Arts Services Initiative of Western New York awards $120,000-plus in funding to artists & organizations

Part of New York State Council on the Arts decentralization program

Arts Services Initiative of Western New York, in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts, has announced the recipients of the 2019 decentralization grant program. Forty-eight organizations and artists in Erie and Niagara counties will receive a portion of $120,000 for community and school-based arts and cultural programs and artworks taking place in 2019.

The 2019 recipients are:

Erie County Community Arts & Arts Education Grant Recipients

• Amherst Bel Canto Choir Inc. - NYACDA Invitational Choral Festival
• Brazen-Faced Varlets – “The Secretary” by Kyle John Schmidt
• Buffalo Arts and Technology Center Inc. youth arts program: Sustainability for the digital photography class
• Buffalo Girlchoir- "A Journey through Song" concert
• Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy - 2019 Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival
• Concord Historical Society - Fiddler's Green Country & Bluegrass Festival
• Explore Buffalo - Doors Open Buffalo
• Finding Refuge in Buffalo Project – “Finding Refuge in Buffalo”
• Holland Community Choir - Spring and Christmas productions for 2019
• Hostel Buffalo-Niagara - BOX Gallery fifth anniversary year 
• India Association of Buffalo - 2019 Festival of India
• Leanne Darling - Arabic music workshop and concerts
• No Wound Untreated – “Check Your Trauma”
• O’Connell & Company Productions Inc. – “1776,” an award-winning musical about the founding fathers and the Declaration of Independence 
• Pappy Martin Legacy - Masten Jazz Festival 24th annual Pappy Martin Legacy 
• Parkinson’s Foundation, WNY Chapter – “Art Moves Me” at Burchfield Penney Art Center
• Peace of the City Ministries - “Shakespeare Comes to 716” 
• People Inc. - Momentum WNY Choir
• Post-Industrial Productions of Buffalo Inc. – “Medusa Undone” by Bella Poynton
• Raíces Theatre Company – “Desde El Puente”
• Red Blazer Men's Chorus - Senior citizen concert series
• Restoration Society Inc. – “Restoration Stories: Creating Opportunities in the Arts”
• Rosanna Elizabeth Corey Heckl Foundation for the Arts Inc. - Community wayang project
• Second Generation Theatre Co. - Second Generation Theatre presents “NINE”
• Starlight Studio and Art Gallery - Starlight City Assemblies
• The Big Easy in Buffalo Inc. – “The Big Easy in Buffalo” 2019 season
• The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art - The Institution
• Town of Boston - Town of Boston Arts Council 2019 Summer Concert Series
• Town of Brant - 2019 Brant-Farnham Monday night free summer concerts
• Town of Elma - 2019 Summer Concerts on the Green
• Valley Community Association Inc. - "Striving For Excellence" art program
• Village of Blasdell - Village of Blasdell 2019 Summer Concert Series
• Village of Springville - Heritage Park Kinetic Wind Sculptures
• West Falls Center for the Arts – “Harmonica for Veterans”
• West Side Community Services Inc. - West Side Youth arts

Niagara County Community Arts & Arts Education Grant Recipients

• Cultural Alliance of Niagara - Arts Niagara, Niagara County arts and cultural marketing
• Kenan Center – “Jazz at the Taylor”
• Lake Plains Players – “Oklahoma”
• Lewiston Council on the Arts – “Earth Voices of the Great Spirit: A Celebration of Native American Culture”
• Lock City Glee Club Inc. - Lock City Glee Club 2019 concert series
• Lockport Public Arts Council - Sweet Chalk Festival 2019
• Niagara Falls Historic Preservation Society - “Powerful People, Powerful Places”
• NYSARC Inc., Cattaraugus Niagara Counties Chapter - "Take Us Home, Country Roads"
• The Lockport Chorale – “Music of the World: A Multi-Generational Showcase”

Individual Artist Commission Grant Recipients

• Stacey Lechevet (Erie County) - Community mural for the West Falls Center for the Arts
• Rosemarie Lorenti (Niagara County) - Niagara Falls Public Pianos 2019
• Cynthia Pegado (Niagara County) - Sound Dance
• Phyllis Thompson (Erie County) – “Making Memories: Telling Visual Stories”