Long
Beach fine arts community see an increase
in grants
By
Mellani Lubuag
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The
forecast for the fine arts community in
the City of Long Beach looks a bit brighter
thanks to the Public Corporation for the
Arts Long Beach Arts Council endowment
of $400,000 in grants for the 2005 fiscal
year.
PCA
Long Beach Arts Council recently distributed
$400,000 in grants and awards, despite
the reduction in public funding. The $400,000
represents a $100,000 increase from the
previous year, which saw difficulties
in funding and budget.
The
increase in grants were awarded in four
separate categories including, the Professional
Artist Fellowship, which was awarded to
five Long Beach artists. Organizations
for Long Beach neighborhood projects were
awarded 12 grants. Fourteen grants went
to organizations for Long Beach community
projects and five groups were awarded
organization operating grants.
"We
were not given as much money, but we went
out of our way to come up with an additional
$100,000 for grants," said Karen
Gee, the marketing director for the PCA
Long Beach Arts Council.
The
PCA Long Beach Arts Council managed the
increased distribution of grants by reducing
its operating costs and relying on the
investments of the philanthropic community.
"We
are in a stable position now," Gee
said.
This
is fortunate news for all those involved
in the art community. Last March the future
of fine arts in Long Beach was in jeopardy
due to the General Fund budget crisis.
Gee believes that Long Beach is similar
to other communities in the nation where
the fine arts programs and budgets are
usually the first to be cut.
Grants
by the PCA Long Beach Arts Council directly
affected CSULB in more ways than one.
The ArtsBridge program was given $4,000
for scholarship awards for selected students
who spent one semester teaching visual
and performance art to underprivileged
elementary students. The program has the
dual benefit of allowing students to learn
their craft better through teaching and
helping Long Beach schools that lack instructional
art programs. Also, the campus' Carpenter
Center benefited from the grants given
to resident theater and opera companies
in which several CSULB students participate.
