Past
Grantees

CHAVISA WOODS, Brooklyn, New York, will travel to Southern Illinois and Kansas, Missouri, exploring her relation with her Native American heritage, while conducting interviews with estranged relatives and citizens of her hometown. She will travel to Native American reservations where distant relatives are residing to understand relationships between the American rural class and Native American culture. Her current writing is an artistic exploration of the experiences of lower class Americans, a societal critique and a personal revolution.

THE WRITERS ROOM, New York City, received a two-year grant of $33,000 to subsidize membership fees and provide scholarship funds for emerging writers with financial need. The Writers Room is an urban writers' colony dedicated to providing clean, quiet and affordable workspace, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year to writers. Members include novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, poets, nonfiction writers, journalists, biographers, memoirists and children's book writers. It serves approximately 400 writers each year with approximately 300 of those being emerging.

SUSAN YOUSSEF received funding for Habibi Rasak Kharban (My Darling, Something's Wrong With Your Head), a narrative digital short that explores the story of a forbidden love crushed under the weight of both the Israeli occupation and traditional Islamic society of Gaza. Set in modern-day Khan Younis, it is the retelling of the famous Sufi mystical parable Majnun Layla. When the film begins, the Gaza strip has come under full closure-Palestinians are not allowed to travel in or out of Gaza via Israel. Two Palestinian college students who have been studying in the West Bank-Qays and Layla-have just been forced to return home. The two were childhood companions who used to tend sheep together. Qays fell in love with Layla in their childhood. The film references this innocent past as the time Qays and Layla spent in the West Bank; however, upon return to the Gaza strip, with the limits of curfews and checkpoints as well as societal traditions and rules, Layla is inaccessible to Qays, and he descends into madness.

Jake Yuzna, Minneapolis, Minnesota, will travel to three cities in Germany to visit the sites of the last days of Ernst Rhm's life, a founding member of the Nazi Party, the leader of a storm battalion, and an open homosexual. Yunza will also research and interview young queer couples living in Berlin's arts community. The research will become the basis for the creation of a dramatic film consisting of two interwoven storis of queer relationships in Germany. The first will follow the final months of Ernst Rhm, climaxing with the Night of the Long Knives, when Hitler reportedly executed 85 people including several founding members of the Nazi Party and high ranking officers of the military. The second will center on a love story set in the queer arts community of present day Berlin.

ZENON DANCE COMPANY AND SCHOOL, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $24,500 in support of the commissioning and performance of new dance works by three emerging choreographers. The mission of Zenon is to sustain an artistically excellent, professional dance company in the Twin Cities by presenting the commissioned works of modern and jazz choreographers to the broadest and most diverse audiences and communities. It accomplishes this through performance, education and outreach. The Jerome Foundation grant allows Zenon to select emerging choreographers based in Minnesota and New York City and commission them to create new works while in residence with the Company. These works are then presented on the Zenon season.

ZENON DANCE COMPANY AND SCHOOL, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a grant of $10,000 in support of July 2008 performances of works by emerging New York City and Minnesota choreographers at Dance Theater Workshop in New York City. The mission of Zenon Dance Company and School is to sustain an artistically excellent, professional dance company in the Twin Cities by presenting the commissioned works of emerging and locally, nationally and internationally recognized modern and jazz choreographers to the broadest and most diverse audiences and communities possible. This repertory company has commissioned new works from over 30 choreographers, many of those with the support of the Jerome Foundation. The culmination of its 25th anniversary season will be this series of performances at Dance Theater Workshop.

ADAM ZUCKER, New York City, will travel to Poland to explore a lost world of Polish Jewry, and its recent renaissance via the Jewish Culture Festival, an annual event celebrating Jewish culture in a country that has lost almost its entire Jewish population. The Festival takes place in Cracow, a city 20 minutes from Auschwitz. The Jewish quarter of Cracow is filled with music, art, dance, lectures, exhibits and films celebrating the 900-year history of Jews in Poland. Festival founder Janusz Makuch has invited Zucker to attend the Festival, meet with the organizers, interview people engaged in the project and conduct research. Zucker intends to develop the seeds of a new documentary.

