Sow & Grow Grant Applicants
The following applicants did not receive funding this year. Our hope in posting them is here is that those with funds or skills to donate will reach out directly to the applicants!
Chimere
chimerelyrics@yahoo.com
I plan to use the funds for my current music recording project. It’s been since 2008 that I released my own music as a singer songwriter. I’ve spent the last several years working in the entertainment industry as an actress and performing artist in musical theater, gigging and traveling with various corporate bands and in other supportive roles This pandemic has brought me back to my first love of writing my own lyric and melody in song and reminded me how important it is to always be creating original content for film television and streaming. I have so much to share but as artists, how do we share our gift and earn a living when the lights go off on stage and live performance venues and theaters are shut down? We could go find jobs that take us away from our passion in order to survive or we can keep fighting and through investing, creating and selling original content, transition our platforms. This grant will help fund my project and put me in position to earn income as an independent recording artist again. The project is intended to be a 6 song EP with music videos included. Once the recording, editing, mixing and mastering is complete the next phase is to make the project available on multiple streaming platforms. The $1500 funds would specifically go towards the cost of social media marketing, commercial advertisement and the use of streaming services. I know that Intellectual property can produce residual income for myself and future inherited income for my now 15 year old daughter. It’s also how I leave my mark. This pandemic has given me more courage to continue pursuing my passion and to use my own voice to inspire others to do the same because what we have to offer as creatives is just as essential as the air we all breathe. I am very grateful for the opportunity to share my project vision and possibly receive funding. Thank you.
Jayme Alilaw
jayme@jayme-alilaw.com
Vocal coaching
Sound recording equipment
IPad
Performance Gown
Loren Bray
Loren.Bray@yahoo.com
I have an idea for a short film that deals with Imposter Syndrome that I would love time to flesh out. Receiving this grant would give me a chance to take a couple days off without having to worry about finances.
Quentin Brown
q.brown4276@gmail.com
During quarantine, I’ve learned to accept what the entire world is going through and learned that you can’t change what’s out of your hands. I’ve been writing about my experience with isolation and self love and would love the opportunity to use the funds to get into the studio and record an EP sharing my experience in hopes of inspiring someone.
Chani Maisonet
Chanimaisonet@gmail.com
To enhance my career and make it easier. I need new headshots, a camera to film auditions, new music books for my vocal coaching, and to pay my equity dues and insurance since there isn't much work for me right now.
Meagan Dilworth
dilworthmeagan@gmail.com
I plan to use it for further training. For workshops/and or intensives.
Daniela Santiago
daniela.marie.santiago@gmail.com
My friend Jeremy Grahm, a Black Atlanta artist, and I are developing an anthology mini-series based around his original poetry and movement on the subject of transformation, entitled "The Butterfly Effect". The themes of transformation and perseverance in the face of adversity spoke to me and we have been trying to bring it to life visually. 100% of the current team are BIPOC creators (musicians, choreographers, filmmakers, theatre artists) and the funding would go towards paying for their time and gifts in the process of filming this piece.
Theresa D Davis
teacher.davis@gmail.com
With 7 Stages theater, I was fortunate to, with collaborators, bring my one woman show, Then They'll Tell You It's All In Your Head, to the virtual stage in a pandemic. I would like to take my project to the next level. This show speaks to the reality of over policed black bodies and the fear and trauma black mothers deal with on a daily basis. We, in this time, find ourselves merging with mediums we are not familiar with. I would like to be able to sharpen my focus, with tools that will elevate my story and my art. This grant will help me gather the tools I need to do this.
victor l love
victorllove@gmail.com
I will continue writing my one man show. Its almost finished. I will have a reading and look for an Atlanta home to preview it.
Trevor Perry
trevorrayshay@gmail.com
I would love to take more acting classes to further my development as an actor. I would also use the money for dance classes as well as finding a voice teacher. All of these things I’ve wanted to work on but never had the financial freedom to do so. This would allow me to catch up to my peers and increase my visibility as an artist.
Enoch King
enochking22@gmail.com
I have a couple of things I would like to achieve by the end of the year/beginning of next year:
1. Buy a Camera and Backdrop to use for Auditions and Created Content
2. Purchase New Headshots(I'm part of #beardgang now and I want to show what I got)
3. Hire professional to create new acting reel
4. Use all the tools and services from # 1-3 for the creation of professional website
And 5...I would love to take a vacation. Rent an AirBnB or whatever is conducive to these COVID times, find a beach, get a spa appointment, relax and reconnect for the next phase of my life.
Thank you all for this opportunity for BIPOC artists. It is appreciated.
Candy McLellan
Candy.mclellan618@gmail.com
Sooo much. I’ve been wanting to sharpen my tools and hone my crafts, but never quite have the money for it. I’ve been writing a web series and short and would put money towards trying to produce that but also, taking film/ tv classes, investing in vocal lessons and taking technique classes for dance.
Lydia Eku
lydiaeku@gmail.com
I plan to use the funds for three projects I'm currently working on. One of which is a podcast with another fellow Atlanta artist, Jarius Cliett. Our podcast, "Black Table Read," was bred simply because we need this time to create together. For example, on one episode we discuss the issue with black artists having projects, but not the proper funding. Our counterparts always seem to know where to find their funds, or just simply have it to spare. So, to have a fund like this is amazing altogether because it breaks the barrier down of us lending help to one another financially.
My other two projects would be used to gather equipment for a new play/short film I'm currently finishing. Lastly, I'm creating a documentary style video around the issue of patients going through dialysis. My oldest aunt is currently battling kidney failure, and has been a patient for a year. Her journey has prompted me to do more research about the disease, and the treatments.
John-Michael d'Haviland
musicdirection@icloud.com
Study at the Berklee School of Music. I would like to enhance my training and knowledge of two musical software applications, Finale and Logic Pro. Upon completing coursework, I will be better equipped to help support artists, directors and theaters within the Atlanta community for which get to I serve as Music Director and musician.
