At PNC we believe that a thriving arts community brings significant value to our economy and to all of us who live, work and play in St. Louis,” said Michael Scully, PNC regional president for St. Louis.
ST. LOUIS, May 9, 2018 – A ghost story dance depiction, fashion design education programs and a new sensory-friendly symphony series are among the plans for nine St. Louis-area arts organizations receiving grants from the PNC Foundation through PNC Arts Alive.
For the eighth straight year, PNC is contributing $250,000 to arts organizations across the Greater St. Louis region as part of its 10-year commitment to local visual and performing arts. The 2018 grant recipients cover a wide range of disciplines, audiences and participatory experiences from arts groups large and small, encompassing the city and suburban areas. One local arts organization, the Saint Louis Fashion Fund, is receiving PNC Arts Alive funding for the first time to create a mobile education center. [See below for full list of grant recipients]
“At PNC we believe that a thriving arts community brings significant value to our economy and to all of us who live, work and play in St. Louis,” said Michael Scully, PNC regional president for St. Louis. “The programs we are able to fund through PNC Arts Alive strengthen our visual and performing arts community and create unique experiences ultimately reaching hundreds of thousands of people. We are excited about this year’s grant recipients and the new opportunities that will be created by their programs.”
First launched in 2010, PNC Arts Alive has already provided 92 grants to local, non-profit arts groups. The program has earned local and national commendation from the Missouri Arts Council, the Arts and Education Council in St. Louis and Americans for the Arts in New York City. Additionally, in the spring of 2016, PNC announced it would extend PNC Arts Alive for four more years by granting an additional $1 million.
PNC Arts Alive is a multi-year grant initiative of the PNC Foundation that challenges visual and performing arts organizations to put forth their best, most original thinking in expanding audience participation and engagement. To date, this award-winning program has provided $2.5 million in grants to cultural organizations across the Greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit www.pncartsalive.com.
The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through Grow Up Great, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a $350 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life. To learn more about PNC Grow Up Great, please go to www.pncgrowupgreat.com.
PNC ARTS ALIVE – 2018 GRANT RECIPIENTS
Circus Harmony
Circus Harmony in the Parks presented by PNC Arts Alive returns to an era where circus brings live entertainment into neighborhoods, creating a personal connection between artist and audience. The circus shows and workshops will visit underserved neighborhoods in both St. Louis City and County, engaging audiences in juggling, hula hooping and other circus arts.
Laumeier Sculpture Park
Laumeier After Dark extends an invitation to the entire community to engage in experiences of art and nature – as observers, creators and collaborators. A wide range of activities – classes, workshops and special events – over several months will light up the night, explore the natural landscape and delve into the sculptural processes that focus on the elements of light and fire as tools to artistic production. Enjoy the spectacle of a high-octane performance iron pour, blacksmithing and ceramic Raku firing, and partake in pre- and post-event art-making – just a few of the After Dark happenings.
Metro Theater Company
PNC Arts Alive presents THE HUNDRED DRESSES, a creative partnership with the Metro Theater Company, the Contemporary Art Museum and Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design; to engage children as audience and art makers.
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
2019 PNC Arts Alive FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES community tour will have the draw of multi Grammy Award winner Terence Blanchard; librettist and NAACP Image Award recipient, Kasi Lemmons; and author, acclaimed writer for the New York Times and LGBT community leader, Charles Blow. The tour will engage the community in conversations through a series of programs ranging from panel discussions to previews of the new work based on the powerful memoir FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES.
Saint Louis Fashion Fund
Miki's Closet Fashion Truck is the first mobile fashion education center in St. Louis. Miki's Closet meets students where they are, bringing designers and industry speakers, design education programming, merchandising workshops, and fashion career awareness to students throughout the region.
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis
IN THE WORKS: A Festival of New Plays will include three new works by American playwrights: headliner performances of Into the Breeches, staged readings of The Thousand Natural Shocks and accompanying student talkbacks; and family matinees by festival playwright Nancy Bell.
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
SLSO Sensory-Friendly Education Concerts presented by PNC Arts Alive will be the first sensory-friendly performance by a professional orchestra in St. Louis. The performances will innovate the concert experience to remove barriers for children with autism and other disabilities that cause sensory sensitivities. This series will enable these youth to enjoy live orchestral music in a safe, friendly environment.
The Big Muddy Dance Company
Lemp Legends: A Ghost Story will be the first concert dance depiction of the Lemp family story, as well as being one of the first depictions of a historical St. Louis story. The performance will portray the eerie tale of the regionally infamous Lemp Mansion and brewery through flashbacks of their dramatic family story of triumph, sickness, loss, divorce, suicide, fortune and legacy.
The Rep
Making a Scene: A St. Louis Theatre Expo Presented by PNC Arts Alive will bring numerous St. Louis theatres under The Rep’s roof to provide the community with a unique, behind-the-scenes experience about the process of creating theatre. With The Rep’s first Mainstage 2018-2019 production at the center, the expo will provide tours, exhibits, features, discussions and pop-up performances.
CONTACT:
Whitney Wilson
(214) 871-1209 office
(817) 681-8255 mobile
whitney.wilson@pnc.com
@WhitneyW_PNC