13P/THIRTEEN PLAYWRIGHTS, Brooklyn, New York, received $8,000 in support of the production of two new works in the 2007-08 season: Have You Seen Steve Steven by Ann Marie Healy and Crawl, Fade to White by Sheila Callaghan. 13P was formed in 2003 by 13 playwrights ready to take matters into their own hands by producing their work on their terms. The plan is to produce one play by each of the playwrights and then disband. 13P is committed to the understanding that there is no substitute for the commitment a company makes to a playwright by giving his or her play the chance to live and be seen in full production. Many of the plays scheduled for production have been incubated by other theater companies but have not yet received the productions envisioned by the authors.

AFRICAN VOICES, New York City, received $7,500 to support writers fees and publication of new works by emerging writers. African Voices is dedicated to presenting art and literature by writers and artists of color. Its mission is to strive for literary and artistic excellence while showcasing the unique and diverse stories within the African Diaspora. It's published the work of more than 500 emerging writers and artists since 1992. In addition to publishing a literary magazine, it sponsors readings, conferences and art exhibitions. A Jerome grant of $7,500 will enhance the organization's capability to serve emerging writers, paying contributors' fees for emerging poets and fiction writers and production costs.

The AMERICAN COMPOSERS FORUM, St. Paul, Minnesota, received a two-year grant of $282,000 in support of the Jerome Composers Commissioning Program, serving emerging New York City and Minnesota composers, the subito program and consulting services for emerging composers. The Forum nurtures the creative spirit of composers and communities. It provides opportunities for composers and their music to flourish. Since 1978, Jerome Foundation has supported the Composers Commissioning Program. Composers apply with a performer/performing ensemble or a presenting organization that is committed to premiering the new work. The subito program provides small grants to composers who have particular opportunities to advance their careers. This substantial commitment to the Forum supports many commissioning and professional development subsidies for emerging composers in the Foundation's two geographic regions.

The ANANYA DANCE THEATRE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $10,000 in support of the creation and production of a new work, Pipaasha, to be presented in September 2007. Ananya Dance Theater is a company of women artists of color, diverse in many ways but uniformly committed to artistic excellence and the passionate articulation of their dreams, hopes and desires. The company, under the direction of Ananya Chatterjea, uses the Odissi classical style of dance and blends it with the line and breath release of yoga, the abstract theatrics of Indian ritual practices, and the urgent energy of street theater. Pipaasha, Extreme Thirst, is a response to the steady drying up of the world's resources, specifically through environmental damage, which heightens the vulnerable position in which much of the world's women and children are forced to live. The work explores ideas of loss and struggle, the desire to live, and the relationship of these ideas to femininity.

THE ANDERSON CENTER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES, Red Wing, Minnesota, received a two-year grant of $32,000 in support of emerging Minnesota and New York City artists' residencies. The Anderson Center provides an environment conducive to the pursuit of projects by artists, writers and scholars, and presents cultural programs, activities and events that contribute to the quality of life in Red Wing, nearby communities and beyond. Residencies of two to four weeks duration are provided for artists to advance works-in-progress or initiate new work. Artists are housed in the restored buildings and on the grounds of the historic Tower View Estate. Each year, six emerging artists, three from Minnesota and three from New York City, receive room, board and workspace during their residencies.

Jerome Foundation Directors authorized a two-year grant of $30,000 to APERTURE FOUNDATION, New York City, in support of First Books. Since its establishment in 1952, Aperture Foundation has maintained a strong presence in the rapidly evolving world of photography, with a comprehensive program of publications, exhibitions and public programs serving a diverse audience of photography lovers across the globe. Aperture has attracted critical attention as an organization that actively promotes lesser known photographers by publishing major monographs devoted to their work. First Books is an initiative that helps Aperture include in its annual roster of publications major volumes dedicated to the work of accomplished but previously unpublished emerging artists.