Brenden Palmer
brendenpalmer010@gmail.com
The effects of COVID-19 have been such a tumultuous time for me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. It's been a huge burden for us all. I've had the unpleasant experience of losing job opportunities because of the virus and my financial situation has been strained, to say the least. This grant would help me to find more financial footing, especially in regards to my financial obligations, and I would definitely appreciate funding from you. I thank you so much for even allowing me the opportunity to apply.
Charlie T Thomas
Rtpatl@outlook.com
My colleague, O'neil Delapenha, and I would like to produce an all Black production of MacBeth for the Atlanta community. This would do several things:
-Allow many artists of color who rarely get an opportunity to play classical theatre to perform
-Be filmed for wide distribution to the community at a low price
-Preferably allow BIPOC representation on the technical side
-Hopefully team up with Remedy Theatre Project to raise money for a non-profit or charity
-Tell a well-known story from a perspective rarely seen
Cydnei Prather
thetinytheatercompany@gmail.com
Paying actors, paying for set design and marketing materials. i want to continue serving my community and see the profit. I want to give Black People back evrything that was Stolen from them.
Avery Sharpe
averysharpe13@gmail.com
Firstly, I would use the funds to finish the development of a new play that features 80% BIPOC cast entitled AFTER EL ATARDECER (After Sunset). This play explores the cross-section of social, political, and environmental factors that affect the rampant mental health crisis in the U.S. farming community. It also celebrates latinas who are booming as the fastest and largest demographic of successful independent farm owners in the country. I would also use the funds to expedite the development of a new musical about the life of the Biblical King David, which is currently in the works with composer Christian Magby. Most importantly, I would also contribute to charitable causes throughout the city.
Michael Ward
msquared.mw@gmail.com
During COVID I've cofounded with Josh Jenkins BLACK GAY stuck at home (BGSAH), a Black queer screening series with an interactive chat and post screening talkback . BLACK, GAY, stuck at home is our effort to both gather folks together but to also center Black queer works, allowing for folks to engage with one another and build community but to also engage with familiar and perhaps new work centering Black queer experiences.
We want to expand into bringing original or previously performed Black queer virtual theatre works, to our virtual screen. I had the pleasure of being cast in 'One in Two' a virtual reading this past summer that affirmed Black gay men living with HIV with a post show talkback. A grant allows us to continue screening artist works to the virtual screen and pay artists for their time and work during COVID.
Taryn Carmona
taryn@360artsblvd.com
I plan to infuse the funds into my business, 360 Arts BLVD. With this grant, we can continue to provide mentorship and resources to the creative community in Atlanta and nationwide through our online community, TheBLVD.online, as well as continue the development of our early learning series, "Trixie Takes On..." that caters to students aged 3-7 in Dekalb and Fulton counties, which is in its launch phase. Monetary support will ensure that we can continue to work towards our mission through the end of 2020.
Sean C Savage
Seannum131@gmail.com
I am a Vocal Music graduate. During this challenging time I would use this grant to cover travel expenses for upcoming auditions and new head shots.
Shanessa Sweeney
shanessasweeney@yahoo.com
I plan to use these funds in a couple of different ways. Firstly, as an actor, I like to stay exercised, so continuing my acting classes are essential. Especially since I have not booked anything financially substantial due to the pandemic. It helps me to stay sharpened and engaged in the arts community here in ATL. I also need to purchase audio equipment (for v.o. work) and new headshots in order to bring income into my home. I am a single parent with no other financial support and not only is my funding strapped in these times of Covid, but time-wise I have not been able to sit and write. I have a project that needs to be written and I would like to take the space of mind to do that without worrying about my lights being shut off. So, the funds will be used towards the up keep of my household necessities as well. Herbal teas, Manuka honey and essential oils also will be purchased in droves as they are essential items to maintain sanity!
Dionna D. Davis
DionnaDD.SM@gmail.com
This shelter-in-place order has given me a lot of free time with my nieces, nephews and young cousins who are enamored with the social gaming platform Roblox to socialize with others virtually while they are unable to see them at school or the mall or the playground. I have explored Roblox, this sandbox for players and makers alike to play and create together, for about two years now, and I've yet to see a game that expresses theatre to my liking. There are published games that are centered around building a set in theatre, performing in a talent show, botching together a film, and while these games are well-developed and supported, they could give kids a greater glimpse at what the theatre process is like from script inception to a live show presentation.
That is the game I want to develop for the Roblox Marketplace: a game that includes writers’ tables, auditions, designer applications, production & design, show times, and reviews using mini games Roblox users already know and love, but tailored to reflect theatre terminology and entertainment industry protocol. During the pandemic, I’ve been trying to teach myself video game development, but I really need a team of developers who’ve already been studying the Lua coding language who can help me bring this idea to life. I would use the grant to compensate these developers and/or enroll in a course for more guided studies.
Some of these kids come up with great scripts and show witty improvisation skills and design amazing sets—but they’re usually operating in different games. I hope to help bring the community of thespian gamers together in my own virtual world until our real world is back in order.
Kerwin V. Thompson
kerwinvino@gmail.com
Generally, I will use the funds to supplement the investments that I am already making to become a more well-rounded and healthier artist. Specifically, I will hire coaches to help me become a better actor, writer, and researcher; I will get training in production in order to produce works that feature Atlanta-based artists; and I will invest in therapy treatments to remain healthy & whole in mind, body, and spirit.
Miracle Sims
actressmiraclesims@gmail.com
Reinvest in my Performance Art Business. We've had to close our doors due to Covid-19.. However, we have found unique and creative ways to keep things going such as converting our murder mystery dinner show into a virtual experience as well as offering other virtual experiences! This grant would help us build up our account so that we can start afloat. Hopefully we will be able to reopen a new venue one day as well!
