-review panel makes decisions among submitted applications. The Arts Council of Greater Lansing has administered MCACA Minigrants regionally since the inception of the program in 1986.

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