ARENA DANCES, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a grant of $12,000 in support of the creation and production of a new work. Arena Dances creates and performs original choreography by Artistic Director Mathew Janczewski. The company received support for the creation and production of Ugly, a large-scale collaborative project, at the Walker Art Center and at a second venue outside of Minnesota. The Jerome Foundation has a small program initiative in which it awards grants to established, often mid-career, artists who have an opportunity to advance their work on national or international levels. The Foundation supported Mathew Janczewski as part of its emerging choreographer program from 1996 through 2002. Ugly, which explores notions and perceptions of beauty, presents a significant opportunity for Janczweski to produce a major work in collaboration with electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick.

ART IN GENERAL, New York City, received $38,000 over two years for the participation of emerging artists in the New Commissions Program, other exhibitions, and services to artists. Art in General assists artists with the production and presentation of new work. Since 1985, it has supported the work of over 5,000 artists through exhibitions, residencies, installations, public programs, readings, screenings and catalogs. It provides a fertile environment for the creation and presentation of new work and serves as a forum to encounter new ways of thinking about contemporary art and to exchange ideas. The New Commissions Program provides commissioning dollars, a venue to exhibit, a publication and the conceptual, logistical and organizational support needed to create and present ambitious new work. The Program has commissioned 13 challenging projects in a wide range of media and subjects, from sculptures and video installations to artists' books and maps addressing such issues as memory, feminism, tolerance and experimentation. The Commissioning Program redefines the relationship of Art in General with emerging artists.

Felipe Arturo, New York City, will travel the path of the Amazon River from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean, drawing parallels between that experience and the creation of new work. Hes presently producing a body of work on the history of the rubber trade and expects this journey to lead his work in new yet connected directions. This travel is an exercise in merging the realities of art with the nature of a distant reality.

THE ASIAN AMERICAN WRITERS' WORKSHOP, New York City, received $21,000 in support of programs and services that support the development of new works by emerging Asian American writers. In existence for nearly 16 years, the Workshop is devoted to Asian American arts and letters. It operates writing workshops, hosts author readings, organizes panel discussions about issues affecting its constituents, offers programs for young authors, supports emerging writers through mentoring and fellowships, sponsors writing competitions, and presents an annual literary awards program. Jerome support is directed to those programs that engage emerging authors.

Conceptual artist MATTHEW BAKKOM, Minnesota, will visit research holdings in two archives, the Municipal Archives of the City of New York and the National Archives Still and Motion Picture Division in College Park, Maryland. At the Municipal Archives, he will continue research to further the project New York City Museum of Complaint, a public art project based on a collection of mayoral correspondence. In College Park, Maryland, he will focus on images detailing operations of the Drug Enforcement Agency between the years of 1973 and 1985. This research will inform ongoing public art investigations.

BANG ON A CAN, Brooklyn, New York, received $10,000 in support of commissions awarded to two emerging composers within the People's Commissioning Fund. Bang on a Can brings innovative and adventurous music to broad and diverse audiences. One of its aims is to discover emerging composers and ensembles that explore new musical frontiers. The People's Commissioning Fund, launched in 1997, offers emerging composers the opportunity to create new work performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, virtuoso musicians whose collaborations with experimental composers push both into new areas and bring listeners closer to the music. The premieres take place within an annul People's Commissioning Fund concert, preceded by an open rehearsal. Some of the commissions enter the repertoire for the All-Stars, whose performance tours take them to various parts of the world each year.

INTERMEDIA ARTS, Minneapolis, Minnesota, as fiscal sponsor for THE BODYCARTOGRAPHY PROJECT, received $10,000 in support of the creation, development and production of new works by choreographers Otto Ramstad and Olive Bieringa. Intermedia is a multidisciplinary arts center that selectively serves as fiscal sponsor for independent artists and their companies. The BodyCartography Project investigates the body's relationship to the physical, architectural, climatic, technological and social landscapes that people inhabit in urban/wilderness and private/public contexts. Grant dollars will support the redevelopment of Holiday House for production and touring, the research and development of Pacific Rim Project, and the redevelopment of Condition.