Jessica Bertram
jbertram1795@gmail.com
As a black choreographer, the Sow & Grow Grant would greatly support me as I move forward with my newest dance theatre work, “Our Hair Feels Like Flower Petals”. Originally developed during the Dance Canvas 2020 Choreographic Residency at the Atlanta Contemporary Museum, this contemporary duet features two black women and investigates their resilience during this trying climate in America. The choreographic process researches how black women move forward, how they rebuild the communities in which they occupy, and how they heal themselves mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Through set design and music composition, I have worked to provide the audience with the unique opportunity to view the internal and external forces that drive black women. Within this 2 month residency, the importance of depicting the true essence of black women via their vulnerability and physicality has never been more clear to myself as an artist. Black women must be seen and heard therefore this work can not expire with the close of Dance Canvas’ residency.
Therefore, I hope to expand this original piece of 12 minute duration into an evening length production. The support of this grant would assist in renting a rehearsal/performance space that has ample spacing for social distancing which is necessary during the winter months. The Movement Lab is a black woman-owned performance venue that offers space at $55/hour. Receiving this grant would allow a safe and accessible space to develop my work and present an evening length show that is appropriate for in-person audiences.
L Nyrobi N Moss
nyrobimoss@gmail.com
2020 was forecasted as the year that working fulltime as a Costume Designer in live Atlanta Theatre would finally be able to sustain my livelihood. By January’s end, I was contracted to design 10 local productions and 2 regional touring shows. COVID-19 completely halted all of my 2020 contracts and 3 scheduled for early 2021. As this pandemic stretches on, theatre companies are forced to create new ways to deliver theatre, like limiting production size and scale and producing virtual content. This trend leaves little to no work for costume designers. One lesson learned during this turbulent season is that I too must innovate and re-imagine my work, role, and how I sustain myself as an artist. Therefore, a $1,500 Sow & Grow Grant will support three endeavors: 1. virtual capacity building, 2. training & certification, and 3. a quiet breathing break.
First, current low-to-no costume design work opportunities, and limited avenues to promote myself as artist, requires me to better navigate unfamiliar virtual waters. I must now be more intentional with my Designer digital footprint and virtual offerings. Sow & Grow funds will be used to finally build and launch my costume design website and purchase design software that increases my capacity to conduct virtual fittings and mobile costume design services. Second, with funding support I can obtain additional trainings and be certified as a Theatre Intimacy Director. This path will expand my artistic offerings, create an additional stream of income, and increase the depth of my engagement in Atlanta Theatre. Finally, I am slowly coming apart around the edges and need to get out of this city to find a beach, waterfall, nature, or some quiet to stop, breathe, and rejuvenate. Any assistance provided would be most appreciated. Thank you for your consideration.
Dai’Sean Garrett
daiseangarrett@gmail.com
I plan to use the funds for a better computer as the one I have is extremely out of date and freezes on me. I created a piece titled “how could you” with a plethora of Atlanta artist and i edited the footage myself and it took 3 days and my computer froze and would not let me export it so I had to take another day to figure out how to get it off. Being a playwright, director, actor and just all around creator it’s imperative for me that I have proper equipment and this would truly help me out tremendously as I can not afford it right now! Thank you!
Jennetta Brooks
sefluv@yahoo.com
I would like to use these funds to help me self publish my first book, upgrade my websites so that I may increase my social media platform presence
T’Shauna Henry
tshaunamhen@gmail.com
I am planning on putting it towards my business brand CreativiTEA. I just received state licensing for it and am currently beginning to rebrand. I plan to use it to find space, network and collaborate with other collective, companies and brands to create multimedia content.
First, current low-to-no costume design work opportunities, and limited avenues to promote myself as artist, requires me to better navigate unfamiliar virtual waters. I must now be more intentional with my Designer digital footprint and virtual offerings. Sow & Grow funds will be used to finally build and launch my costume design website and purchase design software that increases my capacity to conduct virtual fittings and mobile costume design services. Second, with funding support I can obtain additional trainings and be certified as a Theatre Intimacy Director. This path will expand my artistic offerings, create an additional stream of income, and increase the depth of my engagement in Atlanta Theatre. Finally, I am slowly coming apart around the edges and need to get out of this city to find a beach, waterfall, nature, or some quiet to stop, breathe, and rejuvenate. Any assistance provided would be most appreciated. Thank you for your consideration.
Kevin Huang Qian
kevoqian@gmail.com
Indigo is a brand-new superhero story that Bryce and I have been developing for over 3 years that celebrates identity, diversity, and Atlanta. We are targeting grants so they can support us in creating content for this story in either of the following formats: 1) a web comic featuring Atlanta artists, or, 2) a pilot episode.
Indigo follows an Atlanta-based superhero (because seriously, New York has gotten enough love) named Indigo, whose powers are secretly passed down from mother to daughter.
Our story begins when the current wielder, Rhea, suffers a fatal wound at the hands of a new villain, and with her dying breath, passes the lofty legacy of Indigo to her only son and only child, Alex Doffman. Alex has been struggling with their gender identity for as long as he can remember, and, having only recently graduated from college, must now shoulder the burden of a legendary superhero all the while figuring out who he is and who he wants to be. The life of a newly realized adult was never gonna be easy. But hey, at least he’ll have friends along the way, right? Supporting him through his journey will be Ty and Anna, old friends of Alex’s who despise each other but work together because they care about Alex. In the season Alex will discover they also have powers they’ve been keeping secret, which only complicates their relationship and ability to work together and stop the threat to their city.
Indigo is an uplifting and empowering story deeply rooted in identity and diversity, something we could all use in today's day and age. We hope this story gives voices to the unrepresented, and shows that anyone can be a hero.
Happy to provide material!
Destiny Renee Thompson
just.destiny.renee@gmail.com
I plan to use the grant money to fund my Winter Intensive Training & Artistic Residency with the Double Edge Theatre Company. They have been a part of my professional development since I was in college, post-college and now I am returning 5 years later to work with them to help myself and my co-creator Ashley James (also a black theatre artist) to develop a new work here in Atlanta. During our trainings we’ll work daily from morning until night, both in Double Edge's indoor training spaces and outside in the fields, hills, pond and pastures of the Farm. Layering our physical training practice with music, design, dramaturgy, large object work and individual and group research, intensives are a full-body experience of our multidisciplinary creative process. We explore the dialogue between individual process and group training and creation. The intensives are open to participants of all levels of experience and are ideal for pushing the boundaries of your physicality, creativity, and imagination!
