Providing grants, programs, and services to the artists and audiences of Tompkins County for 30 years

Recent Award Lists

CAP will distribute $550,000 in 2023! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are thrilled to have the resources to support and uplift the many cultural offerings in our communities. Art is made better in a community of flourishing art, and flourishing art makes a better community!” says Robin Schwartz, CAP Program and Grant Director.

 

2023 Statewide Community Regrants: $220,000 (up from $60,480 in 2022!)

These March 2023 awards represent "round one" of two annual cycles.
$177,500 was distributed to the artists and organizations below.
(There is a second deadline in June with $50,500 available. Visit our grants page! )

Grants include our "Grants for Arts Programs" for community events, Artist in Community grant for artists' creation of new work shared with communities in a significant way, and the Arts Education grant which brings teaching artists into schools and after-schoolprograms for residencies.

SCR makes exemplary arts programming available to geographically, ethnically, and racially diverse segments of the State's population, and to support the continued development of local cultural resources responsive to community cultural needs.
This program is made possible with public funds from both NYSCA and Tompkins County.

Read the full press release for these awards Here

2023 Grants for Arts Programs recipients are:

Brooktondale Community Center: A year of music, dance and performances
Cayuga Vocal Ensemble: "Alzheimer Stories" concert
Cherry Arts: dance performances
Circus Culture: Circus Summer Tour
Civic Ensemble: "Fertile Grounds," community based play
CUMEP:  four Winter/Spring performances

Danby Community Council: Danby concert series
Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers: annual concerts
Downtown Ithaca Alliance: Gallery Night events
Dryden Intergenerational Band and Chorus: concert season
Dryden (Town) Recreation Dept: summer concert season

Friends of Stewart Park: Watermusic - waterfront performances
Greater Ithaca Activities Center: Black History month talent show

Greater Ithaca Activities Center: Festival of Nations performances
Greater Ithaca Activities Center: senior event programming
Groton Public Library: arts and cultural series

Groton Village: Groton annual art exhibit
Groton Village: outdoor concert series
Guitars Upstate (Sponsor: Triphammer Arts) concert series
Hangar Theatre: FutureNow Wedge Series on the Commons
Ithaca Ballet: "Giselle"
Invisible Lives: (Sponsor: Triphammer Arts) spoken word and dance performances

Ithaca City of Asylum (Sponsor: Center For Transformative Action) Voices of Freedom Event
Ithaca Community Orchestra: concert season
Ithaca Concert Band: free concert season
Ithaca Festival: Live visual art at the festival

Ithaca Underground: Naked Noise and core programming concerts
Ithaca Murals (Sponsor: Center for Transformative Action), ReAwakening Underground Railroad mural
Lansing Library: summer and after school art programs
Lansing Parks and Rec: summer Music in the Park
Latino Civic Association: Latino Heritage Month Celebration events

Lily Pad Puppet Theatre: Ithaca Puppet Slam series
Lily Pad Puppet Theatre: Puppet Runway show
New Roots Charter School: Rootstock concert
Newfield Public Library: Stories Unite Us family programs

Opera Ithaca: Festival of events
Savage Club: Jazz Stars concerts
Southside Community Center: Toni Morrison/Audre Lorde Birthday Performance Party, A Blues for Nina, & Dollar Dance
Southworth Library: Music & Movement / Puppet Play events
State of the Art Gallery: exhibit season
Story House Ithaca (Sponsor: Center for Transformative Action) Community Storytelling Events
Tea Leaves: Live art demos at Reggae Festival
Triphammer Arts: Outdoor dance and music performances

Theatre Incognita: MacBeth performance
Ulysses Library: Arts programming

Village at Ithaca: "Our Seats at the Table," exhibit
Walking on Water Productions: Theatre performances

