Click a grant or award named below to read about the recipients in that category....

Premiere Grantees | Funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

2008 Premier Grantees
37 applicants, 24 awards, total awarded: $57,000
Requests range from $750 - $3,000
Above: Allan Avidano, a 2008 Premier Grantee

Mikhael Antone: To a Man
A film project that documented Staten Island young men as they examined their roles as males in today’s society. (Premier Award amount: $2,500) http://www.mikhaelantone.com

Allan Avidano: The Shrinking World of Art
An exhibit that featured the traditional Japanese art forms of paper cutting (kiri-e) and ink wood block printing (hanga). (Premier Award amount: $2,450)

Phyllis Beard: Phyllis Beard Jazz Project
A tribute to the music of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Ron Carter from the perspective of a jazz bassist. (Premier Award amount: $2,500) www.myspace.com/phyllisbeard

Mary Bullock: Postcards from the Rails
A celebration of the personalities and colorful communities of the 22 stations found along the route of the Staten Island Railway, captured as photos first and then transformed into postcards.
(Premier Award amount: $3,000) www.bullockart.com/Home.html

Willie Chu: The Asian-American Experience in Staten Island
The first part of a photo-documentary series that depicted the culture and everyday lives of Filipino-Americans. (Premier Award amount: $2,650) www.williechunyc.com

Brendan Coyle: The Hobo King
An installation/performance/drawing project that welcomed visitors into the mythological world of the Hobo King. (Premier Award amount: $2,500)

Debby Davis: One Year of Walking Richmond Road
A photo-exhibit that documented this 5-mile stretch of road over the course of a year.
(Premier Award amount: $3,000)

Loren Ellis: Ecology: The Human Element
A photomontage exhibition of paintings, followed by an intergenerational workshop that reflected the mutual responsibility of harmony between nature and ourselves.
(Premier Award amount: $2,300)

Celebrating Real Family Life: Family Harmony Events
Three cultural programs that celebrated African-American traditions through dance, a play reading for Black Marriage Day, and Kwanzaa. (Premier Award amount: $2,250)

Donna Griffin & Karen O'Donnell: Until the Violence Stops
A Staten Island women’s theatre project that highlighted violence against women in a play performed by male and female performers from Staten Island. (Premier Award amount: $2,775)

Pink Diamond Steppers Association: Stepping to Unify Our Cultures
A free, six-month movement workshop for youth in “stepping,” an African-based dance form, culminated in a student showcase. (Premier Award amount: $3,000) http://pinkdiamondsstepteam.com

Lisa Hearns: A Flower is a Lovesome Thing
A vocal and eight-piece garden jazz tribute concert to Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Strayhorn, who were inspired by color and flowers. (Premier Award amount: $3,000) www.lisahearns.com

Chris Jones: Jade
For the completion of a semi-autobiographical novel that described the author’s unsuccessful relationship with a woman who led a very sheltered life. (Premier Award amount: $1,400)

Lars Christoph Mayer: The Return of the Great Heron II
Folk-styled music, dances and comedy blended together in “North Show,” the story of a young heron separated from his mother and fell as prey to suburban development.
(Premier Award amount: $2,600) Lars Christoph Mayer

Serena Brothers Mohamed: Staten Island Through My Eyes
Young people from Port Richmond participated in a photography workshop and presented a photo exhibit of their observations of Staten Island. (Premier Award amount: $3,000)

Timothy Mutzel: Gallery Without Walls
Mutzel brought an art gallery of his abstract paintings into neighborhoods on a cart in efforts to bring art to people who might not otherwise go to galleries. (Premier Award amount: $2,200)

George L. Poppe: La Vita Nuova
Poppe composed music based on the poetry of Dante Alighieri and contemporary Italian-American poet Ilardi and conducted an ensemble performance of his work.
(Premier Award amount: $2,200)

Nancy Quin: Global Art Project: India
An international visual arts exchange project between children and teens in Staten Island, an African refugee center and a village in India. (Premier Award amount: $2,250)

Francis Quinlan: Funbirds
An original play where the theatre itself became the universe in which the play existed, influenced by the audience’s responses to further the onstage action. (Premier Award amount: $3,000)