Ashley and I will be creating a live interactive theatre performance that will allow the audience members to take a closer look at what their individual “scars” mean. This work will test the intimacy between the audience member and the artist. Everyone has scars, emotional, mental and physical, but how do they leave their traces on our bodies over time? The audience members will choose which scars they identify with the most and share an experience with the artist by either hearing their stories or sharing one of their own. We are in the brainstorming phase of developing this work and Double Edge will give us the space and a huge push to take it to its next stages.
The funds will specifically be used for taking time off from my job, airfare, tuition, room & board. Thank you!
Naomi Mack
nmj.mack@gmail.com
This year has shown me more than ever just how much our world needs healing.
In June, after being fired from my full time job during the pandemic in the midst of yet another horrific spurt of police brutality cases, I decided to take the rest of the year off.
In march I had closed the most physical show I had ever done with the Vernal & Sere Theatre Company and once COVID hit and I was laid off, I took that as a sign to do something I’d never done before, rest. I never even considered that I could take a break. I was noticing the depletion of my health as I tried to stay updated on everything going on in the black community, I wanted to find a way to help. So I took some time to nourish and replenish and decided to give back in a more personal and intentional way.
I started studying up on pleasure activism and the value of taking care of ourselves and each other, which led me to an opportunity to co-lead a 3 month learning group through NAVEL’s ASSEMBLIES program. Here I am using my energy + talents to organize bi-weely meeting sessions with the community to help us remove trauma and free up physically, mentally, and spiritually in our group Full Bodied Expression as Public health. I wanted to create a safe space that was free to the community to assist those that may not have access to more traditional help.
This is the work that is calling me during this time, and I’m thankful for my experience with theatre and acting that has taught me the tools necessary to do this. Since I am not working, the grant funds would go to my rent and bills.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Aliyah Curry
aliyahcurryprod@gmail.com
As a Black woman focused on sexuality and mental health, I would use funds from this grant to amplify these communities through my writing. I write through experience. My goal is to interview several Black women from the LGBTQ community to craft their experiences of 2020 into a new play. I want to be able to pay these women for their time and contributions.
Sherna Phillips
ShernaAnn@gmail.com
“Double X: A Choreopoem for Womxn of All Flavors” has had quite a few names over its 10-year existence. What has remained the same is that this project is a multicultural choreopoem - a stage play featuring choreography and poetry - that celebrates the diversity of women. Its premise: 99.9 percent of our genetic structure is the same. The rest is just flavor.
The play debuted in 2010 and has since entertained audiences at black box theaters, festivals, and college campuses across the East Coast. It is referenced on Wikipedia under “choreopoem,” alongside the most acclaimed play in its genre: Ntozake Shange’s “for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf.”
Like Shange’s work, Double X doesn’t have a traditional plot. Instead, carefully woven poems are designed to evoke emotion, while tackling the intersectionality of womanhood, sex, race, and culture. Characters are identified by flavors: Chocolate (Black woman), Vanilla (White woman), Lemon (East Asian woman), Caramel (Latinx woman), Ginger (MENA woman of Muslim faith), White Chocolate (Black/White woman), and Cinnamon (Native American woman).
In effort to reach a wider audience and recognize the 10-year journey of this project, I want to self-publish the play. The book will include a playwright’s forward, production history, production instructions, and stage directions. In the production notes section, I will describe how to facilitate rehearsal discussions. For example, it is key that all women have a voice at all times. The director’s job is not to sway opinions but to provide a safe space for all women to take up space and offer their unfiltered (but respectful) perspectives.
In short, this project will not only be a self-published work, but a roadmap for unity and inclusion of women of various cultures to have a seat at the table of sisterhood.
Stephanie A Brown
sabrown22486@gmail.com
I plan to use the funds to market my one woman show, She is Me. I will host a live version of the show as well as a live streaming version. I will need some of the funds to properly set up the technology components and as well market via social media. I have my location which is in East Point, GA.
Nykieria Chaney
NDCProdInfo@gmail.com
I would use the funds to create a live stage reading of my play "The Chairman".
Written and directed by Nykieria Chaney, The Chairman explores the life and assassination of Black Party Chairman Fred Hampton. After being placed on the FBI's Key Agitator list for his ability to activate and mobilize the black community, Fred was tracked and eventually murdered as part of the dangerous and illegal Cointelpro Operation.
Hampton’s death became the first truly high-profile case of police brutality in American history, not because it was the first to occur, but because new, lightweight, handheld cameras enabled filmmakers to expose the lies behind the Chicago Police Department’s official narrative. David Alm
You can view the project here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsRzZateoLs&t=708s
Lateesha R Green
lateeshargreen@gmail.com
I would like to use the grant funds for acting classes and also to join the Union. I became eligible for SAG last year, after acting for only 4 months and I’ve been given other opportunities since, but I need to take classes and join the Union, so that my dreams can come to fruition. I began acting 2 weeks before my 42nd birthday and I feel that acting is my calling. Thank you so much for your consideration.
Shiquita James
shiquita.james1@gmail.com
To invest in my craft of acting.
China Harrison
chinaleesims@gmail.com
I plan to use the grant funds to further studying my craft in classes. I plan to buy essential books, and also use the funds to pay for workshops. I also plant to use the funds for new headshots, yearly acting/ director membership fees. I plant to purchase new lights, and a hard drive for my self taped auditions. I also plan to use the funds for traveling need such as flights, gas, and transportation when not included. I plan to be able to pay needed festival tickets fee’s and or entry fee’s for projects that I am directing
Brad Raymond
Brad@bradraymond.org
I would like to use a predominate portion of the funds to produce my zoom talk show focused on inter-generational discussions between artists surrounding self -care and self-sustainability. I would like to use the remaining portion to fund a spiritual retreat; to rejuvenate my "creative juices" and refresh my emotional well-being during these strange and stressful times in our country/world.