2023 Artist in Community Grant recipients are:

Ben Altman: Land stewardship with arts initiatives
India Sada: For reading & workshop of play, “Say Solarium”
Clare Jones: Poetry workshops
West Fox: Creation of “Reclaim the Dance Floor DJ Project 
Beth Miles: Theatre ArtistTheater production Heading into Night
Nia Nunn: Interdiscplinary artist poems and CUMEP workshops and performances
Sue Perlgut: Women Activist Arts Project
Cai Quirk: Re-story-ation Portrait Project and exhibit
Cyepress Rite: New work at Etsy Street Market
Marietta Synodis: One women theatre show
Terrance Vann: New work and exhibit

2023 Arts Education Grant recipients are:

Regi Carpenter and George Jr. Republic: True Then, True Now Storytelling
Circus Culture: The Circus, with Village at Ithaca
Civic Ensemble: Youth Forum Theatre Troupe
Greater Ithaca Activities Center: GIAC Jumpers Cultural Exchange Program
Ann Reichlin - Two programs at Caroline Elementary School: May Way for Play/Wilderness Case Study, and First Grade Puppet Workshops
Yayra Ami Tamakloe and Belle Sherman Elementary, Pan African Library Project

 

2023 Specific Opportunity Stipend: $24,00

Brian Arnold, photographer: for travel to Serbia to run a workshop
nicole v. basta, poet, event producer: for publishing of a poetry manuscript, and for Two of Cups multi-performer event
Marty and Kina Cain: Garden Door Press publishes poetry book
Josh Dolan, musician: CD release for the 86ers
Johnny Dowd, musician: album release
Anne Gossen, writer: towards publishing of a historical book
Hardy Griffin, writer: travel to Greece for their book launch event
India Sada, multi-discipline: film festival submissions
Kris Haines-Sharp, writer: for editing servies for her book
Rose Howard, multi-discipline: Puppet Runway creation
Raed Howland-Bolton, musician: upcoming studio album
Clare Jones, writer and visual artist: Brooklyn Book Festival
Leanora Mims, visual artist: Leading a workshop and exhibit at Emory University
Suzanne Onodera, Art Residency at Blue Mountain Center
yen ospina, visual artist: upcoming exhibit
Jason Payton, musician, solo album
Sue Perlgut, video artist: upcoming exhibit of latest filmed project
Mickie Quinn, event producer and visual artist: Puppet Runway submission
Cai Quirk, visual artist: upcoming art exhibiit
Mercedes Redmon, visual artist: BIPOC Handwork Coop window display.
Jennifer Savran Kelly, writer: book tour
Norm Scott, visual artist: sculpture for Beyond Art event
Jim Self, dance and theatre: video dance creation/performance
Mary Shelley, visual artist: prep for upcoming exhibit at Arkel Museum
SingTrece, musician: press kit for new album
Jacklyn Smith, writer: book publication
Christine Stockwell, writer: mentorship
Jackie Swift, writer: Writers Digest workshoip
Marietta Synodis, writer: one woman play
Jessica Warner, visual artist: Vermont Studio Center Residency
Gary Weisman, moving sculpture installation
Linda Wingerter, puppeteer: Underexposed Film Festival
Melissa Zarem, visual artist: Vermont Studio Center Residency

 

2022 Specific Opportunity Stipend (2 of 2 rounds): $11,150

Each year CAP awards $24,000 to Tompkins County artists and arts through our privately funded "SOS" grant which supports the strategic opportunities of Tompkins County artists and arts organizations that will boost their careers or offerings to the next level. 

SOS grantees are:

Bree Barton, author: audio visual installation "Naming the Unnameable: Youth Stories of Survival.
nicole v. basta, poet and visual artist: California Terra Cultura Artist Residency
Regi Carpenter, storyteller: Healing in Medicine residency at Florida Gulf Coast University
Tilia Cordata, performer and producer: Sreaming equipment and support for local drag shows
Peaches Gillette, poet: production of youth "Young and Poetic" local workshops
Ross Harstaad, director: equipment related to multimedia performance of MacBeth
Clare Jones, writer and visual artist: For fees to attend Colgate Writers Conference
Sorayya Khan, author: for costs associated with her book tour for her memior
Seth Koproski, writer/storyteller/performer: for creation of a circus project: Cirquest
Beth F. Milles, director/theatre artist: production of play with theme of dementia
Leanora Mims, fiber artist and teacher: ecture and exhibit at the African Center at Cornell
Pedro Molina, cartoonist: for updated computer for artwork creation
Daniela Rivero, visual artist: curatation of local Latinx Heritage Month Exhibit
Story House Ithaca (sponsored by Center for Transformative Action): "Artist Gym" workshop series
Taylor Rae Tate, ceramist: for BIPOC ceramics apprenticeship program