Ira Rosen: Photo Realism in New York
A black & white photo essay of people candidly shot on New York Streets.
(Premier Award amount: $1,900)

Gregory Taylor: Don't Call Me Woman
Sonya Mason’s play, directed and produced by Taylor, told the story of a woman in a bad marriage who is tempted to leave but finds the spiritual strength to stay.
(Award amount: $1,380)

Tina Thompson: Eccentrica (Wall 3)
Thompson choreographed an evening of dance that showed her audience how movement can interpret inner feelings and situations in life. (Premier Award amount: $3,000)

Anthony Turner: Building Bridges, North & South
Through a canon of Negro Spiritual songs, the contributions of African-American composers, past and present, created an historical journey . (Premier Award amount: $1,320)

Jay Weichun: Here & There: Staten Island and Sri Lanka
Weichun’s video documented the perspectives of Sri Lankan immigrants living on Staten Island in efforts to provide a common ground for island neighbors, new and old, to get to know each other. (Premier Award amount: $1,800)

TOP

2008 Encore Grantees
31 applicants, 24 awards, total awarded: $50,200
Requests ranged from $750 - $5,000 (Discontinued. Not available in 2009)
Above: Phyllis Foreman, a 2008 Encore Grantee

Art Lab, Inc.: Kin Kreations
Three free family workshops in collage, mixed media and bookmaking brought families together and provided participants with insight into the artistic process. (Encore Award amount: $2,800)
www.artlab.info

Robert Basey: Family Puppet Days
Free puppet workshops offered for families through which participants made puppets and performed with them on stage. Sponsored by New Direction Services, Inc.
(Encore Award amount: $2,000)

Robert Conroy: Staten Island Folk Tale Revival
An ensemble of local musicians performed folk music from the 1950’s - 60’s. Sponsored by the Noble Collection. (Encore Award amount: $1,820)

Phyllis Forman: At Your Request
A series of three musical performances for senior citizens of songs requested by the audience. Sponsored by Lifestyles for the Disabled. (Encore Award amount: $3,000) Phyllis Forman

Friends of Westerleigh Park: Young Artists in the Park
A free summer art program for children and their family members that provided an opportunity to work with a professional artist. (Encore Award amount: $1,080)
www.freewebs.com/friendsofwesterleighpark

Music at St. Albans: 2008 Concert Series
Awardees received support for their yearlong concert series of classical music.
(Encore Award amount: $2,000) www.saintalbans-davidson.org/musicatstalbans.htm

Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble: Molly Bird's Adventures
Original stories, live musicians, an artist and narrator teamed up to produce three children’s programs about a bird named Molly. (Encore Award amount: $2,000) www.mcensemble.org/members.html

Nylon Wound: Neighborhood Concert Series
Four free concerts in four island locations of classical guitar arrangements and original compositions. (Encore Award amount: $2,500) http://nylonwound.com

Chandini Pinilla: Silent Tears
Paintings reflective of the artist’s recent visit to India: broken walls, empty houses, abandoned people. Sponsored by the CSI Foundation. (Encore Award amount: $1,000)

Raja Rajeswari: East Meets West
An innovative afternoon of dance that blended Indian choreographic movements with western music to emphasize how traditional forms complement contemporary cultural expression. Sponsored by the Staten Island Zoological Society. (Encore Award amount: $2,300)

Richmond Choral Society: Love is in the Aire
The choral work of Johannes Brahms was the subject of the society’s 2008 Spring Concert.
(Encore Award amount: $1,800) www.richmondchoralsociety.org

Raymond Scro: The Big Band Tradition
Ray Scro / Mike Morreale Big Band’s concert featured music from jazz’s early beginnings to contemporary interpretations. Sponsored by the Mid-Island Rotary Club.
(Encore Award amount: $2,500) COAHSI Flickr images >

Serenade: 2008 Classical Music Series
Three free concerts that included a Negro spiritual recital, the works of Brahms and Dvorak and choral arrangements. (Encore Award amount: $2,275)

Staten Island OutLOUD:
Grassroots Performances, Readings and Dialogues
Free programs in public spaces that included participatory and staged readings of the classics and dialogues concerning Staten Island. Sponsored by the Friends of Abandoned Cemeteries. (Encore Award amount: $2,300) http://statenislandoutloud.org