Ayana DuBose
ayana.dubose@gmail.com
‘Everything is Cyclical’ will be the premiere project launching our first series for Dancers for Community Care, a collective collaboration rooted in dance that heals and connects, centering Black, Indigenous and people of color. The ‘Everything is Cyclical’ series of 2021 will include 3 phases: 1. Scattering Seeds. 2. Bloom. 3. Returning to Soil.
Phase 1: Scattering Seeds - Artists of Atlanta are invited to submit videos for an online dance film festival that will culminate in a small in person party at The Movement lab ATL, in April 2021. The motivation for the Scattering Seeds film series is a call for solidarity between non white individuals to imagine a more equitable world into existence. All films should include dance that takes place in natural landscapes. Why? Through looking at biodiversity, we see how different living beings cohabitate to create intelligent ecosystems that helps all beings thrive. We are asking, can humans learn to interact with one another the way that plants do? To acknowledge that each of our presence offers different things, but is necessary in the world and that we should work in harmony to exist together. Through curating and sharing dance films inspired by this theme of biodiversity we will initiate the BIPOC Dancers for Community Care’s series: Scattering Seeds as literal seeds for connection by creating and witnessing one another’s uniqueness inside a web of interconnectivity.
Phase 2: Bloom is the phase where seeds take on their fullness, blossoming into ecosystems and gardens that are supported and nurtured. The Bloom phase manifests as a live dance theatre performance in a garden created by 5 dancers of our collective. Because we will work with dance theatre, each performer will not only share her/his/their stories through dancing, expressive bodies, but we will also activate our voices and SPEAK from our diverse perspectives. Through merging dance, acting, and activism, we will welcome our audiences into our philosophies around shared space; to stop competing and instead work together and learn from ecosystems like a garden where we navigate shared resources so that we all may bloom, grow, and thrive in abundance.
Phase 3: Returning to Soil brings us to the overarching title - Everything is Cyclical. After the film series, and live performance, we will come together to reflect on our experiences within the BIPOC Dancers for Community Care and have conversations about developing who we are and how we should continue. These reflections will live through our goals around aiming to encourage solidarity between non- white communities in Atlanta, while at the same time placing Black and indigenous community in the center, acknowledging that we have been overworked and erased throughout history and now is our time to bloom. However to bloom, we need the whole ecosystem of living beings to support our livelihood.
Neal A Ghant
neal_ghant@yahoo.com
To deliver a digital experience for viewers that shows the grass roots of hip hop music in the Black community and the unsung artists that exist there.
India Tyree
indiatyree@gmail.com
Being awarded one of the Sow & Grow Grants, would be a catalyst for growth and change in my career. I became a part of Atlanta’s Arts Community five years ago. Since I have made the move from Virginia, I have certainly had my ups and downs, but there is no place I would rather chase my goals and level up, than in this very city.
Honestly, over the past few months, I have contemplated moving back to Virginia. My family is there. My roots are there. My childhood memories are there. But, someone near and dear to me reminded me, that my roots are here in Atlanta as well. Ever-growing. Don’t leave them to whither.
With the award money, I will invest in my goals to produce my original music. My music is about heart-break, love, dreams, black excellence, and RECOVERY. If awarded, the funds will help with production fees, equipment, studio costs, etc.
I dream to be a well-rounded artist so that I can contribute my best to this community. This grant will help ignite that dream.
Thank you for even considering me for this blessing. I am honored to be a part of this community.
Michelle Pokopac
mmpokopac@gmail.com
I'm interested in producing my first film about monolids. It'll explore the experience of an Asian American actress/model, her lack of equal work opportunities, financial stress and debt, and growing body dysmorphic disorder regarding her monolid eyes, which eventually evolves to self harm. Due to the influence of beauty standards in America, she struggles to believe her natural monolid eyes are beautiful, let alone effective for success in her job. It'll examine the consequences of approved white/European features instead of accepting, normalizing, and amplifying beauty from non-white races.
As an Asian actor, I feel like my opportunities are limited due to my race, and more specifically due to my eye-shape. I recall obsessing in front of the mirror over how changing my eyes could help improve my life. My partner and director, Crystal Jin Kim, also has monolid eyes and personal experience with body dysmorphia disorder. She is passionate about advocating for mental health, peeling away stigmas, and celebrating our diverse identities and relationships. With this drive, in addition to COVID and the BLM movement, we feel more charged than ever to tell this story because the world is starting to shift its focus to non-white representation and acceptance.
The grant would help fund productions costs such as casting, film equipment rentals, design departments, post production editing, marketing, and compensation for all artists involved in front and behind the camera. Ideally, I would work with an all Asian team to further amplify this narrative and also to open more opportunities for Asian artists in the film industry.
Evan Hill Phillips
evanhillphillips@gmail.com
I would like to use the funds to help in the development of a virtual TYA project geared towards families with neurodiverse children. Many children with Autism have not been able to have a theatrical environment geared towards their needs for an immersive & sensory-friendly experience. The recent shutdown of the industry has made the outreach provided by sensory-friendly productions even more difficult. I would love to see a more inclusive theatrical industry for both people of color & people with special needs. And by being able to help develop more productions that are both virtual & interactive with the senses, through the creative innovations of working with technology, I think that we can still provide families with all the benefits of making personal growth & connections through theatre during this difficult time. In the comfort of both the theatrical framework & within the safety of their own homes.
Therecia Lang
therecia.lang@gmail.com
As the first acting apprentice for Theatrical Outfit, I felt blessed to have a job in my field post-graduation. To my dismay, COVID hit our world, and the goals I lined up had to take a shift. My apprenticeship changed from in person to virtual obligations. But during the time I have spent at home, it has given me space to question, “What do I want out of life?”. For the first time, I’ve allowed myself to answer this question freely, and time to ponder on “why” I want x, y and z. But in connecting What I Want in Life to How I Plan to Use the Grant, I would divide it into three areas: Personal, Productive Artistic Growth, Preparation for Future Endeavors.
