Past
Grantees

The MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $19,600 in support of the participation of emerging artists in the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP). The mission of the Institute is to enrich the community by collecting, preserving and making accessible outstanding works of art from the world's diverse cultures. Initiated in 1975, the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program plays a key role in the Institute's efforts to enrich the community by providing a dynamic forum for contemporary ideas and practices. An independent curatorial program operated by and for the artists of Minnesota, the MAEP exhibits Minnesota artists' works on a regular basis; fosters the exchange of ideas among artists; stimulates interaction among artists, the museum and the public; and facilitates the creation and presentation of work in a context that is not inhibited by aesthetic fashion or commercial demand. The MAEP is directed by a panel of seven artists, democratically elected by artists in the State of Minnesota, and linked to the Institute by a jointly selected Program Coordinator. Annual programming includes gallery exhibitions, artist-led tours, lectures, panel discussions, podcasts and the Critics Trialogue Series.

The MINNESOTA COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $5,555 in support of 2009 programs and services. The mission of the Council is to strengthen and expand philanthropy. It seeks to inspire and lead an ever-expanding community of grantmakers to achieve, both individually and collectively, the highest standards of purpose and action. The Minnesota Council's membership represents 69% of the total assets of Minnesota grantmakers and 75% of total Minnesota grantmaking in 2008. Twenty percent of its membership has supported the Council for 30 years or more. Jerome Foundation falls in that category. In making this grant commitment, the Jerome Foundation Board of Directors also subscribe to the Principles for Minnesota Grantmakers.

MIZNA, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a two-year grant of $32,000 in support of artists' fees and publication expenses to produce four issues of the Mizna Journal.  Mizna seeks to present the complexity of its community, painting a portrait that captures nuance and avoids broad brushstrokes.  It is devoted to promoting Arab American culture in all of its diversity, and showcasing its artists.  Its programs give voice to Arab Americans through literature and art.  Mizna: Prose, Poetry, and Art Exploring Arab America exposes readers to the breadth and depth of the vital cultures of the Middle East and of Arabs in America.  All content is original; and the contributors are primarily emerging artists, a majority of those from Minnesota and New York City.  Each issue contains poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and the work of a visual artist.  The selection process begins with a call for submissions, reviewed by the Editors and an Editorial Committee.

ANNA MOENCH, New York City, will travel to Beijing; Loess Plateau Chenjiayvan, Shaanxi Province; Qinjiagelao, Shaanxi Prov; Lanquan, Shaanxi, China, to research the rural Chinese folk custom of minghun (afterlife or spirit marriage). She will consult with experts at Tsinghua University and attend Peking opera and puppetry performances in Beijing. She wants to incorporate this research into a new play.

MOMENTA ART, Brooklyn, New York, received $13,500 in support of the participation of emerging artists in the 2009-10 exhibition program. Momenta promotes the work of under-represented and emerging artists, alternating between critically focused group shows and individual exhibitions. The annual exhibition program includes at least five exhibitions and over ten events such as artists talks, performances, and screenings. The organization maintains an open process for artists submissions and staff review including studio visits. Momenta programming brings together conceptual and aesthetic concerns presented by an ethnically diverse group of artists. Exhibitions include a wide range of artistic approaches and media, including photography, installation, and video.

MU PERFORMING ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $14,000 to support the New Performance Program. Mu Performing Arts is a pan-Asian performing arts organization whose mission is to be a premier artistic company that creates theater and taiko from the heart of the Asian American experience. The New Performance Program brings emerging artists who create new work in performance, spoken word, hip hop, and experimental theater to Mu Performing Arts. Four artists will participate in this second round of the New Performance Program, receiving commissions and developmental support encompassing workshop readings as well as staged readings within the New Eyes Festival.

The MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, New York City, received $6,300 to support the acquisition of Jerome Foundation-supported films and videos by emerging artists for the Museums permanent collection. As early as 1935, the Museum of Modern Art embraced motion pictures as an art form. In 1939, it began regular screenings to share works with the public. The Department of Film combines preservation with exhibition. Its collection is made publicly accessible through ongoing programs of classic and contemporary films that range from retrospectives and historical surveys to introductions of works by independent and experimental film and video makers. Since 1996, the Museum has received modest annual support, which it uses to purchase film and video works funded by the Jerome Foundation through its New York City and Minnesota Film and Video Grant Programs. The titles are chosen by Department of Film curators.