 

2022 Creative Recovery Grant: $17,331

The Community Arts Partnership's Creative Recovery Fund, funded through the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, The Legacy Foundation, and individual donors, awarded funds to 12 local organizations for projects that will make a difference in our community’s recovery in one or more of the focus areas of racial justice, public and mental health, and economic recovery. The grants aim to help Tompkins County leverage our creative power, putting creative workers to work rebuilding, reimagining, unifying, and healing our communities.

CAP Executive Director, Megan Barber, shares,We are so excited about the quality of artistry, community participation and impact among this group of grantees.100% of the grant awards made through this fund specifically address racial equity by funding: artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color; projects that support the creative expression of Black and Indigenous people and people of color; and projects that address racial justice as their focus area."

Adds Janet Cotraccia, Chief Impact Officer for the Community Foundation, “We are thrilled to support the important work of local artists and their rich engagement of our many, diverse communities. Their work both informs our community conversations and takes us beyond, into a space of deeper understanding, empathy and shared experience. We commend the Community Arts Partnership for their collaboration and for creating more opportunities for artist to focus on racial equity.” 

2022 Creative Recovery Fund recipients are:

Bree Barton: "Naming the Unnameable," youth stories of their struggles, to be an audio-visual installaton
Circus Culture: youth program with Village at Ithaca youth
Civic Ensemble: “Community Soup: Storytelling toward the Beloved Community"
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CUMEP: Funds for equipment to document CUMEP programs and community events

Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers: Music Commission for Performance
Greater Ithaca Activities Center: Black History Month Talent Show performers
Mamas Comfort Camp: "Helpful Help," a short film featuring Mothers of Color about the challenges of finding and receiving supporT
OAR of Tompkins County: Mural Walk and mural creation with program members
Story House Ithaca: “Stages of Life,” an interracial, intergenerational playwrighting 12-week workshop
Village at Ithaca: "Our Seat at the Table," village youth old chairs into a symbol of empowerment detailing a complex history of oppression
Village at Ithaca: Metalsmithing workshops for village youth
Walking on Water Productions: "Now. Here. This.," a contemporary musical

 

2022 Specific Opportunity Stipend (1 of 2 rounds): $12,850

Each year CAP awards $24,000 to Tompkins County artists and arts through our privately funded "SOS" grant which supports the strategic opportunities of Tompkins County artists and arts organizations that will boost their careers or offerings to the next level. 

2022 SOS 1st Round recipients are:

Janet Batch, musician
Black Hands Universal
The Cherry Arts
Nicole Costa, visual Artist
Louis DiPietro, musician
Sarah Gotowka, fiber artist
Robert Grant, painter
Lesley Greene, playwright
Ithaca Murals
Cristal Marte (Daraisi), dance
Norm Scott, sculptor
Southside Community Center
The Rest Gallery
Theatre Incognita
Damaris Vazquez
, photographer
Achala Wali, painter
Maddy Walsh, musician
Annemarie Zwack, visual artist

 

2022 Statewide Community Regrants: $60,480

Three of CAP's grant programs are part of New York State Council on the Arts' Statewide Community Regrant Program (SCR). Grants include our "Grants for Arts Programs" for community events, Artist in Community grant for artists' creation of new work shared with communities in a significant way, and the Arts Education grant which brings teaching artists into schools and after-school programs for residencies. Preference is given to requests that fill community needs and reach diverse cultures and communities in Tompkins County.  