SI Philharmonic Orchestra: 2008 Solid Gold Season
Awardees presented several concerts of traditional and contemporary music, musical theatre, patriotic songs and opera at various Island locations. (Encore Award amount: $2,550)

SI Shakespearean Theatre Company: Playwrights Past and Present
Great trial plays, such as Inherit the Wind, were brought to life, along with the third annual New Playwrights Forum of staged readings. (Encore Award amount: $2,300) www.sishakespearetheatre.org

Sundog Theatre, Inc: The Ice Wolf
Classic modern theatre for a young audience who watched the unfolding of a young Native American girl’s response to prejudice, superstition, societal rules, and pressure.
(Encore Award amount: $3,000) www.sundogtheatre.org

Tri-County Ramblers: Bluegrass Music Old and New
A toe-tapping concert of old and new songs written by band members. Sponsored by the Tottenville Historical Society. (Encore Award amount: $2,000) www.tricountyramblers.com

Annamarie Trombetta: Plein Air Painting of Staten Island
Trombetta worked out-of-doors to capture the natural beauty of many sites and landscapes on Staten Island. Sponsored by the Cross Road Foundation. (Encore Award amount: $2,275) www.trombettaart.com/info.html

The Verrazano Foundation: Arts of Recovery 2008
Staten Island artists living with mental illness exhibited their work after participating in workshops led by professional artists. (Encore Award amount: $2,300) www.verrazanofoundation.org

Viva Voce Chamber: Music from A to Zoo
A totally “gnu” concert series designed to increase the listener’s enjoyment of chamber music and make it fun for children with performance sites that included the SI Zoo.
(Encore Award amount: $2,550)

WaFoo: WaFoo Seasonal Concerts
Using traditional Japanese instruments, concerts were a melding of Japanese folk music and Western jazz. New compositions and arrangements of traditional masterpieces were featured. Sponsored by St. Peter’s Church. (Encore Award amount: $2,800) www.wafoo.info/

Barbara K. Wesby: La Guitarra
Based on the poetry of Garcia Lorca, Wesby composed a new song cycle for a soprano, flute, and guitar trio. Sponsored by DanzAsia. (Encore Award amount: $1,300)

Bob Wright: Original Songs About Immigrants
Wright composed folk songs about the immigrant experience on Staten Island and recorded them. Sponsored by the Oakwood Heights Community Church. (Encore Award amount: $2,050)

TOP

2008 Original Work Grantees
21 applicants, 4 awards, $2,125 each
Above: Morna Martell, a 2008 Original Work Grantee in Literature

Mary Bullock: Visual Art
Bullock created a series of paintings that captured the momentary interaction of light with tropical plants in Snug Harbor's Greenhouse. In a digital photography workshop that utilized the paintings, participants were welcomed into the same process. www.bullockart.com/Home.html

Morna Martell Murphy: Literature
Martell wrote a one-woman interactive show for young and old alike about the life and times of abolitionist, Harriet Tubman. Martell brought the show to life through the talents of a SI director and actress.

Janice Patrignani: Visual Art
Human resilience is the underlying current of Patrignani's sculptural work as she explored the visual and spatial tug-of-war between hard and soft, opaque and transparent, solid and void, light and shadow. http://jpsculpt.com/jpsculpt/Home.html

Peter Zummo: Music
Zummo created a new, extended-form composition, that furthered the development of music using standard notation and other graphic devices to focus ensemble play to a higher level of abstraction than improvisation alone might achieve. www.kalvos.org/zummope.html

TOP

2008 Excellence in the Arts Awards
in Performing, Literary & Exhibiting Categories
$1,000 award to each artist in the Performing, Literary and Exhibiting categries
31 applicants, 24 awards, total awarded: $50,200

Performing Arts Awardees
Above: Liz Watjal, a 2008 Excellence in the Performing Arts Award recipient
Ray Scro
A collaborative effort of American Roots Music, with Ray Scro, saxophones; Greg Steir, guitar and vocals; and Paul Daloia, bass. The set list included the Texas Blues of J.B. Huff, the New Orleans Jazz of Clarence Williams, and the Country Ballads of Patsy Cline.