NEW DRAMATISTS, New York City, received $36,000, $24,750 in support of its Playwrights Lab and $11,250 in support of the Composer-Librettist Studio. New Dramatists is dedicated to the playwright, and pursues a singular mission to find gifted playwrights and give them the time, space, and tools to develop their craft so that they may fulfill their potential and make lasting contributions to the theatre. New Dramatists has remained a pioneer in the field of new play development since its inception in 1949. The Playwrights Lab is a constellation of programs through which New Dramatists resident playwrights develop their work. The organizations seven-year commitment to writers ensures that they can develop work over time and access a wide variety of resources according to needs of any given project. New Dramatists provides free rehearsal space, stage managers, and professional collaborators, hiring over 450 actors, directors, and dramaturgs each season. The Composer-Librettist Studio is a two-week session conducted in partnership with Nautilus Music Theater of St. Paul, Minnesota. The Studio focuses simultaneously on music-theater development and the principles of collaboration, teaming five New Dramatists writers with five composers and five performers to develop new musical theatre works.

NEW RADIO AND PERFORMING ARTS, Staten Island, New York, received $14,400 in support of commissions for emerging artists to create networked art for the Turbulence website. New Radio and Performing Arts fosters the development of new and experimental work for radio, sound arts, and Net art. The last is served by the website Turbulence, which commissions, exhibits, and archives works that explore networked technologies, and supports experimentation with distributed real-time multilocation performance events. Turbulence emerging artist commissions support the creation of new Net works that provide meaningful experiences, provoke thought, facilitate dialogue, and offer interactive and/or participatory experiences to audiences while also encouraging the dissolution of boundaries between artistic disciplines, artists and non-artists, artists and audiences, and between art and science.

DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP, New York City, received $32,400 in support of commissions for emerging choreographers/movement artists from New York City and/or Minnesota. Dance Theater Workshop provides independent artists with production programs and resources that nurture their creativity and growth over time. Through presentation programs, residencies and community interaction, Dance Theater Workshop builds the context for work to be created, noted, and discussed, forging a deeper understanding about the importance of art and artists in everyday life. Jerome Foundation has provided commissioning support to Dance Theater Workshop since 1980. The Foundations current commitment will support commissions for eight emerging choreographers/movement artists to create new work for presentation at Dance Theater Workshop. Coupled with production support, the commissions provide critical resources for the creation of new work.

The NEW YORK MILLS ARTS RETREAT AND REGIONAL CULTURAL CENTER, New York Mills, Minnesota, received $8,000 in support of a retreat residency program for emerging artists. The Arts Retreat provides space and support for artists in all disciplines to work and share their creativity with the surrounding area. The purpose of the Regional Cultural Center is to expand the cultural and creative opportunities in rural west central Minnesota. Jerome support will be directed to two and four week residencies of emerging artists, a majority of whom will be based in New York City and/or Minnesota. A home and studio for the artists are provided as they pursue their own work and provide a specified amount of community service.

NEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP, New York City, received $18,000 in support of the creation, development, and production of new plays by emerging playwrights. New York Theatre Workshop is committed to the development of innovative theatre by supporting theatre artists at all stages of their careers, providing an environment where work can be created free from the artistic compromise and forbidding financial demands often associated with commercial ventures. The Workshop is dedicated to exploring and presenting theatrical experiences that reflect, respond to, and invigorate the world. Artist Development Activities provide emerging playwrights and other theater artists with opportunities to focus on their work in a highly professional setting, and to collaborate with other artists and administrators. Activities include the Play Reading Series, Usual Suspects, Companies-in-Residence, Jonathan Larson Lab, Summer Residencies, and Emerging and Resident Artists of Color Fellowships. Jerome dollars are directed to the participation of emerging playwrights based in Minnesota and New York City.

The NORTHERN CLAY CENTER, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $23,850 in support of the 2010 Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grants Program. The mission of the Center is the advancement of the ceramic arts. Ongoing programs include classes and workshops for children and adults at all levels of proficiency; exhibitions of work by regional, national, and international artists; studio space and grants for artists; and a sales gallery representing many of the top ceramic artists from the region and elsewhere. The Ceramic Artist Project Grants Program annually awards three grants of $6,000 each to emerging artists to support self-designed projects intended to advance their art and careers. An independent selection panel reviews proposals submitted in response to an open call. Projects may include, but are not limited to, experimenting with new techniques and firing methods, spending time with a mentor, purchasing equipment to facilitate an aesthetic or technical investigation, dedicating time to work, and collaborating with other artists. The grant year culminates with a group exhibition at the Center.