2022 Grants for Arts Programs recipients are:

Black Hands Universal: Freedom Institute for Art and Advancement
Circus Culture: Circus Connections 2022 Summer Tour
Civic Ensemble: Community Based Play
CUMEP: Fierce Unapologetic Books Unleashed
Danby, Town of: Danby Concert Series
Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers: Annual Concerts
Downtown Ithaca Alliance: Gallery Night Events
Dryden Intergenerational Band and Chorus: Concerts
Family and Children's Services: Building Outdoor Mural
Fitz and Startz Theatre: I Have a Song To Sing O, family theatre
Greater Ithaca Activities Center: Senior Event Programming
Groton Public Library: Virtual Family Programming

Groton Village: Groton annual art exhibit
Groton Village: Outdoor Concert Series
Ithaca Public Education Initiative: South Hill Mural
Ithaca City of Asylum: Voices of Freedom Event
Ithaca Community Orchestra: Concert Season
Ithaca Concert Band: Concert Season
Ithaca Festival: Live Art Events
Lansing Library: Summer Family Programming
Latino Civic Association: Latino Heritage Month Events
Newfield Public Library: Theatre Family Event
Southworth Library: Summer Family Programming
State of the Art Gallery: Exhibit Season
Story House Ithaca: Storytelling in Rural Areas
Story House Ithaca: Better Than Black Panther Film Series
Tompkins County Senior Center: Senior Theatre Troupe
Triphammer Arts: Outdoor Dance and Music Performances
Ulysses Library: Summer Reading Program
Walking on Water Productions: Theatre, “Calvin Berger” and new original work

2022 Artist in Community Grant recipients are:

Tahila Mintz: Prayer Tree Project
Yael Saar: Motherhood is a Joke Collaborative Performances
Jim Self: Multimedia performance: focus on LGBTQ senior expressions,
Women's Opportunity Center: Women's Opportunity Center Mural
by Yen Ospina
Anniemarie Zwack: Black Girl Alchemy, Art in Courtroom Project

2022 Arts Education Grant recipients are:

Regi Carpenter: ICSD Elementary Schools - K-6 Stories Alive! Storytelling Residency
Circus Culture: The Circus, with Village at Ithaca
Civic Ensemble: Youth Forum Theatre Troupe
Greater Ithaca Activities Center: GIAC Jumpers Cultural Ambassadorship Program
Ann Reichlin - Two programs at Carline Elementary School: May Way for Play/Wilderness Case Study, and First Grade Puppet Workshops
Walking on Waters Productions - New Roots Charter School 9th -10th Theatre Arts Partnership

 

2022 Arts and Cultural Organizational Development Grants: $255,850

ACOD grants support organizations that enhance Tompkins County’s brand as an artistic and cultural destination. ACOD grants provide general operating support to local public museums and performing/visual arts organizations.

Recipients of funding from this program have included:

2022 ACOD recipients are:

Cayuga Chamber Orchestra
Cherry Arts

Cinemapolis
Civic Ensemble

Community School of Music and Arts
Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers
Hangar Theatre
The History Center in Tompkins County
Ithaca Children's Garden
Kitchen Theatre Company
Opera Ithaca

Paleontological Research Institution
Running to Places
Sciencenter
State Theatre
Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts.

 

2021 Specific Opportunity Stipends - $24,000

In March and October of 2021, CAP awarded $24,000 to Tompkins County artists and arts through our privately funded "SOS" grant which supports the strategic opportunities of Tompkins County artists and arts organizations that will boost their careers or offerings to the next level. 

2021 SOS recipients are:

Novel Slices, Literary Magazine
Kate Doyle, writer
Elizabeth Seldin, theatre
Story House Ithaca
Leanora Mims,
fiber artist
Sarah Hennes, musician
Jay Leeming, storyteller, musician
Priscilla Hummel, Walking on Water Productions, theatre
Ross Haarstad, Theatre Incognita
Christina Elfman,
photographer
Regi Carpenter, storyteller
Jennie Lowe Stearns, musician
Marietta Synodis, podcast storyteller
Elisa Keeler, musician
Rebecca Barry, writer
Marc Robertson Luchs, musician
Josh Oxford, musician and composer
Grace Troxell, visual artist
Erika Medina, visual artist
Homecoming Players, theatre
Emma Plotkin, theatre
Sue Perlgut, filmmaker

 

2021 ReStart Grant - $30,240

The ReStart grant was a one-time allocation of additional 2021 funds from New York State Council on the Arts for CAP to administer to Tompkins County artists and organizations. Funds were designed to jumpstart the return of live programming for Tompkins County audiences. Ten organizations that had already received NYSCA funding (see below for Grants for Arts Programs, Artist in Community Grant and Arts Education grants) received an additional $11,000 to bring their previous awards up to their original request. Twelve artists and organizations listed below received $20,240 through an additional appliciation process.

