York County Arts Council Announces Thousands in Grant Awards

The Arts Council of York County is pleased to announce the allocation of Small Grant awards for the second quarter of the 2020 – 2021 fiscal year. Small Grants are available to individual artists, non-profit organizations, teachers and schools throughout York County. These grants are designed to support specific arts activities that promote the individual artist’s professional development or career advancement and/or to support a wide variety of quality arts projects and programs that promote excellence in arts disciplines and make such disciplines accessible for general community-wide audiences.

Organizations and individual artists residing in York County, SC may request up to $1,000 per grant and may receive up to two grants each calendar year. The Arts Council awarded Small Grants to five artists and organizations for the 2nd Quarter of the 2020 – 2021 fiscal year. Recipients include:

ChristmasVille Rock Hill is an annual festival which combines holiday celebration, recognition of local artist Vernon Grant’s iconic art, and promotion of Old Town Rock Hill’s merchants, restaurants, and historic architecture. Normally a four-day event held during the first week of December, the 2020 festival is transitioning to become a partially virtual festival that takes place from November 25 and runs through the end of December.

Cheerful downtown window displays featuring Vernon Grant’s Santas and Gnomes, and scenes of Christmas are created by designers and businesses in many of the establishments lining East Main Street are a mainstay of ChristmasVille in Rock Hill, SC. The 2020 Festival is expanding the concept of the festive windows to include up to six alleys throughout Old Town Rock Hill. The alley project will pair decorators with artists to design and decorate the spaces, creating a walking tour and winter wonderland for visitors to the area. This Small Grant will fund the costs of the decorations and consultants. | https://www.christmasvillerockhill.com

Concerts at the Courtroom has brought live performances, including local, regional and international acts ranging from performance art to acoustic folk rock to aggressive metal to the Gettys Art Center in Old Town Rock Hill, SC since 2012. Known regionally for creating and sustaining an edgy and innovative music and performing arts scene that supports local performers as well as touring acts, Concerts at the Courtroom seeks to provide a platform for local musicians and entertainment professionals to showcase their work in a time when live performances have been suspended. This Small Grant will support a series of six videos of local bands, shot by local videographers, and edited by local sound engineers. | https://www.facebook.com/thecourtroomrockhill/

Fort Mill Middle School’s Chorus program serves 150 – 200 students in grades 6 – 8 each year. Currently, the curriculum for this course includes units of study in music theory, music history, the science of music – how music connects to other art forms, and performance – vocal and instrumental. For the 2020 – 2021 school year, the program is adding the study of ukuleles to its curriculum. Adding ukuleles to the classroom provides an additional resource, allowing students to broaden their musical experience and study. Ukuleles are an affordable instrument. Students who connect with the instrument could extend their studies beyond the classroom by purchasing their own for private instruction. The Arts Council’s Small Grant will help cover the cost of the instruments. | https://fmms.fortmillschools.org/arts

Winthrop University Galleries has partnered with the Women’s Art Initiative and the Arts Council of York County to engage and participate in Airing Out the “Dirty” Laundry, an ongoing community art movement. The movement responds to the silencing of women, creating opportunities for all women to share experiences through visual storytelling. Artist, activist, community arts organizer, and founder Andrea Downs will install a small selection of the more than 400 pieces that are part of a growing collection of women’s stories. Artwork created during Laundry Day Workshops is collected and joined together on clotheslines and will be featured in the lobby at the DiGiorgio Campus Center at Winthrop University, and in the Perimeter Gallery at the Center for the Arts. The installation will include information about how the public can get involved in this movement. This Small Grant supports the artistic and production fees, travel expenses, and the costs for the installation of the exhibit in two spaces in York County. | https://www.winthrop.edu/galleries/

York County Library is hosting their third Winter Reading Program this December. The 2020 program will be like no other! Patrons will be able to pick up all materials through curbside pickups at York County Library locations, and all programming will be offered virtually by staff and paid professional artists. Following in the footsteps of their highly successful Summer Reading Program, the Winter Reading Program will include virtual story times featuring the stars of ChristmasVille’s productions and other professional storytellers. The YCL will also offer a Christmas virtual performance by Porkchop Productions during the annual ChristmasVille Elves in the Shelves (virtual) event. This Small Grant offsets the artist fees relating to the York County Library’s presentation of Porkchop Productions’ virtual performance. | https://www.yclibrary.org

To review guidelines, visit www.yorkcountyarts.org/grants. The next deadline is Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 5 PM for programs occurring in January, February, or March 2021. Prospective applicants MUST discuss the proposed project with the Executive Director at least 10 days in advance of the application deadline date. Should the deadline fall on a holiday or weekend, grant applications are due the last business day prior to the deadline.