Ben Sher
Ben Sher and “Shared Energies” (featuring Ben Sher on electric and acoustic guitars; Marcello Pelletteri on drums; Cliff Korman on electric piano; Joe Fitzgerald on bass; and special guest Emmett Sher on guitar) performed Brazilian, Modern, Mainstream and Latin Jazz.

Joan Caddell
Multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter Joan Caddell writes from her heart. Her subjects are the usual suspects- life, love, kids, sex, self-doubt. Her program consisted entirely of original songs played in a variety of styles from acoustic to pop/rock to blues.

Mary Feaster
Mary Feaster and The Electric Junkyard Gamelan performed original music on invented instruments made from recycled farm equipment, bed frames, car parts, rubber bands and flowerpots. Originally inspired by traditional Gamelan music from Bali, the group’s music is influenced today by a diverse range of sounds from Indian classical to funk, klezmer to rock.

Milton Henry
Brother Milton Henry’s performance showcased Reggae and R & B music, including songs from his upcoming world release. He performed with other bands such as The Bandulos from Staten Island, the Three Wisemen and Jammy-land Allstars, both from Brooklyn. Brother Milton also performed a solo instrumental session of guitar and African drums.

George Poppe
A classical ensemble performed Poppe’s newly composed Rhapsody for Piano Trio along with works by Beethoven and Schubert. He was accompanied by Ms. Valerie Quinlan, violin, and Ms. Madeline Casparie, violin/cello. Mr. Poppe played on piano.

Robert Conroy
Robert Conroy and Norm Pederson performed songs on banjo, guitar, mandolin and fiddle from Carl Sandburg’s “An American Song Bag.” Sandburg’s comprehensive source book of American folk music includes songs from colonists, pioneers, slaves, and immigrants that reflect the building of the railroads, the opening of the West and the realities of urban and rural life.

Liz Wotjal
Singer/songwriter Wojtal is the youngest of twelve children and grew up surrounded by an eclectic array of music. She took that all in and now travels with a 4 – 5 piece band who perform a variety of original songs in the folk/rock tradition.

TOP

three cowboys

Exhibiting Arts Awardees
Above: Photo by Irma Bohorquez-Geisler, a 2008 Excellence in
the Exhibiting Arts Award recipient

Antonio De Santis
Antonio De Santis is a contemporary abstract-expressionist artist who extracts an impressive originality from colors and plastic forms. About his work, De Santis says, “all my paintings show significant moments of my life. From the affection for Greek mythology to the tragedy of September 11, my main interest is the emphasis on emotional significance of pictorial elements and their combinations.”

Rudolph Montanez
Rudolph Montanez is both a conceptual artist and a NYC Public School teacher. He intends his work to captivate and educate and describes it as “word sculptures that have both literal and ambiguous meanings,” a concept he shares with his students in the creation of their own language in making 3-dimensional words.

Larry Di Salvo
Larry DiSalvo’s original artistic passion lay in music; however, he started on a course towards visual art, creating still lifes, portraits and landscapes for years. Recently, he started creating art from recycled garbage—anything from an old coffee can, to a wire hanger, to a chopstick can be fair game as part of a DiSalvo sculpture or installation.

Michael Ruffo
Michael Ruffo’s Bethlehem Steel Plant series involves the interplay of dark shadows and bright colors. His current style encompasses all the painting styles he has gone through, coupled with age and visual conceptions. When talking about his art, Ruffo explains, “As a painter, my only purpose is to paint; the subject matter is immaterial.” www.michaelruffo.com

Irma Bohorquez-Geisler
Irma Bohorquez-Geisler’s portraits accurately reflect a current social dynamic. Her black and white photographs document the growing Mexican immigrant community on Staten Island and how these people bring and adapt their own traditions to life in their new community.

