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Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts In Partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation Announces 2019 Grantees of The Lincoln Center Cultural Innovation Fund

Recipients Receive Support for Innovative Community-Based Cultural Programs in South Bronx and Central Brooklyn

NEW YORK, NY (January 10, 2019) — Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation, today announced the 2019 recipients of the Lincoln Center Cultural Innovation Fund, now in its second year. This year’s 12 grantees will receive support for initiatives from community discussions and moderated panels around civic issues, to a monthly performance series featuring trans and gender non-confirming artists, to the transformation of underutilized public spaces through visual and performing arts. The grant program supports innovative strategies to catalyze greater access to, and participation in, cultural opportunities in the neighborhoods of South Bronx and Central Brooklyn.

Each recipient receives a one-year grant of up to $100,000, in addition to technical support from Lincoln Center to further their work. The Rockefeller Foundation selected Lincoln Center to administer the fund based on the institution’s steadfast commitment to building community-based partnerships and its expertise in designing and implementing impactful programs.

“The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to have a long history of partnership with Lincoln Center—a New York institution and national treasure,” said Christine Heenan, Vice President for Global Policy & Advocacy at The Rockefeller Foundation. “For generations, Lincoln Center has elevated and supported artistic expression and education. Together, we are dedicated to creating greater access to programs in the arts focused on civic engagement and pressing questions of social justice, race, economic equality, gender, history, and more. Supporting the art and artists that give voice and perspective to these issues feels more important than ever.”

“Entering our second year of partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation, we are incredibly proud to help bring resources to cultural activities and artists in these vibrant communities through the Lincoln Center Cultural Innovation Fund,” said Russell Granet, Acting President of Lincoln Center.  “Our commitment to community collaboration throughout the city continues to strengthen as we celebrate the work of our outstanding neighbors from Central Brooklyn and the South Bronx.”

The Lincoln Center Cultural Innovation Fund was launched in December 2016 with three overarching goals: to increase arts access and participation in the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn; to increase the range of places and platforms where cultural activities are taking place in both boroughs; and to support nonprofit organizations in piloting cultural innovation strategies and programs. Lincoln Center worked collaboratively with advisors, including representatives from Central Brooklyn and the South Bronx and The Rockefeller Foundation, to establish an advisory panel that evaluated applications and recommended the grant award recipients. In its first round of funding, the Lincoln Center Cultural Innovation Fund offered one-year grants in a range of $50,000-$100,000 to 12 organizations that completed their funded projects in June 2018.

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2019 Grant Recipients

BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance – TransVisionaries: Live Performance Series
A monthly performance series featuring trans and gender non-conforming artists, primarily of color, hosted at restaurants and cafes in the South Bronx, serving to increase access to performance outside the formal confines of theater and bringing visibility to trans people.

BRIC – #BHeardAmplified
An extension of the #BHeard Town Hall series, which will present community discussions and moderated panels around timely civic issues held in public libraries, schools, and other community-based spaces in Central Brooklyn, with the opportunity for BRIC team members to mentor aspiring filmmakers and journalists in the creation of media presented during events.

Bronx Documentary Center – Claremont Illuminated
A collaborative, cultural placemaking project that will light up underutilized public spaces in Claremont Village with visual art and performances by local Bronx artists, serving as a powerful source of social engagement and opportunities for greater neighborhood stewardship.

Brooklyn Children’s Museum – ColorLab Art Studio
Visual art programs, rooted in the African, African-American, and Afro-Caribbean experience that support cultural literacy and identity, in the Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s new 1,500-square-foot art studio created for children, their families, and their caregivers.

DreamYard – Immersive Community Culture Project
Immersive, mixed-media art experiences that merge the culturally inspired work of young DreamYard artists with the physical environment of the South Bronx, engaging an intergenerational audience in the creation and celebration of art in its many diverse forms.

Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy – Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy Youth Repertory Theater
A theatrical arts extension of the Ifetayo Youth Ensemble, which will engage youths in the planning and presentation of productions that are culturally relevant adaptations of classic works by emerging playwrights.

The Laundromat Project – Kelly Street Collaborative
Engage socially responsive artists and cross-generational residents of the historic Kelly Street neighborhood to nurture, connect, and amplify local creative assets, supporting the rebuilding of a vibrant community.

Pregones – STAGE GARDEN RUMBA 2: COLLECTION THEATER
A free, live performance and community engagement series, which will convene a diverse mix of local artists, activists, and general public from South Bronx neighborhoods for a dialogue around art making, well-being, and social justice, culminating in weekend events featuring multidisciplinary performances, activist presentations, and cultural celebration.

ProjectArt – Arts & Social Practice Residency
Develop and sustain valuable partnerships with local public libraries, helping to create hyper-local, creative spaces where children ages 4-17 are able to participate in free after-school classes, led by local artists-in-residence.

Urban Bush Women – Brooklyn-Based Community Engagement for Hair & Other Stories and Scat!
Co-create art with Central Brooklyn residents and blur the line between performers and audience by engaging predominantly African-American women in Central Brooklyn in the co-creation of art during a series of community engagement workshops based on Urban Bush Women works Hair & Other Stories and Scat!.

Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation – Bronx Music Hall Welcome Home Series
A multi-part series which will present a range of artists, genres, and venues, joining South Bronx neighbors across cultures and generations to experience their community’s rich musical heritage, building momentum in advance of the grand opening of the Bronx Music Hall.

Wycoff House Museum – Protest Garden: Historical Resistance and Radical Cultivation in Brooklyn
An interactive art installation at the historic Wyckoff House Museum, which will weave together Brooklyn’s history of activism with contemporary pursuits for justice, where community members can explore the past in order to create a more just and sustainable future.

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Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community engagement, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers a variety of festivals and programs, including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Career Grants and Artist program, David Rubenstein Atrium programming, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Awards, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, LC Kids, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival, the Emmy Award–winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS, and Lincoln Center Education, which is celebrating more than four decades enriching the lives of students, educators, and lifelong learners. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Lincoln Center has become a leading force in using new media and technology to reach and inspire a wider and global audience. Reaching audiences where they are—physically and digitally—has become a cornerstone of making the performing arts more accessible to New Yorkers and beyond. For more information, visit LincolnCenter.org.

Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, contact Accessibility at Lincoln Center at access@lincolncenter.org or 212.875.5375

About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation advances new frontiers of science, data, policy and innovation to solve global challenges related to health, food, power and economic mobility. As a science-driven philanthropy focused on building collaborative relationships with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation seeks to inspire and foster large-scale human impact that promotes the well-being of humanity throughout the world by identifying and accelerating breakthrough solutions, ideas and conversations. For more information, visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org.

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Press Contact
The Rockefeller Foundation
Matt Herrick, mherrick@rockfound.org, 212-852-8454

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Desiree Naranjo, dnaranjo@lincolncenter.org,