NORTHERN LIGHTS, Shoreview, Minnesota, received a grant of $58,500 for Art(ists) on the Verge, which will support five Minnesota-based emerging artists and artist groups. Norther Lights was founded in 2007 by Steve Dietz, is a roving, collaborative, interactive media-oriented arts organization presenting innovative work in the public sphere, both physical and virtual. It focuses on artists creatively using technology, both old and new, to engender new relations between audience and art work and more broadly between citizenry and their built environment. This intensive, mentor-based fellowship program serves artists who are working experimentally at the intersection of art, technology, and digital culture with a focus on network-based practices that are interactive and/or participatory. Artists and artist groups will be selected through an open call for applications reviewed by a selection panel. Fellows will be awarded $5,000 commissions with some additional support for technical development and public presentation.

Artist JEANINE OLESON, Brooklyn, New York, will travel to Svalbard, Norway, Boston and Philadelphia to research post-apocalyptic images. She proposes a visual cultural analysis of language, images, the science of potential destruction and apocalyse drawings. She is interested in the efficacy of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault or Doomsday Vault, a secure seedbank established to preserve a wide variety of worldwide plant seeds in an underground cavern as a refuge in case of large scale regional or global crises. She will also conduct research at the Center for Millenial Studies at Boston University and consult with a professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Science in Philadelphia. She will incorporate this research into the production of critical writings, performance, film, photographic works and performative public projects.

PATRICKS CABARET, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $15,120 to support fees for emerging artists to develop and present new works in cabaret evenings. The mission of the Cabaret is to support artists in their growth and development, providing an environment that encourages risk taking and artistic growth. The Cabaret addresses the need for artists to have a place to create new works and refine their artistic abilities in front of audiences receptive to such raw work. Since 1996, the Cabaret has maintained its original, successful model of presenting a shared evening with artists of mixed artistic disciplines and levels of experience.

Artist JESSICA ANN PEAVY, New York City, will travel to Jamaica to study rituals of consumption in the African-inspired Pocomania and Revivalist churches and Dancehalls, which are rooted in ceremonial practice, Christian ideology, African psychology and performance. Peavy will research and develop artistic concepts, building upon earlier investigations in the United States and West Africa. The material gathered will be valuable in contextualizing the complex nature of consumption and the black female existence and perception of form.

PENUMBRA THEATRE COMPANY, St. Paul, Minnesota, received $22,500 in support of the 2009-10 OKRA: New Play Development Program. The mission of Penumbra is to create professional productions that are artistically excellent, thought provoking, relevant, and that illuminate the human condition through the prism of the African American experience. Associate Artistic Director Dominic Taylor manages OKRA, which invests in talented emerging playwrights by offering substantial learning opportunities to explore works; receive guidance from professional artists with established careers in visual theater design, music and dance; and experience Penumbras culturally specific aesthetic and ensemble performance concept. OKRA currently offers three program tracks. The ideas playground, The Gym, is designed for multidisciplinary pieces that have something besides spoken dialogue as their primary form of communication. Thats Cold is a monthly series of readings of new scripts, the entry point for fully scripted plays into the development process. Word(s) Play is a developmental exploration of a text with dramaturgical assistance, a director, collaborating artists and professional actors. Several days of intensive development culminate in a final public reading of the script.

PERFORMANCE SPACE 122 (P.S. 122), New York City, received $31,600 in support of emerging artists commissions for new works to be presented in the 2009-10 season. P.S. 122 is dedicated to supporting and presenting artists whose works challenge the traditional boundaries of dance, theatre, music, and performance. Committed to exploring innovative form as well as material, P.S. 122 is steadfast in its search for pioneering artists from a diversity of cultures and points of view. It operates two performance spaces and a small gallery. Commissions are paid to select emerging artists in order to assist them in creating and developing new works.

DAVID PETERSEN, Minneapolis, Minnesota, will travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, to work with and study the artist-run Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, in order to further his development as an artist, curator and organizer. Peterson is Artistic Director of the artist-run gallery Art of This. In residence with the Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, he will explore and develop as a multidisciplinary artist, broaden the scope of his practice and expand the possibilities for residencies and installations at Art of This.