TOP

Literary Arts Awardees
Above: Jill Jichetti, a 2008 Excellence in the Literary Arts Award recipient

Jill Jichetti: Angels’ Dares
Jichetti is a writer in several genres, including drama and poetry. Jichetti read sections from her short story, Angels' Dares, a surrealistic journey that takes place through four out-of-sequence sections and explored four different dimensions of the characters’ relationships and inner worlds, which finds parallels in the seasons outside of their car, place of worship, hotel, and home. www.jillwrites.com/myblog.html

Elsa Haas: Wearing My Baby
Haas read poetry and prose excerpted from a book-length work in progress. Intrigued by the theories of Jean Liedloff, an observer of tribal cultures (and our own), Ms. Haas’ works explore themes of attachment parenting and “the continuum baby,” as she described the challenges, prejudices and triumphs she faced keeping direct bodily contact with her child 24/7 for the first two years of his life.

Marguerite Maria Rivas:
Laughter, Hope & a Sock in the Eye
Rivas offered samples of her lyric poetry that interwove subjects that inform her writing— Staten Island people and places; motherhood and single parenthood; domestic abuse and working poverty; love with all its heartbreaks and joys and the hilarious aftermath of finding oneself single and dating again at fifty—to fully express the capacity for human resiliency, determination and hope. Her presentation included music and projected imagery. www.elektromotif.org

Lawrence Schwabacher: Food for Thought
Just like most of life’s triumphs and dramas, food is usually involved and these three short plays introduced three situations that happened around food. In Café Ole, Mavis is having her usual coffee. Enter Lenny who questions where she’s been for the past three days. Mavis doesn’t know Lenny. Humble beginnings and social ascent were explored in Doing Lunch, while the cheese doodles flew in Cheese Doodle Fingers when Glenn brought Melanie to meet his friends.

TOP

2008 JPMorganChase Capacity Building Grants
27 applicants, 14 awards, total awarded: $30,000
Requests range from $1,000 - $3,000
Above: A photo by Alice Austen, in the collection of the Alice Austen House Museum, a 2008 JPMorganChase Capacity Building Grantee

Alice Austen House Museum
For the purchase of a new Cannon 2022. (Award Amount: $3,000)
www.aliceausten.org

Century Dance Complex
For the purchase of a portable dance floor. (Award Amount: $2,500)
www.centurydancecomplex.com

Island Voice
For infrastructure support. (Award Amount $750)
www.islandvoice.org/about.html

Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble
For fundraising/grant writing, board and organizational development. (Award Amount $3,000)
www.mcensemble.org

Nylon Wound
For website upgrade to include press and testimonials page. (Award Amount $1,000)
http://nylonwound.com

Preservation League of Staten Island
For new community cell phone guide service, “Staten Island by Cell.” (Award Amount $3,000)
www.preservestatenisland.org

Richmond Choral Society
To underwrite General Manager’s salary for six months. (Award Amount $2,000)
www.richmondchoralsociety.org

Sea View Playwright's Theatre
For repairs to seating areas and interior walls. (Award Amount $1,000)
Sea View Playwright’s Theatre

Serenade at Historic Christ Church
For marketing, portable stage lights and recording equipment. (Award Amount $3,000)

SI Philharmonic Orchestra, Inc.
Funds for audience development. (Award Amount $2,000)
SI Philharmonic Orchestra

Sundog Theatre
For sound equipment and arts-in-education programs. (Award Amount $3,000)
www.sundogtheatre.org

Universal Temple of the Arts
For operational expenses and salary of development assistant. (Award Amount $3,000)
http://universaltempleofthearts.org

The Verrazano Foundation
For stipend and expenses of Arts Administration intern. (Award Amount $2,000)
www.verrazanofoundation.org

WaFoo
For website and promotional tools development. (Award Amount $750)
www.wafoo.info

2008 JPMorgan Chase Art In Our Communities Grant

27 applicants, 11 awards, total awarded: $23,000
Requests range from $1000-$3000
Above: Nylon Wound (Joseph Parisi & Gregory Askins), a 2008 JPMorgan Chase Art In Our Communities Grantee

African Refuge
$1,000 for mural in Parkhill Community Building

Bobby Digi
$2,500 for Black Heritage Day Parade float

Century Dance Complex
$3,000 for African Drumming Club performance

Dance Central New York
$3,000 for Connecting Cultural Borders Through Dance performance

Janice Patrignani
$3,000 for Folk Art Traditions of Mexico tin art and ceramics workshops

