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

Latest Grantees

GAP Grant

Black Hands Universal

Cayuga Vocal Ensemble

Circus Culture

Circus Culture

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Circus Connections 2022 Summer Tour. Circus Culture will create a 4-week touring circus show that will travel around Ithaca, NY performing free outdoor circus shows for all during summer 2022. Circus Culture is Ithaca’s very own circus school and regional producer of accessible circus arts performance. Circus Culture provides access to diverse circus experiences and never turns anyone away due to lack of funds.
  • website: http://circusculture.org

Civic Ensemble

CUMEP

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: To attract a visit from author Jason Reynold for a visual performance and fishbowl conversation on the stage of the State Theatre, selected Black-Youth-Emerging-Artists (temporarily BYEA) will meet with Dr. Nia Nunn to read the book STAMPED as a collective, develop a docuseries of the experience, and create art as a response throughout the process.
  • website: http://CUMEP.org

Danby Community Center

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Danby Community Council (DCC) will present a series of concerts in various types of music (classical chamber music, folk, jazz, bluegrass, and world music) with free admission and in accessible locations (out doors in Danby parks and public areas, in the Danby Town Hall if allowed due to COVID restrictions, and/or by Zoom). The DCC began presenting a concert series in 1999. The goals of the series remain appropriate and valuable to this day: 1) To bring people together in enjoyable and enriching activities. 2) To bring high quality artistic events, appealing to a diverse range of age groups and musical tastes. 3) To make concerts accessible to residents for whom cost and travel is a concern. 4) To make use of the Danby Town Hall (and adjacent public spaces) as a community center for the benefit of citizens. 5) To help create a sense of community within the Town of Danby. To meet these goals, all DCC concerts (at the Danby Town Hall or on Zoom) are free and open to everyone.
  • website: http://danbycc.org

Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers

Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers (DCJS) plans in-person performances starting in January 2022. During the year they will present 3-4 full-length concerts in population centers of Tompkins County. Youth Singers will also return to live performances. The Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers is a community chorus dedicated to the preservation of the Negro Spiritual. Their performance repertoire also includes gospel and other music with African American roots.
  • website: http://dorothycottonjubileesingers.org

Downtown Ithaca Alliance

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Downtown Ithaca Alliance will operate the monthly Gallery Night Ithaca – a monthly event happening each first Friday of the month to promote artists and art exhibits at over 20 galleries and exhibit spaces in a “walkable” range in and around Downtown Ithaca. Downtown Ithaca is the economic, social, and cultural heart of Tompkins County. DIA--the organization behind the place, advocates for downtown, cares for downtown, promotes downtown, and programs for downtown to ensure it’s the vibrant cultural epicenter of the community.
  • website: http://gallerynightithaca.com

Dryden Intergenerational Band & Chorus

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The DAIB&C will provide professional musical directors, sheet music, rehearsal and concert venues for open band and chorus ensembles free-of-charge to all area amateur musicians of any age and skill level from Tompkins and surrounding counties, in six weekly fun and non- competitive rehearsals, culminating in two free concerts in early August open to the community. The Dryden Area Intergenerational Band and Chorus supports two short-term, non-auditioned and free summer music ensembles for residents and visitors of any age and varied music skill in the Dryden and nearby rural communities.
  • website: http://daibc.org

Family and Children's Services

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: F&CS will commission a mural to be painted on the rear wall of our building, which faces onto Press Bay Alley, and Green Street, with the celebration of the completed mural planned to coincide with a public event in Press Bay Alley for May is Mental Health Month, featuring information about F&CS programs and services. Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca supports, promotes, and strengthens the well-being of individuals and families by providing high-quality, accessible mental health care and related social services, with a particular sensitivity towards the needs of children.
  • website: https://www.fcsith.org/

Fitz & Startz Productions

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Fitz&Startz Productions will present five performances of I Have a Song to Sing O!—a family musical at Kitchen Theatre in Fall 2022, four on two successive Saturdays and one after-school performance. Fitz&Startz Productions creates work for family audiences that explore the nature of theater, music, dance, and performance to encourage curiosity, imagination, and empathy and new ways to tell stories.
  • website: http://fitzandstartzproductions.org

Greater Ithaca Activities Center

Greater Ithaca Activities Center

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) is a large multicultural community center founded in 1972 and located in the heart of downtown Ithaca. As described in its mission, GIAC serves people of all ages, particularly youth, teens, and seniors, by providing multicultural, educational, and recreational programs focused on social and individual development. This grant would allow the GIAC Adult Program to provide a variety of multi-cultural, artistic performances at the monthly Senior Breakfasts and an end-of-the-year holiday party, either in-person or virtually.
  • website: http://cityofithaca.org/327/Greater-Ithaca-Activities-Center

Groton Public Library

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Groton Public Library (GPL) plans to once again host free in-person entertainment for our community during the summer of 2022. Groton Public Library’s mission is to promote literacy by providing a wide range of reading for all ages in many formats and to serve as a center for community information services.
  • website: http://grotonpubliclibrary.net

Groton Village

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Village of Groton will promote and facilitate the “Groton Summer Concert Series” on Main Street by offering 8 weekly concerts beginning in early July and commencing in late August on Friday nights from 6:30-9:00pm. These events are for community members of all ages and the general public so that they may experience quality musical performances. Groton Recreation offers a wide range of year-round community events, youth sports, and summer programs. For these events, theiir mission is to provide the Groton community and surrounding areas, the opportunity to gather with friends and family to enjoy a variety of local musical artists.
  • website: http://grotonny.org/

Groton Village

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Groton Senior Art Group plans to sponsor an art show in the Town of Groton in mid-August 2022 in conjunction with the town's Olde Home Days. The mission of the Groton Senior Art Group is to provide area senior citizens with the opportunity to learn watercolor and or acrylics painting and provides an opportunity to network with other seniors interested in painting.
  • website: http://grotonny.org

Homecoming Players

IPEI Mural

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) facilitates community connections and support for students and teachers of the Ithaca City School District through engagement, collaboration, gifts, and grants. Mary Beth Ihnken plans to create an exterior mural on the North facing wall of Dolce Delight at 1080 Danby Rd. The subject matter will be a landscape of Cayuga Lake with large round hay bales. Mary Beth Ihnken is an artist living in Brooktondale, NY. Mary Beth has been a working artist in the Ithaca area since 1994. She has painted countless public murals in schools, museums, public and private spaces.
  • website: http://mbihnken.com

Ithaca City of Asylum

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) serves CTA’s goal of human rights advocacy. As the primary Tompkins County organization furthering freedom of speech, ICOA supports writers and artists in exile to live in safety and continue their work. “Voices of Freedom,” an annual observation of Banned Books week, will feature our current Artist in Residence, Dmitry Bykov. As this event also celebrates ICOA’s 21st year, Bykov will be joined by former ICOA artists Pedro X. Molina, Yi Ping, Raza Rumi, and Sonali Samarasinghe.
  • website: http://ithacacityofasylum.org

Ithaca Community Orchestra

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The ICO endeavors to facilitate an orchestral performance experience for instrumentalists from the community that is accessible regardless of musical experience or level of training. The ICO, comprised of approximately 55 Tompkins County residents, holds weekly rehearsals where all members gather to prepare repertoire and enjoy fellowship. The ensemble schedule follows the academic calendar as many members are students or faculty/staff at Cornell University or Ithaca College. The ICO presents two concerts per year, one in December and the second in late April or early May depending upon venue availability. The repertoire for each concert is centered around a theme for the purpose of focusing the listening experience or illuminating a musical message. They strive to perform in spaces that are conducive to orchestral performance, comfortable and accessible for their members and guests, and centrally located to encourage community attendance. While they accept donations at our concerts, there is no fee for entry as a means of ensuring that all have access to a live musical performance experience regardless of financial situation.
  • website: http://ithacacommunityorchestra.org/