2021 ReStart recipients are:

Beyond Art Collective
Cayuga Vocal Ensemble
Circus Culture

Civic Ensemble
Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers

Greater Ithaca Activities Center
Homecoming Players
Elisa Keeler
Kenneth McLaurin

Newfield Library
Senior Theatre Troupe of Lifelong
Triphammer Arts

2021 Creative Recovery Grant - $18,750

The Community Arts Partnership's Creative Recovery Fund,  funded through the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, and individual donors, awarded funds to 12 local organizations for projects that will make a difference in our community’s recovery in one or more of the focus areas of racial justice, public and mental health, and economic recovery. The grants aim to help Tompkins County leverage our creative power, putting creative workers to work rebuilding, reimagining, unifying, and healing our communities.

CAP Executive Director, Megan Barber, shares,We are so excited about the quality of artistry, community participation and impact among this group of grantees.100% of the grant awards made through this fund specifically address racial equity by funding: artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color; projects that support the creative expression of Black and Indigenous people and people of color; and projects that address racial justice as their focus area."

Adds Janet Cotraccia, Chief Impact Officer for the Community Foundation, “We are thrilled to support the important work of local artists and their rich engagement of our many, diverse communities. Their work both informs our community conversations and takes us beyond, into a space of deeper understanding, empathy and shared experience. We commend the Community Arts Partnership for their collaboration and for creating more opportunities for artist to focus on racial equity.” 

2021 Creative Recovery Fund recipients are:

The Cherry Arts: "An Odyssey," play workshops

Civic Ensemble: Re-entry Theatre's "Delia Divided," fully staged production (cast above)
Civic Ensemble & Village at Ithaca: Summer Teen Theatre Program

Clockmaker Arts: "In Case You Forgot," musical theater

Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers: Music Commission for Performance (Right Image)
Greater Ithaca Activities Center: MLK, Jr. Breakfast Artist Presentations, and Black History Month Talent Show performers.
Sarah Gotowka and Youth Farm: "Fermentation and Appropriation" illustrated and distributed booklet

No Mas Lagrimas: Youth art workshops

Peaches Gillette: "We Will No Longer Hide," writing workshops

Story House Ithaca: "Lifting the Cloud," storytelling events
Village at Ithaca: "Say Their Names" rock garden at Ithaca Children's Garden

 

2021 Statewide Community Regrants - $60,480
 

Three of CAP's grant programs are part of New York State Council on the Arts' Statewide Community Regrant program (SCR). They are our "Grants for Arts Programs" for community events, Artist in Community grant for artists' creation of new work shared with communities in a significant way, and the Arts Education grant which brings teaching artists into schools and after school programs for residencies. Preference is given to requests that fill community needs and reach diverse cultures and communities in Tompkins County.  

2021 Grants for Arts Programs recipients are:

Ballet Guild: Nutcracker virtual performance
Cayuga Vocal Ensemble: Outdoor Spring Concert
Civic Ensemble: ReEntry Theatre
Cooperative Extension: “All Black Everything,” virtual arts festival featuring artists that identify as black by Kenneth McLaurin.

