Providing grants, programs, and services to the artists and audiences of Tompkins County for over 25 years

Latest Grantees

GAP Grant

Affiliated Choruses: Ithaca Gay Men's Choir

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Ithaca Gay Men’s Choir is a non-audition musical ensemble. A Broadway Music Concert, originally scheduled for Spring 2020, was to feature a variety of solos, duets, and a choreographed group performance of “Cell Block Tango” from CHICAGO. With the help of a GAP Grant, the concert has been rescheduled for Fall 2021. The choir hopes to take this repertoire of songs onto other venues following the initial performance.
  • website: http://acithaca.org/groups/igmc/

Ballet Guild

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Ithaca Ballet is a repertory dance company dedicated to bringing the art of ballet to the widest possible audience. With their usual live performance of the Nutcracker put on hold due to COVID restrictions, The Ithaca Ballet sought to bring an abridged digital version of the ballet to upstate New Yorkers. Expenses related to transforming the show for a virtual stage were covered by a GAP grant.
  • website: http://www.ithacaballet.org

Cayuga Vocal Ensemble

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: Ithaca A Cappella is a professional choral group, under the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble, that performs a wide range of music from various centuries, genres, and languages. While most of their 2020 and 2021 season was canceled, they were able to put on a live “pay-what-you-wish” spring concert with the help of a GAP Grant. This concert featured music from 1850 to today sung in both English and German for a fully masked-up crowd.
  • website: http://www.cayuga-vocal.org

Civic Ensemble

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Civic Ensemble has a ReEntry Theatre Program for formerly incarcerated individuals to learn about playwriting and performance. The creative group work and collaboration that the program encourages helps them develop community and expand their network. A GAP Grant will be used to fund an online workshop and public reading of their new play Delia Divided about mental health and reentry, with two performances in Spring 2021.
  • website: http://civicensemble.org

Cornell Cooperative Extension

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: Local artist, Kenneth McLaurin, collaborated with the CCE to put on a Virtual Arts Festival featuring only Black creators. The All Black Entertainment Festival (ABE) seeks to celebrate Black artists and showcase their work to the community, front and center. A GAP Grant was used to pay for expenses to host the event and to compensate the artists for their work and time.
  • website: https://www.abeartsfestival.org/

Cornell Cooperative Extension

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: Kenneth and Ebonie McLaurin have partnered with the CCE again to bring their live virtual event “Ithaca is Black People Too” to our screens. The event aims to showcase Ithaca, New York's Black history and culture for the community. Poems, stories, and music curated from Ithaca’s Black community will be presented at the event. A GAP Grant was used to provide a film crew for the event and compensate artists.

Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers are a group dedicated to preserving the art of Negro Spiritual folk music. The chorus features singers of all ages, races, and various socioeconomic backgrounds who come together to celebrate this storied African-American tradition. A GAP Grant will help with their continued virtual concerts and a hopeful return to live performances in the Fall of 2021.
  • website: http://dorothycottonjubileesingers.com/

Downtown Ithaca Alliance

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Downtown Ithaca Alliance cares for the downtown area and organizes events that reflect the vibrant culture of downtown Ithaca. Gallery Night, a downtown staple, is a walking tour of downtown Ithaca’s galleries and artist workshops, hosted once a month. The DIA will use a GAP Grant to expand the reach of Gallery Night, adding new elements and continuing to upkeep their virtual galleries for a wider audience.
  • website: http://www.gallerynightithaca.com/

Dryden Intergenerational Band and Chorus

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Dryden Area Intergenerational Band & Chorus is an organization that supports two inclusive summer music ensembles, providing free resources to musicians and concerts for the community. At the end of their six-week program, they usually host a live concert, which was not possible last summer due to COVID restrictions. The DAIB&C received a GAP Grant that will help prepare for their annual summer concerts, whether they be virtual or in-person.
  • website: https://daibac.wixsite.com/daibac

Greater Ithaca Activities Center

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) Adult Program is known for organizing cultural events and experiences for Greater Ithaca’s senior population. Some of their staple events are the monthly senior breakfasts and end-of-year holiday party, both of which have been entertained by local performers in the past. Bringing these multicultural experiences to the group of over 170 seniors is so important because of the few opportunities they have to enjoy the cultural wealth of the Greater Ithaca Area. Now, they have brought back musicians, storytellers, and poets for these events with the help of a GAP Grant.
  • website: http://www.cityofithaca.org/327/Greater-Ithaca-Activities-Center

Groton Public Library

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Groton Public Library seeks to provide access to media and information services to Groton, NY. In the past, they have hosted the Page Turner Theatrical Company at the library to put on performances for the community. In summer 2021, a GAP Grant will allow the library to host them once again for a series of virtual performances and pay for a projector that will allow for other virtual performances and events to take place.
  • website: https://grotonpubliclibrary.net/

Ithaca Children's Garden

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Ithaca Children’s Garden hosted a live virtual event featuring Native American artists and storytellers: Perry Ground, Joanne Shenadoah, and Kelly Cullen. The three performers shared stories and songs from Haudenosaunee culture. This event helped show the culture intertwined with the land we live on to a wider range of people. A GAP Grant was used to help compensate the performers and host the virtual event.
  • website: https://ithacachildrensgarden.org/

Ithaca Community Orchestra

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Ithaca Community Orchestra is an ensemble of amateur and semi-professional musicians residing in Ithaca, NY. The orchestra often puts on concerts and holds music-related lectures for the enrichment of both the orchestra members and the general public. In 2021, with the help of a GAP Grant, they will have a live Spring and Winter Concert as well as a variety of virtual lectures/demonstrations that will be available to the public.
  • website: http://www.ithacacommunityorchestra.org