For personal use, I would treat myself to a spa day once a month for three months at Lenox Massage Spa. Working from home has the effect to increase tension in the body. So why not relieve the tensions from virtual duties now so I can work effectively and comfortably down the road?
In a productive sense, I would use my time to take an online dialect/accent class at Drama Inc. I believe this is the BEST time to tune/and or add skills that are useful as an actor, and I’ve wanted to take this class for a while, SO YES- I plan to invest in myself now to have a long career in the future.
Lastly, I want to invest into my future self. Coming soon, I see myself as a producer to then form a merged film and theatre company. If given the grant, I would set aside $700 to go into developing that company.
La Donna Williams
ladonna.williams27@gmail.com
Since July of this year, I have been producing a web series entitled, Liberating Conversations (Fb.com/LiberatingLaDonna). Liberating Conversations is a platform for people in and around Atlanta to share where they've come from and the life lessons they've found along the way.
Recently, I have found a deeper sense of calling with the tragic loss of one of our interviewees. I understand that storytelling is a means of culture keeping and a gateway into our past.
I see this project becoming a digital theatre experience that invokes ancestral wisdom and conveys the history of Georgia from Old Atlanta to the sharecropping fields of south Georgia, and on to young metropolitans who are wrestling with the ideologies of today's world.
For this project to be a success, I require aid for sound editing, video production, and software fees (adobe, zoom, and etc).
T’Arica Crawford
taricaecrawford@gmail.com
I’ve found a wonderful therapist who I connect with and almost refuse to leave, but maintaining the bill has become quite expensive. These funds would help alleviate the stress of not being able to afford my sessions. With therapy, I also have started a better physical health routine which works in tandem with improving my mental health. These funds would also help me stay on the path with my trainer who is helping me with my ACL injury from a couple years ago that I never fully recovered from and helping me keep goals to get me functioning at my highest self again. Building myself mentally and physically has been a major part in me finding who I am as an artist and as a black woman, and with this grant I would be able to continue on the path to being a healthier me, to being whole in real life, not just the Instagram way. These things felt very small to me, almost insignificant compared to the people who are facing “larger” problems, but this year has taught me how extremely important these things are, and that has given me the courage to apply for this grant.
Cameron Smith
cameronsmith27@comcast.net
I have the idea to construct and produce a play about the life and times of Josiah Henson, whom historians believe is based off of Uncle Tom in Uncle Tom's Cabin. My goal is to bring the truth about Uncle Tom to light not only by writing a play, but also by working to get Uncle Tom's Cabin read in school in the state at least. The purpose for this project is to bring an end to the expression "uncle tom" in describing people who have "sold out to the white race" so to speak because in the story, that's not what Uncle Tom does. Somewhere along the way, Tom's good character got diminished. I say it's time to tell the truth about who Uncle Tom really is.
Daniela Santiago
daniela.marie.santiago@gmail.com
I have a project in the works with another Atlanta creative, a spoken word trilogy shown through visual narrative and movement. The pieces were inspired from the idea of a mother butterfly explaining to her young butterfly how they were undergoing transformation before flight. It speaks to the intense transformation we’ve experienced during this pandemic, but also the intense resilience of BIPOC creatives.
Geoffrey D.Williams
geoffreydarnellwilliams@gmail.com
Development of Theatrical presentation called ‘Pandemic Papas’ (working title) a series of monologues from the perspectives of Fathers raising children during the pandemic.
Oreathia Smith
oreathiasmith@gmail.com
I'm currently transforming my writing into an 8-episode scripted, podcast series. I'd use the funds for the professional recording and editing of the podcasts as well as to give actors/actresses a small stipend for participating.
Tierney Breedlove
tierney.breedlove10@gmail.com
I have three main purposes for the funds. Firstly, I am looking to get my voiceover demo made and produced. That will take about $1000. I believe we need more voices of color doing our commercials and representing us in Animation! I've been taking classes to perfect the craft and now need to finish my home studio to record auditions and projects when I book.
I am a writer, and I am working on a children's book series made specifically for children of color to teach them about finances. I find too often, finances are a bit of a taboo topic in black households if it's not "go make money" and don't be broke. We've got to do better for each other. This series is a way to actively engage our children, interact with them to cause them to think, and grow their knowledge so they can grow their own financial freedom! I have a partner who is currently getting her Master's in Finance. We will need funds to pay for an illustrator and the whole publishing process, marketing process, and getting copies to schools for kids who can't afford it. I'd love for these books to be turned into small plays, but one step at a time.
Lastly, I am a classically trained soprano. I want to produce a series of Black and other people of color singing classically to give us more visibility. In our wonderful Atlanta Community, I rarely get to see the classical singers shine. Again, this goes back to representation and the children. I want kids who look like us see us doing something they are not used to! I remember how hard it was for me to grow up with this gift and desire but see no one who looked like me doing it. I want to change that. And I want to pay the artists involved from the vocalists, accompanists, videographer, etc.
Thank you for your time and consideration!
Fatimah Pounds
fasp143@gmail.com
I will use this grant to go towards rent and other costs of living. As an artist who has recently graduated, there are classes and workshops that I would like to participate in to further my craft, but haven't been able too, because my top priority is making sure I have a roof over my head.
Nancy Nguyen
nancynguyen115@gmail.com
So many things are going virtual due to COVID! As an actor seeking apprenticeships & jobs, I need to create a more dedicated space for recording auditions, voiceover/dubbing work, and any possible performances done via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc. To do so, I would be transforming my closet and bedroom. I would like to invest in Soundproof Foam Panels, a Professional Studio Microphone with a Pop Filter, a Music Stand, a Ring Light with adjustable tripod to place my phone horizontally, a Fabric Background (maybe one that can serve as a green screen), and any other technical needs that may arise. Leftover funds will be used for extra lessons, classes, training, or workshops to strengthen my skills, re: acting, singing, voiceover, dubbing, improv, choreography, etc.