Morna Murphy Martell
$2,000 for On the Way to Shangri-La theatre performance

Nylon Wound
$2,000 for Suite Mexicana classical guitar performances

Rudolph Montanez
$1,000 for Yearbook, word works on immigration

Tattfoo Tan
$2,500 for Nueva America Recipe insert in COAHSI newsletter

WaFoo
$2,000 for Japanese music concerts

Willie Chu
$1,000 for East Asian Immigrant photography exhibition

TOP

redhawk-dancers

Arts-in-Ed Grants & Award Recipients| 2008
Above: Redhawk Native American Arts Council introduced children from PS 37R to Native American art-making and dancing, and taught them about Staten Island's Lenape Indians.

COAHSI / NYS Council on the Arts:
Arts Bring Change (ABC) Grants
Requests range from $750-$3000

Alice Austen House Museum & PS 19
(Award amount: $2513.00)
Curricula Areas: Social Studies, Visual and Language Arts, Math, Science and Technology
“History Through the Eyes of the Photographer”
Approximately 50 third grade students participated in a project that used photos as primary documents to learn about history. Students met four times with an artist-educator throughout the Fall 2008, learned the fundamentals of photography and created a book based on their research, writings and photographs. Link to Alice Austen House Museum > Link to PS 19 >

SI Children's Museum & PS 35
(Award amount: $1984.00)
Curricula Areas: Social Studies, Visual Arts & Architecture, Language Arts
“Planning & Building Communities from Around the World”
Approximately 44 third grade students worked with the SI Children Museum’s artist-educator in a project in which they planned, designed and assembled 3-D tabletop communities representative of civilizations from Africa, Asia, South America and Europe during this 10-week residency project. Link to SI Children's Museum > Link to PS 35 >

PS 37R & Redhawk Native American Arts Council
(Award amount: $2500.00)
Curricula Areas: Social Studies, Dance, Visual and Language Arts
“The Lenape Indians of Staten Island”
Six students participated in a project in which they were introduced to Native American culture, specifically the Lenape of Staten Island, through three contact sessions with an artist-educator. Students engaged in hands-on art-making experiences that reflected Native American culture, dance and crafts. Link to Redhawk Native American Arts Council > Link to PS 37R >

SI Philharmonic Orchestra, Inc. & PS 5
(Award amount: $1575.00)
Curricula Areas: Language & Visual Arts, Math and Music
“Building a Symphony”
In four contact sessions with an artist-educator, 125 third grade students learned music notation and composition with the aid of computer technology. Students’ individual compositions were combined with other students’ work to create a symphony. The visual arts teacher used the composed symphony to have students create art pieces that they “saw” when they heard the symphony playing. Link to the SI Philharmonic Orchestra, Inc. > Link to PS 5 >

Sundog Theatre & Susan Wagner High School
(Award amount: $2220.00)
Curricula Areas: Social Studies, Theatre and Language Arts
“Echoes of History”
During this 10-week residency program, 102 students in grades 9 – 12 worked with a professional playwright/artist-educator in writing and enacting short stories that depicted how the past and present intertwined. Students learned to appreciate their place in history and wrote plays from their own perspectives, while gaining a mastery of fundamental job skills such as critical thinking, teamwork and evaluation processes. Link to Sundog Theatre > Link to Susan Wagner High School >

SI Philharmonic Orchestra, Inc. &
Building Block Montessori School
(Award amount: $3000.00)
Curricula Areas: Music, Language & Theatre Arts
“Kids Create Opera”
During this 8-week residency program, 15 students in grades 4 and 5 worked with an artist-educator to gain the understanding that opera is built from a combination of music, language and theatre arts. Students chose a folk tale, adapted it to a play and set the play to music. They produced the opera, using simple staging, costumes, scenery and props. Link to the SI Philharmonic Orchestra > Link to Building Blocks Montessori School >

TOP

The Staten Island Foundation: GAINS
(Growing Arts in Neighborhood Schools) Program & Awards
11 applications, 7 awards, $13,000 awarded

Wish List Grants

PS 5
(Award Amount: $1500)
After-School Mural Project
Children in PS 5's after-school program created mural panels to celebrate the school's 80th anniversary. The panels depicted places of interest on Staten Island and were executed by the students in different media. Children learned about teamwork, concept development and wall mural installations. Link to PS 5 >