Ithaca Concert Band

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: In its forty-sixth year of providing free public concerts in Tompkins County, The Ithaca Concert Band requests funding to continue to do so with a ten-concert season. Since its founding in 1976, the ICB has been an outlet for adults to continue playing their instruments in a large ensemble of which they can be proud. The ICB’s success in that pursuit is evident in the new members who join every year, in the large seasoned member contingent who have played in the ensemble for over ten years and in the professional soloists, conductors and composers who seek to collaborate with them
  • website: http://ithacaconcertband.org

Ithaca Festival

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Ithaca Festival will host live art at the festival in 2022 in a variety of disciplines. The artists will be provided with a space and stipend to host their demonstrations. Ithaca Festival is an annual celebration of the community of Ithaca and its diverse group of artists. The primary purpose of the Festival is to support the arts and artists in Tompkins County and to Celebrate the artist in Everyone.
  • website: http://ithacafestival.org

Elisa Keeler

Lansing Library

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Lansing Community Library will present a comprehensive, interesting, and exciting summer reading program for all members of their rural community. The program includes free cultural events to families in Lansing and the surrounding area. They will use the Collaborative Summer Reading national theme of “An Ocean of Possibilities!” as their inspiration and guide for summer 2022. Their summer program is designed to integrate music, storytelling, art, and reading. All programs will be free of charge and open to all.
  • website: http://lansinglibrary.org

Latino Civic Ensemble

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: CULTURA Ithaca and the Latino Civic Association will organize several events focusing on Latine arts and culture in various locations near downtown Ithaca and/or online as part of the regularly scheduled annual activities. CULTURA Ithaca strives to foster and share Latino and Latin American culture with the Ithaca community through easily-accessible, free or low-cost arts-based educational experiences and cultural events offered throughout the year. The Latino Civic Association provides a vehicle for social, cultural, educational, and civic expression of the Latino community in Tompkins County; through programs that strengthen Latine heritage and cultural pride.
  • website: http://culturaithaca.com

Kenneth McLaurin

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021 RESTART: "Stand Up for Diversity" comedy series and "Singing Notes and Slinging Jokes" with "SingTrece" McLaurin.
  • website: https://www.kennethmclaurin.com/

Newfield Public Library

Newfield Public Library

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Theatre Arts will be a focus for the Newfield Public Library in 2022. The “Community Plays” project is a collection of events that brings theatre to the Newfield community, celebrates the outstanding efforts of the school’s Drama Club, and kicks off the library’s Summer Reading Program in a very exciting way. “Theatre Night” will take place in late June at the backyard pavilion behind the Newfield Public Library. This event will set the stage for their Summer Reading Program (SRP) which promotes reading and enrichment activities all summer long. The Newfield Public Library (NPL) offers a comprehensive collection of materials and provides resources, services, and programming to meet the informational and recreational needs of all members of our community.
  • website: http://newfieldpubliclibrary.org

See Beyond Art

  • GAP Grant
  • 2021 RESTART: The Beyond Immersive Art Experience reached over 10,000 people as a five month pop up art happening on the Ithaca Commons.
  • website: https://www.seebeyond.art/

Senior Theatre Troupe

Senior Theatre Troupe

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: This is the 23rd year for the Senior Troupe at Lifelong. Each season, spring and fall they perform a play comprised of stories from their lives, developed through improvisational theatre workshops held at Lifelong. They are planning on in person meetings once a week for 1 or 1.5 hours as they prepare the play for SpringWrites. The mission of Lifelong is to enhance the lives of older adults in Tompkins County by providing health and wellness, creative arts, and learning opportunities for adults age 50+.
  • website: https://closetohomeproductions.com/senior-theater-troupe/

Southworth Library

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Summer at the Library! Program will provide three unique programs for families and individuals in their area including Tom Knight’s All New Traveling Puppet Show, Silly Lily Puppet Show and puppet making workshop and Perry Ground: stories from the Longhouse. Families who participate will be able to make a puppet, learn about the Haudenosaunee culture and enjoy simple entertainment. Southworth Library's mission is to serve as a center for enrichment, education, technology access and information to the Dryden Community through resources both print and digital, programs, events and activities. They are committed to bringing multicultural and diverse programming to their community and providing an inclusive environment.
  • website: http://southworthlibrary.org

State of the Art Gallery

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The gallery will have monthly member exhibits, invite guest artists to show their work, expand the online presence, offer special programs for students of all ages, and keep the public informed through Facebook, Instagram, the newsletter, gallery blog, and the website. State of the Art Gallery is owned and operated by its 25 artist members. All members donate their time on committees and in staffing the gallery. The exhibits are free and open to the public. This ground-level space is ADA accessible. Historically, attendance at their Opening Receptions has averaged 280 each month. Their audience includes visitors of all ages from around the region, as well as Ithaca tourists. With an annual attendance between 7,000 and 8,000, they strive to enhance our community through the presentation of new, high caliber visual art exhibits every month. There is always new and exciting work to see.
  • website: http://soagithaca.org

Story House Ithaca

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: “Storytelling in Rural Areas” will bring master storytellers Regi Carpenter and Jay Leeming to rural libraries in Tompkins County to present five storytelling workshops and five performances in the spring and summer of 2022. Story House Ithaca brings people together to share, study, create, and enjoy stories in all their forms. Story House Ithaca is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
  • website: http://storyhouseithaca.org

Story House Ithaca

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The “Better than Black Panther Film Festival” is a four-evening pilot for an ongoing series of in-person screenings featuring films that are written by, directed by, and star Black American and African people. Story House Ithaca brings people together to share, study, create, and enjoy stories in all their forms. Story House Ithaca is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.
  • website: http://storyhouseithaca.org

Triphammer Arts

Triphammer Arts

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Triphammer Arts will present two outdoor dance concerts featuring original choreography and improvisational dance performance, at the scenic CRS Growers organic farm. Triphammer Arts presents innovative programming with concerts of dance, music, and theatre, frequently developing collaborative multi-genre performances. They also support artists and organizations by providing rehearsal space and technical services.
  • website: http://triphammer.org

Triphammer Arts

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Triphammer Arts will offer a series of live music concerts, performed outdoors on the Drive-In, Barn, and Studio Stages overlooking Cayuga Lake at the CRS Growers farm in Lansing, NY. Triphammer Arts presents innovative programming with concerts of dance, music, and theatre, frequently developing collaborative multi-genre performances. They also support artists and organizations by providing rehearsal space and technical services.
  • website: http://triphammer.org

Ulysses Library

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: The Ulysses Philomathic Library will host two performances to supplement their 2022 Summer Reading Program: Oceans of Possibilities. The Ulysses Philomathic Library is an educational and cultural resource center which strives to meet the informational, creative and leisure needs of all community residents. To that end, the library will provide a broad collection of materials and access to a wide network of contemporary resources and media.
  • website: http://trumansburglibrary.org

Walking on Water Productions

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Walking on Water (WoW) will produce a live, in-person production of the musical Calvin Berger by Barry Wyner at Kitchen Theatre Company in July 2022. Walking on Water Productions (WoW) is a Tompkins County musical theatre company that empowers local theatre artists and presents both existing and new works that appeal to multi-generational audiences.
  • website: http://walkingonwaterproductions.org

Walking on Water Productions

  • GAP Grant
  • 2022 GAP Grant: Walking on Water Productions (WoW) will accept submissions of original musicals for consideration for a series of staged readings to be produced at the Cherry Artspace in November of 2022. Walking on Water Productions (WoW) is a Tompkins County musical theatre company that empowers local theatre artists and presents both existing and new works that appeal to multi-generational audiences.
  • website: http://walkingonwaterproductions.org

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