Ithaca Murals

  • GAP Grant
  • Sponsored by Southside Community Center, the grant is for a new Underground Railroad mural under the Green Street Bridge
  • website: http://ithacamurals.com

Latino Civic Association

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Latino Civic Association of Tompkins County is an organization dedicated to coordinating Latino cultural events in a program dubbed CULTURA. This year, with the help of a GAP Grant, they’ve organized a music concert, Latin American film festival, art exhibition, and dance performance. The LCA strives to provide accessible, low/no-cost events to strengthen Latino heritage and bring together the community in Tompkins County.
  • website: http://www.culturaithaca.com/

Newfield Public Library

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Newfield Public Library strives to provide enriching cultural experiences to the people of Newfield. Several workshops, including painting, hula hooping, and printmaking, will be hosted by the library with the help of a GAP Grant. Two artists, Sue Redman and Treacy Ziegler, will be instructing at the art events, and Circus Culture, a circus arts school, will be hosting the hula hooping workshop.
  • website: http://www.newfieldlibrary.org

Primary Performance Group Jim Self

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Primary Performance Group will be hosting “Dancing Dialogues”, a three-day program created by David Norsworthy and Mairi Greig. The dance residency will feature two performances by the pair, a movement workshop, and several video/virtual events. It will focus on the relationship between verbal communication, conversations in movement, and visual cueing. A GAP Grant was used to pay for personnel, equipment, space, and travel.
  • website: http://jimboself@mac.com

Southside Community Center, for Ithaca Murals

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: Ithaca Murals is an organization dedicated to transforming the blank walls across the greater Ithaca area into beautiful pieces of art that reflect the lives and experiences of its inhabitants. The Underground Railroad Mural on Green Street was originally painted in 2010; a new initiative to “reawaken” it has recently taken place. With the help of a GAP Grant, the mural will be reimagined by four local Black artists: Terrance Vann, Maryam Adib, Jackie Richardson, and Cyepress Rite.
  • website: http://www.ithacamurals.com

Southworth Library Association

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Southworth Library plans on hosting Scott Hitz’s “Playing With Puppets Program” in summer 2021. The events of the program range from a family puppet-making workshop to a performance about the history (or Hitz-tory) of puppetry. This program will provide entertainment and family fun for the community. A GAP Grant has made it possible for the library to host this event.
  • website: http://www.southworthlibrary.org

State of the Art Gallery

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The State of the Art Gallery is a cooperatively-owned contemporary gallery in Ithaca, NY. The gallery’s 27 members have been preparing for their 2021 exhibit season with work ranging from photography to sculpture. A GAP Grant has been used to purchase better equipment, awards for some of their showings, and general upkeep that will help keep the gallery free for everyone. There will be a mix of virtual and in-person events taking place once a month.
  • website: http://www.soagithaca.org

State Theatre

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The State Theatre is downtown Ithaca’s last remaining historic theatre. While the theatre has been closed for live performances due to COVID-19 restrictions, the theatre is still hosting many virtual shows. Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy’s Interactive Show and Pink Talking Fish’s Grateful Dead Day Show will be available through live stream. Artist fees for both performances will be covered by a GAP Grant.
  • website: http://www.stateofithaca.org

Triphammer Arts for "Masters of Movement"

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: Masters of Movement is a series of virtual dance performances presented by Megan Omohundro and Kathy Lucas, which will be focused on racial trauma and how it has been passed on through the present day to the performers. Four dancers will do a total of eight performances over four months, each followed by a question-and-answer forum for the dancers and choreographers. A GAP Grant will be used to help compensate the artists involved.
  • website: https://www.thecherry.org/masters-of-movement-as-told-by-we-us-them/

Triphammer Arts

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: Triphammer Arts is an organization dedicated to hosting innovative dance and music performances and providing opportunities for artists and the community to engage with each other. CAP has issued a GAP Grant to assist with the funding for two of their newest events: “Drive-In LIVE” and “Moving Landscapes/Choreographer’s Showcase”. Both events feature a mixture of expressive mediums, performed at the beautiful CRS Barn Stage.
  • website: http://www.triphammer.org

Village at Ithaca

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: The Stolen Joy Project is a collection of stories from people of color about their experiences with institutionalized racism in the school systems. A GAP Grant was used to aid in the production of the Stolen Joy film. The film is a series of true stories performed as monologues by local actors. This project is ongoing. It was created to bring the realities of racism in schools to light and provide a space for POC to express their truths.
  • website: http://www.villageatithaca..org

Village at Ithaca (for Circus Culture Ithaca)

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: Village at Ithaca is an organization dedicated to bridging the gap in education by providing support for students. The Village has sponsored a group called Circus Culture for their series of seasonal outdoor performances entitled “Circus Season on the Waterfront”. The free performances will feature aerial choreography, tightrope walking, puppetry, and more. A GAP Grant will help fund these events which will provide a dose of fun for adults and children alike and bring a greater appreciation to the work of circus performers.
  • website: http://www.circusculture.org

Walking on Water Productions

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021: Walking on Water Productions is a local musical theatre company. The company put on a virtual performance of a new musical: “Comfort Foods”. The three-act show was filmed socially distanced during COVID-19 in each of the actor’s own kitchens. It’s a story about the intricacies of three people’s lives paired with their love of cooking. The production was partially funded by a GAP Grant.

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