PS 18
(Award amount: $1100.00)
Ceramics Program
Proceeds of paid for the services of a teaching artist and the purchase of supplies for an interdisciplinary program that incorporated ceramics with the Social Studies/Language and Visual Arts curriculum that served 80 first grade students. Students met with a teaching artist twice and a professional development workshop for 5 teachers was also included. Program culminated with a school-based gallery open of students’ work. Link to PS 18 >

PS 19
(Award amount: $2100.00)
Partnership through Photography Program
Working with the Alice Austen House Museum, 50 third grade students used the photographic work of Alice Austen as an essential component of the project. Proceeds paid for 1 planning day between teaching artists and three classroom teachers; 1 teacher bookmaking workshop with teaching artist; 5 classroom visits for 2 classes; project supplies and one visit to the Alice Austen House Museum. Link to PS 19 >

PS 37R
(Award amount: $2500.00)
Visual Arts/Movement Program
PS 37R used proceeds to engage the services of a teaching artist through Marquis Studio and supported personnel to plan and complement an expansion to an existing arts-infused curriculum for autistic students not currently served. 34 students in grades Pre K and K received the expanded program, which focused on a multi-sensory approach towards developing participants’ fine motor skills, balance and movement. Supplies were also purchased to accomplish programmatic goals. Link to PS 37R >

Staten Island Academy
(Award amount: $2000.00)
Visiting Artist Series
Proceeds were used to initiate a visiting artist series that brought the rich artistic and cultural diversity of Staten Island into the classroom. Program served approximately 140 students in grades 5 through 8 and funds were used to pay the artists’ fees for three full-day interactive student workshops, as well as provide for the purchase of additional supplies and raw materials for the pottery session. Link to Staten Island Academy >

Susan E. Wagner High School
(Award amount: $2000.00)
Theatre Arts Vocational Program
Funds were used to establish a new arts-centered program that is planned to become an integral component of a sequential theatre program planned for the school. Proceeds provided for the employment of a professional builder as teaching artist/mentor to approximately 30 high school students pursuing preliminary training in technical arts careers. Additionally, funds secured tools and materials to create a working scene and storage space. Link to Susan Wagner High School >

St. Clare School
(Award amount: $1800.00)
Instruments for Music Program
St. Clare School used funds for a total of 15 instruments, music stands, instruction books and mouthpieces to be used with the instruments for the students of the school’s newly formed third grade band. Link to St. Clare School >

TOP

GAINS Awards
No application process. COAHSI selects recipients. Each school received $3,000.

PS 22 — The Graniteville School
One of PS 22’s major accomplishments has been to successfully integrate the arts into all grades and curricula areas, with a special concentration in the arts and sciences. The arts programs in PS 22 include chorus, digital photography, and architecture; students have engaged in exploring such mediums as print and jewelry making, pottery and painting. The arts program continues to grow and involve more students. The GAINS Award helped PS 22 keep pace with its arts program’s growth by providing additional art supplies and storage. Link to PS 22 >

PS 35 — The Clove Valley School
PS 35 used its GAINS Award to bring music back to the halls of the school. With the instruments at the ready, PS 35 paid for the services of an artist-educator who provided weekly instrumental band instruction to students in grades 3 through 5. Third grade students learned the recorder; fourth and fifth grade students received lessons in string and brass instruments. The GAINS Award not only provided students with lessons after-school but also bridged the gap that will jump-start next year’s school-based music program. Link to PS 35 >

PS 52 — The John C. Thompson School
PS 52 used its award for “What a Relief!”, a series of low relief sculptures or assemblages made from papier mache/plaster gauze in a project that involved students in grades 3 - 5 working with an artist-educator in examining different historical and design periods. This further extended the educational benefit to students as it connects to literacy, social studies and art history curricula. Link to PS 52 >

Trinity Lutheran School
Through its Creative Arts After-School Program, students had the opportunity to work with three different artist-educators through three separate four-week arts residencies in music, visual arts and performance. Artist-educators worked with two groups of students in theme-related activities that culminated in work students were able to share with friends and family members. Link to Trinity Lutheran School >