Maya Quiñones (artist name Solaya)
mayaquinones2@gmail.com
I love what art can do for other people. Since releasing my first single in June, Waves, I’ve been amazed seeing folks benefit from its message about using nature to move through grief. I’m currently in the process of creating my first album, Revival, scheduled to release in early February. This project will be a compilation of songs I've written about reclamation of the woman’s body after trauma and finding healing and strength in our ancestors’ struggles. As an 18 year-old Puerto Rican searching to define what my womanhood will be, I feel that conversation needs to be had for us about modern love and complicated history. Once finished, the project will consist of poetry interludes, ancient rhythm (batas, barriles, and congas), original songs, bomba fusion choreography and video visuals. My hope is to remind, if not inform, the audience of painful but key pieces of our history that are conveniently and consistently left out: in the 1930’s, the Puerto Rican woman’s reproductive system was preyed on as a means to control the population... And she never got a break. Carrying this trauma in our genes, these memories inform every decision about passion, love and trust that we make. This project is important to me, but more importantly, I want to be able to properly fund it and pay the filmmaker, dancers, and costume designer adequately. In these times when employment opportunities for artists are scarce, I could never in a million years ask my fellow creators to be a part of this for almost nothing! As my only source of income has been performing in musicals around town, I simply do not have the means to pay these amazing people what they deserve. I’m applying for this grant to help me pay a team full of black and Latinx artists in collaboration for the music movie of my debut album. Thank you so much for your consideration! :)
Charles Swint
charles.swint@gmail.com
In 2019, I hosted Queer Bate, a podcast about sex, culture, what turns you on, and who gets you off. Salacious as this sounds, the show evolved from therapeutic musing during season one to interviews with queer artists of color from all over the country. That list includes an adult film actor and producer, who wrote and toured a man show and during this past election ran a political campaign for city council. A Vietnamese triple threat who has traveled national and international, most recently the King & I UK. Queer authors and podcasters, a contemporary dancer from San Francisco who moonlights as part of a burlesque troupe, a certified sex educator and therapist, and a Broadway stage director. The show also featured bonus episodes with me and a queer non-bipoc artist discussing more controversial content, discussions around addiction, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sex crimes. Most notably, restorative justice for those who have experienced sexual assault. These sensitive topics, chosen because they made us uncomfortable, and we wanted to explore radical ideas in a safe space. The overall experience was rewarding, and I learned much about myself professionally and personally and found direction as an artist and content creator. Then the pandemic came canceling my trip to my birthplace of San Juan, Puerto Rico, my first trip back since we left when I was three, and a post-hurricane Maria Puerto Rico. I am applying for the grant amount of $1,500 to produce the third season, Queer Bate: Back to My Roots. Once again, we evolve our show format. Maintaining the focus on queer people of color and celebrating queer culture and the arts in Puerto Rico, at the same time, immersing myself in a different racial eco-system. The grant would cover, research, travel expenses, and podcast promotion.
Robby Myles (Robert Hill)
robbymyles@gmail.com
The grant fund will be used to finish writing and filming short projects that reflect on the black experience. The pandemic has limited me to the amount of work I could do as an artist, and has forced me to do work to sustain financially during the pandemic. Receiving these funds will give me the time to step away from working health risking jobs, and create the art I've been wanting to make, while covering all my financial requirements (rent, food, etc.).
Honesty Brennan
honesty1speaks@gmail.com
I plan on utilizing the funds to continue my growth in acting, singing, and dancing by taking training classes to advance my skills. I also would like to work on finding and agent to have better placements and auditions.
Si Chen
sichen.acts@gmail.com
I was born in WuHan, China, where Covid-19 was first identified, so the racist anti-Asian rhetoric surrounding the discussion of the virus has felt incredibly personal. My grandmother raised me in WuHan and it’s impossible for me to think of my hometown without thinking about our relationship, the food stalls we’d buy breakfast baos from, the lake we’d take walks around, and the amusement parks we’d visit in the summers. Although she passed a few years ago, the recent story of a 90 year old grandmother set on fire in Brooklyn for being Chinese during the pandemic brought her to mind. If my grandmother was still alive, could that have been her? Like the grandmother who was set on fire, would she have stayed silent about the attack until days afterward?
The pandemic is forcing East Asians to reckon with their status as POC and confront the model minority myth in a way that we haven’t had to in the past few decades. For many East Asians, this is their first experience with violent racism, not just offhanded slurs or intimidation. As a Chinese American, I hope to use this grant money to support my current work in writing a short film that will address the relationship between a granddaughter and a grandmother during the pandemic and the unique limbo in which East Asians reside when it comes to race and confronting our race in the US. Some themes I hope to highlight are the way in which Asians are encouraged to stay silent and complacent when it comes to politics, the language barrier that’s lead to the chronic under-reporting of racially motivated crimes, and the importance of bringing our parents and elders into the current discussions about race that millenial and Gen-Z Asians are having.
Emmanuel Lyons
lyons.emmanuel.s@gmail.com
If a recipient of this grant I plan to use the funds to both further my life as an artist as well as move my current project into its next phase. I am an actor and playwright and during my last year in college I created and wrote a one-man show entitled "Under the Shade of the Moon (or All I Can Keep)". This show is one that was birthed from my love of writing, storytelling, solo performance, and a deeply interpersonal relationship with professor and mentor Dr. Kristyl Tift. The show is a semi-autobiographical collection of six solo performance pieces that are centered around characters that share their stories and highlight their personal journeys. Each character poses as a self-reflection of myself and through them I talk about themes such as truth, lies, death, living, maturation, and much more. My goal is to one day professionally perform my show and with this grant money I could promptly move into the next steps to achieve that vision. I would primarily use the money to put on a demo performance of the show for an audience. The money would go towards booking a space, promotion, soliciting help (such as stage management, etc.), rehearsals, and any other things, as necessary. Being able to get this show on its feet for the first time and in front of an audience will be a major step in the right direction and also help me from an actor standpoint. Another potential usage of funding would be towards therapeutic endeavors that would help work through the emotional weight of working through and performing a show that is so directly personal and vulnerable. I would love to be a recipient and get a boost in the positive direction I believe my show is going. Thank you.