Cooperative Extension: “Ithaca is Black Too.” arts highlighting Ithaca’s rich Black history and culture with Kenneth McLaurin & SingTrece.
Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers: Concert Season
Downtown Ithaca Alliance: First Friday Gallery Nights & Virtual Events
Dryden Intergenerational Band & Chorus: Virtual Community Performances
Greater Ithaca Activities Center: Artists for monthly Senior Breakfasts
Groton Public Library: Family virtual performances
Ithaca Children’s Garden: Haudenosaunee performances
Ithaca Community Orchestra: Concerts season
Ithaca Gay Men’s Choir: Broadway themed performance
Latino Civic Association:  CULTURA Ithaca arts and cultural events
Newfield Public Library: Series of artistic offerings for families
Primary Performance Group: “Dancing Dialogues” performances
Southside Community Center: (sponsor for Ithaca Murals): “ReAwakening” Green Street mural by 4 Black local artists.
Southworth Library: Puppet performances and workshop
State of the Art Gallery: Monthly exhibits and juried online exhibits
State Theatre: Livestream events
Triphammer Arts: “Drive-In LIVE,” series of outdoor, live music concerts
Triphammer Arts: Moving Landscapes/Choreographers’ showcase
Triphammer Arts (sponsor for Kathy Lucas & Megan Omohundro) ”Masters of Movement, performance series with dancers of color
Village at Ithaca: “Stolen Joy,” instagram project - true stories by students of color performed by professional actors virtually
Village at Ithaca (sponsor for Circus Culture): “Circus Season on the Waterfront,” outdoor performances along the waterfront trail
Walking on Water Productions: Virtual performance of “Comfort Food” musical

2021 Arts Education Grant recipeints are:

Greater Ithaca Activity Center: Tap, African Drumming/Dance, Jump & Step Cultural Exchange Program
Greater Ithaca Activity Center: Art Education and Art Instructio
Elisa Keeler: with Russell I. Doig Middle School (T-burg) Voices for Social Justice Project
Circus Culture with Village at Ithaca; Circus Learning
Leanora Erica Mims with DeWitt Middle School: Historical Quilt Project
Kenneth McLaurin with Cooperative Ext: Stories from Not Old People
Groton Recreation with Cheerful & Creative Art Studio Instruction

2021 Artist in Community Grant recipients are:

Circus Culture: “Under the Bridge,” aerial dance pieces
Elisa Keeler: Social justice music piece with Tompkins county singers
Juan Manuel Aldape Munez: New dance theater in collaboration with Latinx community members
Paulina Velázquez Solis: “A river of all ages” photography and video project with Brooktondale community
Laura Rowley: Collaborative book project with St. John’s Community Services Emergency Shelter and Friendship Center
Candace Edwards: Audio art project centering on local Black-Queer voices

 

2021 Arts & Cutlural Organizational Development Grants - $265,390

Arts and Culture Organizational Development grants (ACOD) support local organizations that enhance Tompkins County’s brand as an artistic and cultural destination and in turn enrich the quality of life for residents through their offerings. They are administered by the Community Arts Partnership with funds from the Tompkins County Tourism Program and provide general operating support and funding for specific organizational development activities.

The program has been a cornerstone of the Tompkins County Tourism Program for nearly two decades. 

2021 applicants were unified in their commitment to community health and safety through COVID- smart practices and to expanding diversity and inclusiveness in their target audience, staff, performers, and programming.

Remarks Megan Barber, Executive Director of the Community Arts Partnership, “We are so grateful that the County is able to provide this critical funding, even during this pandemic year. It truly is a testament to the centrality of the arts to our flourishing community. We are all so fortunate to have so many innovative and inspiring arts and culture organizations right here in our area.”

"It's encouraging to see that while our budget has contracted, the Tompkins County Legislature and Strategic Tourism Planning Board continued to recognize the importance of local arts and culture." said Nick Helmholdt, Tompkins County Tourism Program Director. "This last year has challenged many of us to our limits. These local arts and cultural organizations can help us find inspiration through this stressful time and help us welcome visitors back to Tompkins County when they're ready to travel."

2021 ACOD Recipients are:

Cayuga Chamber Orchestra
Cinemapolis
Community School of Music and Arts
Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers
Hangar Theatre
Ithaca Children's Garden
Ithaca Shakespeare Company
Kitchen Theatre Company
Opera Ithaca
Paleontological Research Institution
Running to Places Theatre Company
Sciencenter
State Theatre of Ithaca
The Cherry Arts
The History Center in Tompkins County
Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts.