CVPA Gets $34-K Grant to Promote Fine Arts.
News Date
Photo of ASU's fine arts in motion with past BFA student-dancers in concert (photo credit: David Campbell/ASU).
ASU's College of Visual & Performing Arts Awarded Grant from The Alabama State Council on the Arts
By: Kenneth Mullinax/ASU
The Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) has awarded a $34,000 grant for the period 2021-2022 to Alabama State University's acclaimed College of Visual and Performing Arts (COVPA) to help it promote the fine arts for ASU's students and the community through three unique projects that it funds.
Out of the $34,000 grant, COVPA's Technical Theatre "Tech Talk" series was approved to receive $11,600; its Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) dance program received $16,600 for its BFA Dance Community Series, and the COVPA received $5,800 for a project titled "Telling the Stories: Master Classes in Writing for Stage & Screen."
"I am extremely excited and pleased with this grant award that is so important for our students and the College," explained Dr. Wendy R. Coleman, dean of ASU's COVPA. "The arts are needed now more than ever, and this funding will allow ASU to bring some outstanding and unique fine arts experiences to our students, this campus and the Montgomery area."
The ASCA noted in its grant announcement that ASU's award is an example of what is an integral part of the agency's mission -- providing grant funds to further the work of Alabama art organizations. ASCA stated that its overall mission is to enhance the quality of life and economic vitality for all Alabamians by providing support for the state's diverse and rich artistic resources such as is found on campus at ASU's College of Visual and Performing Arts.
SPECIFICS ABOUT THE ASU GRANT
The $34,000 Alabama State University ASCA grant will specifically help fund and provide the following:
* A Technical Theatre Tech-Talk series where high school and area college students are offered professional-level instruction about behind-the-scenes aspects of theatre. It will provide seminars on such subjects as lighting and sound, costume design, and arts management. The guest presenters will include Ahkim Church, production manager at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; David Grindle, executive director for USITT; Kathy Perkins, lighting designer and theatre scholar; and Val Winkelman, a costume designer and professor at Auburn University Montgomery.
* The BFA Dance Community Series where noted choreographers and dancers will hold master classes with students on the ASU campus. These events also will culminate with community performances that are open to the public.
* A CVPA program titled Telling the Stories that features producers, writers, and directors that will give insight into writing for stage and screen. These master classes and workshops are designed to introduce ASU students and the community-at-large to the inner workings of productions from the perspective of writers, producers and directors. A program titled Guidance on the Broadway & Off-Broadway Process will be provided by ASU alumnus Timothy Ware who is an Oscar-nominated playwright who recently received the Peabody Award for his original film short titled “Cops and Robbers.”
ALL ABOUT THE STUDENTS
Dean Coleman (pictured on the left) explained that the ASCA grant allows COVPA to do what it is best known for -- exposing its students and the community to some of the finest performances, programs, guests and fine arts in the River Region.
"We thank the Alabama Council on the Fine Arts for this wonderful grant that enables us to bring to our campus guest artists, offer master classes and provide workshops to our students. It allows us to help ensure that our ASU students are more well-rounded and educated in the fine arts, which is our mission and our desire," Coleman added.
News media contact: Kenneth Mullinax, 334-229-4104.
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