- Thousands of local children will benefit from the first year of #PNCArtsAlive contributions in Palm Beach County
- Six local groups plan to boost creativity in visual and performing arts
- Visual arts programs range from live symphonic orchestra performances to a visual arts festival and outdoor ballets to digital storytelling
WEST PALM BEACH, Nov. 3, 2016 – Access to free classical ballet performances, Latino & African-American musical theater, a visual arts festival, 59-piece orchestra performances, critical-thinking digital stories and transportation to a fall concert are among the highlights of six Palm Beach arts organizations, which will receive funds totaling $75,000 this year from the PNC Foundation’s Arts Alive program.
The awards are part of a three-year, $185,000 commitment PNC announced today at the Armory Art Center to bring PNC Arts Alive to Palm Beach County. The non-profit winners represents a wide range of disciplines, audiences and participatory experiences from arts groups’ large and small, city and suburban. [See below for the complete descriptions of grant recipients.]
Throughout 2016, PNC has diligently worked with the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County to develop and bring the Arts Alive initiative to its thriving community.
“PNC is a strong corporate partner for the arts in the United States, and their commitment locally is outstanding,” said Rena Blades, CEO of the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. “These new grants, in addition to the two awards the Council is making today, support innovative and worthy programs in our cultural sector. We thank PNC for their generosity and vision.”
The Cultural Council of Greater Palm Beach County reports that its creative economy has a $2.4 billion impact on the region. PNC Arts Alive adds richness to local efforts by awarding grants to arts organizations that support fresh and emerging arts programs, value-added public programming and creative use of technology, while seeking to expand audiences.
“PNC has a long history of partnering with organizations that strengthen the lives of our local Main Street communities, and our support of Arts Alive is a strategic investment in this region,” said Cressman Bronson, PNC regional president for Florida East. “We asked Palm Beach’s arts and culture groups to help people experience art in new ways and they delivered on that goal, engaging audiences through a diverse array of innovative programs that showcase this region at its best.”
Bronson said the arts and culture industry in the state of Florida generates $3.1 billion in the state of Florida, creating a total economic impact of approximately $250 million per year in Palm Beach County.
“The arts impact more than our emotions, creates new jobs, boosts tourism and invigorates businesses,” added Bronson. “The bottom line is a strong arts community is a significant driver of economic success. By bringing Arts Alive to Palm Beach County, PNC is helping to bring creative and exciting new programs for people of all ages to this community.”
According the Jeanne Martin, Armory’s director of communications and marketing, “The PNC arts alive grant gives the Armory Art Center the ability to reach a much larger audience of attendees for the first annual West Palm Beach Arts Festival. Bringing more people to the Armory Art Center campus will bring more awareness of what we offer—resulting in higher participation in our high-quality visual arts programming for youth and adults, attendance to the exhibitions hosted in our galleries, and support for our outreach programs providing healing and education to those with special needs.”
Supporting Arts and Economic Development
Since its debut in 2009, PNC Arts Alive! has awarded approximately $13 million in grants to enterprising cultural organizations in Columbus, Ohio, Philadelphia and St. Louis, communities served by PNC and the PNC Foundation.
PNC Arts Alive has supported new exhibitions and festivals, pop-up theater and music performances, mobile arts vans, family arts programs and more. This award-winning program has earned recognition from Americans for the Arts in New York City along with regional arts organizations.
Grants recipients are selected by PNC and a committee composed of officials from arts and community organizations. Applications for the 2017 season will be posted in March. For more information, please visit www.pncartsalive.com.
About the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County
With more than 200 arts and cultural organizations and 42,000 cultural experiences available to visitors and residents, Palm Beach County is a magnet for cultural tourists and a rich landscape of cultural activities for all. The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County produces marketing and advertising campaigns to support cultural tourism, benefitting the economy and job growth in the county.
About the PNC Foundation
The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC), 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.
PNC ARTS ALIVE – 2016 GRANT RECIPIENTS
Armory Art Center
The Armory Art Center is organizing a visual arts festival to be held on site, December 3 - 4, 2016. Free to the public, this two day event will feature booths exhibiting and selling the work of local artists, live arts demonstrations, children's activities and crafts and local food and music.
Boca Ballet Theatre
Community Dance Concert is a one-night only, free outdoor public performance at Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton. This unique show will include classical ballet and contemporary choreography performed by young people who reside in the Boca Raton Housing Authority's Pearl City community, people with Parkinson's disease, students in the School of BBT and professional dancers from some of the top ballet companies in the country.
Core Ensemble
The Core Ensemble will offer three artist residencies with actress Rosa Rodriguez presenting music theatre work Tres Vidas, focused on famous & influential Hispanics in history; actor Dracyn Blount Of Ebony Embers will present vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance featuring music and poetry of the Jazz Age; and actress Deltoiya Goodman will offer performances and educational programs celebrating Women's History Month and the achievements of African American women. These performances are open to the public and free.
Palm Beach DramaWorks Ethics Project
The Ethics Project is an interactive, educational project geared toward high school students that examines and promotes personal responsibility and originality. Students are given critical-thinking prompts, and are then asked to research, edit, and create a ‘digital story’ focused on ethical dilemmas. These digital stories are then submitted to Palm Beach Dramaworks. Then, 650 students from Title 1 schools are invited at no cost to field trip performances of Collected Stories by Donald Margulies. Immediately following the performance students will participate in a guided talkback on plagiarism, ethical dilemmas and intellectual property rights
Palm Beach Symphony – Children’s Concerts
The Palm Beach Symphony (PBS) will expose 4,000 students to the enchantment and rigor of classical music in hopes of developing critical thinking skills and the overall appreciation for arts and culture. Four free performances with a full orchestra (59 musicians) will be paired with classroom discussions to allow students to appreciate, interpret, and create with artistic intent. These children's concert performances will feature internationally recognized Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. Along with narration and ballet, the musicians bring the characters of Peter and the Wolf to life as Palm Beach County elementary and middle school students learn about the different instruments in an orchestra.
Delray Beach Chorale – Transportation
Arts Alive funding will provide transportation of young children to the Delray Chorale's Fall Concert on December 9, 2016 at the Roberts Theatre, Boca Raton, FL. The funding will also contribute in providing lesson plans and materials to participating schools so these children will be taught and begin to understand and appreciate great classical choral works.
CONTACT:
Zoraya Suarez
(407) 428-0066
zoraya.suarez@pnc.com
