30th Anniversary Special Grants

We want to congratulate all of the 30th Anniversary Special Grant Recipients! We have given out a total of 8 grants in the amount of $5,000 each. Save the date - Tuesday, September 21 our grantees will present their projects at the 30th Anniversary Grantee Showcase.

10-30ASG-1 District of Columbia Arts Center: Los Treinta (The 30 Years)
Project Director: B. Stanley
Project Scholar: Ana Patricia Rodriguez
Project Coordinator: Quique Aviles

1980 marked the beginning of the most intense years of the civil war in El Salvador and the subsequent Salvadoran diaspora from their war-torn homeland to neighborhoods throughout Washington, D.C. 1980 also marked the arrival of Quique Avilés, poet, performer, and community activist whose work is dedicated to addressing social issues. Through Los Treinta, Avilés and the DC Arts Center explore thirty years of Salvadoran life in the District through research, oral history, creative writing, and innovative performances.

10-30ASG-2 Silver Spring Media Arts: The Redskins Winning Years
Project Director: Walter Gottlieb
Project Scholar: Frank Herzog

Remember when the Redskins were good? Perhaps not, but people living in and around the District from 1982-1993 witnessed a period when the Redskins were not just good, but great, winning three Super Bowls,  playing in five NFC Championship games, and making the playoffs seven times. In the documentary film, The Redskins Winning Years, Walter Gottlieb and Silver Springs Media Arts highlight how the Redskins became a symbol of pride for Washington, D.C., uniting Washingtonians of all stripes under a banner of victory.

10-30ASG-3 Ward 7 Arts Collaborative: Dance Griot, The Legacy of Melvin Deal
Project Director: Wanda Aikens
Project Scholar: Reverend Nana Kwabena William Brown

In this evocative live performance and film, the Ward 7 Arts Collaborative explores the life and work of Melvin Deal, Master Dancer, Choreographer, Cultural Anthropologist, and teacher of African Dance. The project pays homage to the history and legacy of Mr. Deal while examining his profound, multi-generational impact on the lives of at-risk youth and families in Ward 7.

10-30ASG-4 Anacostia Community Museum-East of the River: Continuity and Change
Project Director: Portia James
Project Scholar: Dr. Gail Lowe

In the Anacostia Community Museum’s recently released book, East of the River: Continuity and Change, they take the history of neighborhoods east of the Anacostia river back-way back. The book, which is a continuation of the museum’s 2007 exhibition of the same name, traces the history east of the river from the earliest inhabitants, the Nacotchtank Indians, through the triumphs and travails of countless years, to the communities we know today. This multi-authored works brings much needed and well deserved attention to this all too often overlooked area of Washington D.C.

10-30-ASG-5 Latin American Youth Center: DC Youth Pride
Project Director: Tennessee Watson
Project Scholar: Patsy Lynch

With DC Youth Pride, the Latin American Youth Center utilizes their wellspring of youth participants to document thirty-years of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning) activists struggles to make Washington D.C. a more tolerant and inclusive place for LGBTQ youth today. Through extensive oral history research, the project creates first-person narratives which are highlighted in the Center’s zine.

10-30ASG-6 City Arts Inc: Washington’s Murals as Spectacle and Message
Project Director & Scholar: Perry Frank

Have you ever stood on the corner of Calvert & Connecticut thinking: “it sure is nice to have Marilyn looking over me.” What about when strolling down U-Street, do your eyes ever gaze up to the top of the True Reformer building, landing on the sage portrayal of the musical genius of Duke Ellington, poignantly reminding passersby of Washington D.C.’s deep seeded Jazz roots and legacy. If you have ever wanted to know the stories behind these murals then City Arts’ new website, Washington’s Murals as Spectacle and Message, provides the opportunity to discover the complete history of your favorite D.C. murals.

http://www.dcmurals.info/

10-30ASG-7 Women in Film and Video: 30 Years of DC Women Making Films
Project Director: Melissa Houghton
Project Scholar: Jennifer Horne & Margaret Parsons

Within the film world, Washington D.C. has emerged as a leader in non-fiction media production. Moreover, D.C. is an area where women play a central role, pioneering many advances in film production. With 30 Years of DC Women Making Film, Women in Film and Video use the medium of oral history to explore why DC has emerged as an epicenter of women in film production, serving both as a history of the movement and a resource for future generations of women filmmakers.

10-30ASG-8 The Word Works: History of Spoken Word in Washington
Project Director: Kim Roberts
Project Scholar: Dr. James Beall

D.C. has long been a mecca for spoken word, an art form that can help to define, celebrate, and express a people and a city. The Word Works literary release, History of Spoken Word in Washington, explores the past thirty years of D.C. spoken work in all its many incarnations and throughout numerous locations.

Support for these grants is provided by the DC Government through the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities