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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane Arts Grants Awards will fund movies, music, art classes and more

A scene from “The Garageland Chronicles,” filmed at Greenwood Cemetery. Slothberg Productions won a $4,000 Spokane Arts grant to create and exhibit the film. (Photo by Jamie Junction)
By Audrey Overstreet For The Spokesman-Review

The phrase “If at first you don’t succeed …” must be ringing in the ears of several winners of the third round of Spokane Arts Grants Awards announced last week. More than half of this round’s winners had applied previously, but did not succeed with their first try.

Eleven grants were awarded to local organizations and artists, selected from a field of 56 applicants seeking funding for creative projects, ranging from films and plays to music and sculptures.

“Our selection panel has an incredibly difficult job of selecting from a pool of so many worthy proposals,” said Melissa Huggins, executive director of Spokane Arts. “There are diverse artistic disciplines represented, big and small projects, events, educational outreach, and so much more.”

With the help of SAGA, creative juices are expected to flow a little freer next year for the following organizations and artists:

Slothberg Productions, awarded $4,000 to support several local artists in creating, and exhibiting nationally, the full feature film “The Garageland Chronicles.”

Art Salvage, awarded $4,000 to fund the nonprofit’s mission to promote creativity and sustainability in Spokane through a creative reuse store.

Sculptors Cozette Phillips and Tybre Newcomer, awarded $2,500 to research, create and install a new artwork called Monoliths of Memory, and to produce an educational lecture at Spokane Falls Community College to teach others about the installation.

One Heart Native Arts & Film Festival, awarded $2,500 to support a two-day event celebrating the creativity and vitality of indigenous perspectives in film, art and music.

Patrick F. McManus, Tim Behrens and William Berry, awarded $2,500 to create and perform an original musical composition featuring one actor and nine musicians, using the words of McManus. The humor writer McManus is a Sandpoint resident whose fictional stories have been made into one-man comedy shows.

Get Lit!, awarded $2,250 to help publish a 20th anniversary anthology featuring the widely celebrated authors who have participated in the annual regional literary festival over its two-decade history.

The Spokane VR Film Collective, awarded $2,000 to create a community exhibit exploring a narrative about humanity’s multi-faceted relationship with time. The “Tempus Project” exhibition will feature a dance film shot in 360 degrees.

Ras Omy K, awarded $2,000 to support the creation of a new album, including production and performances of the work. Musician Omy K survived the three monthslong genocide in Rwanda in 1994 that killed approximately 1 million people, including his own family. He is a founder of IMPANDA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the empowerment of at-risk youth of Rwanda who have been affected by the genocide.

West Plains Arts Academy, awarded $750 to support the start-up costs for local art classes geared toward introducing children to famous artists and artistic methods.

Daniel Kytonen, awarded $1,500 to fund the time and materials necessary to create four 28-foot monotype prints to display in the downtown public library during February 2018.

Finally, Elise Raimi and Stacey Conner, awarded $1,000 for “Listen to Your Mother” a live storytelling event performed on Mother’s Day in Spokane for the past seven years. Funding will be used to support next year’s production, as well as provide outreach and learning opportunities.

To fund the SAGA program, in 2016 the city of Spokane approved the allocation of one-third of the city’s admissions tax to Spokane Arts, the nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the city as the region’s hub for arts and culture. The SAGA panel judges proposals on the strength of their artistic merit, solid management planning and impact on the Spokane region.