One Brooklyn
February 27, 2015
BROOKLYN, NY, February 27, 2015: Yesterday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and Brooklyn Arts Council awarded $45,000 in Destination: Brooklyn mini-grants to 30 local cultural organizations seeking to advance tourism in the borough; the funding will support the promotion of local arts and culture groups. Borough President Adams presented symbolic big checks to all of the groups present, which serve neighborhoods across Brooklyn through a wide variety of artistic mediums, and discussed his vision for expanding tourism to the outer reaches of the borough.
“Brooklyn is truly a destination, a place to enjoy and play for locals and visitors alike,” said Borough President Adams. “Our goal at Brooklyn Borough Hall is to make sure our tourism industry embraces all that we have to offer. Outreach is everything, and Destination: Brooklyn allows these groups to be seen, be heard, and be appreciated by Brooklyn and the rest of the world. Every neighborhood has a unique culture and style all its own, and you haven’t experienced our borough until you’ve experienced every one of them.”
Destination: Brooklyn awarded 30 mini-grants of $1,500 each, totaling a $45,000 allocation to small arts and culture organizations. These funds specifically supported expenses incurred in the development, production, and distribution of promotional materials for their organizations and their arts and cultural programs and events. Over 115,000 pieces of marketing materials have been designed, distributed and created through this grant.
“Brooklyn Arts Council is pleased to have worked with Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams to enhance tourism to the borough,” said Ella J. Weiss, president of Brooklyn Arts Council. “As the artistic epicenter of NYC, Brooklyn’s arts and cultural scene is thriving. Through the Destination: Brooklyn grant, each of the 30 recipients will continue to enrich our community and keep the county of Kings vibrant and rich with artistic expression and creativity.”
Awardees of 2014 Destination: Brooklyn mini-grants include A Public Space, an independent literary organization in Boerum Hill; Bailey’s Café, an intergenerational community-based arts and culture programming organization in Bedford-Stuyvesant; Bella Voce Singers, a women’s multigenerational community choir in Bay Ridge; Brave New World Repertory Theatre, a performing arts company in Park Slope; Brooklyn Ballet, a dance company in Boerum Hill; Brooklyn Heights Music Society, the sponsoring organization for the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, in Boerum Hill; the Brooklyn Waterfront Arts Coalition, a gallery and exhibition space in Red Hook; Building Beats, a DJ and music education organization in Williamsburg; the Coney Island History Project, a culture historical society in Coney Island; Covenant Ballet Theatre of Brooklyn, a contemporary ballet company and dance academy in Marine Park; DreamStreet Theatre Company, a special needs-focused performing arts organization in Park Slope; Elders Share the Arts, an arts organization for older adults in Fort Greene; Falconworks Artists Group, a theater organization in Red Hook; FiveMyles, an exhibition and performance space in Crown Heights; Haiti Cultural Exchange, an Haitian cultural organization in Crown Heights; JACK, an multidisciplinary arts center in Clinton Hill; KowTeff School of African Dance, an African dance organization in Bedford-Stuyvesant; Make Music New York, a festival of free citywide concerts, in Fort Greene; NY Writers Coalition, Inc., a literary organization in Fort Greene; Open Source Gallery, a visual arts organization in Park Slope; Regina Opera Company, a year-round opera company in Sunset Park; Something Positive, Inc., an African Diaspora-dedicated arts and education organization in Flatbush; Spoke the Hub Dancing, a community arts organization in Park Slope; Target Margin Theater, a theatre company in Fort Greene; The Brick Theater, a theatre company in Williamsburg; The TEAM, a theater ensemble in Fort Greene; Theater 2020, a theater company in Brooklyn Heights; Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center, a dance presenting organization in Crown Heights; Tiffany Mills Company, a contemporary dance company in Brooklyn Heights; and the Waterfront Museum, a maritime heritage museum in Red Hook.
“We are excited to receive this Destination: Brooklyn grant to advance our work in Brooklyn,” said Phi Pham, executive director of Building Beats. “With the funding and materials that come from the grant, we will be able to serve the youth of Brooklyn and spread the education of music making and DJ’ing to more schools and community centers throughout Brooklyn.”
“Destination: Brooklyn gives our small Clinton Hill arts center, JACK, the opportunity to create marketing materials on par with big arts organizations, with postcards and posters designed by a professional designer that look fantastic,” said Alec Duffy, artistic director of JACK. “The grant even provides funds for us to pay members of our youth theater program to distribute the materials, so that we can maximize coverage. It’s a real game-changer for us.”
PHOTOS
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and Ella J. Weiss, president of Brooklyn Arts Council, hold up a symbolic big check representing the $45,000 in Destination: Brooklyn mini-grants to 30 local cultural organizations seeking to advance tourism in the borough; the funding will support the promotion of local arts and culture groups.
Photo Credit: Kathryn Kirk/Brooklyn BP’s Office
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