Lydia Eku
lydiaeku@gmail.com
There are a few projects I have prepared to take on for this end of this year, as well as the top of next year prayerfully. One being a reading of my play. I also am looking to do more with my YouTube series, "#RenaissanceWomanTV" and my podcast with artist and actor, Mr. Jarius Cliett called Black Table Read. With the funds we can use it to continue to market our show, as well as get much needed equipment for both ventures.
Sheldon Michael
sheldonem@outlook.com
My hope is to purchase additional equipment to continue building my voice reel. Within the last year I have begun to expand my classical training to voice acting - I want to bridge the gap between these two passions. This grant would allow for small steps to be made in accomplishing just that.
Tyra Watkins
tyra.watkins@gmail.com
I have struggled with producing my own art and content while also sustaining myself as a new artist in the Atlanta theatre community. I would love to be able to freely express myself and cultivate my own work without the burden of worrying about paying about bills. I feel as if I've been focused on developing everyone's ideas except my own. I will use these funds to bring my content to the forefront of my life. I am currently enrolled in private coaching to further my character creation and self-taping. My goals are to have more short films/videos based on my own writings to have more footage for a reel. I want to enable myself as an artist by branding and marketing myself as an actress, dancer, and model via socials and websites. I feel as though I am lacking experience and want to create these opportunities for myself instead of waiting for them to be brought to me.
DeAndre Brown
deandrembrown1228@gmail.com
To pay off student loans from undergrad and grad school
Sterling McClary
sterlingmcclary21@gmail.com
To finish editing and producing my Third original music album; pay for album art, 10 hours of studio time, paying for marketing and promoting and paying for a visual to get done. Typically I fully fund all my music endeavors but with the pandemic getting a stable full time job has been tough.
April D. Byrd
Writeraprilb@gmail.com
I plan to use this grant to continue to develop the productions and utilize the technologies available to empower citizens. The goal is to educate and empower the community centered around these productions that are created. Due to COVID-19 if we are not able to hosts attendees in person we can utilize tools and resources that will help us go virtual and extend a greater reach to those who can benefit from the content created.
Tools like Zoom, MeetUp, Social Engagement and Mass Marketing tools. Along with resources to endow our performers and contributors to the platform. We are in need of helping hands to bring the vision to pass and be a resource for others.
Cimone Green
greenheartstudios.89@gmail.com
In the times we are in, I could total use a writing retreat away from everyone and everything in silence and nature. Just a complete total refresh to get out my ideas and write.
Sterling McClary
sterlingmcclary21@gmail.com
To finish editing and producing my Third original music album; pay for album art, 10 hours of studio time, paying for marketing and promoting and paying for a visual to get done. Typically I fully fund all my music endeavors but with the pandemic getting a stable full time job has been tough.
April D. Byrd
Writeraprilb@gmail.com
I plan to use this grant to continue to develop the productions and utilize the technologies available to empower citizens. The goal is to educate and empower the community centered around these productions that are created. Due to COVID-19 if we are not able to hosts attendees in person we can utilize tools and resources that will help us go virtual and extend a greater reach to those who can benefit from the content created.
Tools like Zoom, MeetUp, Social Engagement and Mass Marketing tools. Along with resources to endow our performers and contributors to the platform. We are in need of helping hands to bring the vision to pass and be a resource for others.
Cimone Green
greenheartstudios.89@gmail.com
In the times we are in, I could total use a writing retreat away from everyone and everything in silence and nature. Just a complete total refresh to get out my ideas and write.
Akeria Gant
akeriagant@yahoo.com
I plan to use these funds to start my own small business in Vocal Coaching. With the funds, I’d purchase new software & equipment as well as books and other materials needed to aid in the start up of the business. I’m eager to start coaching and working with artists through what we now know as the new norm, virtual reality.
Bridgette Burton
bridgettecburton@gmail.com
I plan to use the grant funds to book a two-night stay at this new Airbnb called Playhouse Atlanta. Designed by famous Set designer and Creative Director Marina Skye (Set by Skye) the Airbnb has rooms with their own themes that can be used for sleepovers or photoshoots.
Here is a link to the space: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/46061974?source_impression_id=p3_1605731149_5kwnR4%2B99urrbUVd&guests=1&adults=1
I would love to book this space two nights and use the time help spark some writing and ideas for "Oh to Dream". Oh to Dream is a devised theatre piece created by artists within different genres (music, poetry, photography, theatre and visual arts). It is an artistic exploration for the artists to create and explore in their different mediums and mediums they are used to creating in.
The project ultimately will answer/explore the following questions:
• What are the things you are afraid to create?
• What would we create if we had no worries about resources?
• What do you daydream about?
• What resources do you need to dream?
• What places/people do you see yourself creating with?
The structure of the piece follows the stages of sleep.
Stage 1: You are relaxed. But you make stir or awake easily.
Artistic Exploration: What are you afraid of creating?
Stage 2: Prepares your body for deep sleep
Artistic Exploration: What resources do you need to dream?
Stage 3: Deep sleep begins, you will not easily wake up. Your body works to repair tissue and bones. Your immune system strengthens
Artistic exploration: What people/places/things restore you and help you to dream?
Stage 4: REM Sleep -- Brain activity increases. Pulse quickens and you dream. This is important because it stimulates the areas of your brain that are essential in learning and makes/retain memories
Artistic exploration: What do you daydream about? What are your wildest dreams?
Stephanie Zandra
stephaniezandra@gmail.com
I plan to use the grant funds to finance an album. Since COVID 19 hit the United States, my original performance plans for the year were all cancelled. I have thus decided to focus and invest this time into my passion of singing and song writing. The $1500 grant would allow me the ability to pay for studio time, A and R consulting, production and engineering, promotion, and other necessities needed to produce a successful project.
Regina McCray
rmccray8@gmail.com
In the current climate I have decided to focus on being a more well rounded actress. Before the pandemic I made an effort to enroll in dance classes. Now I am working on voice lessons. In my experience, auditions for my type are also required to sing, even for non musical plays. I am a always willing and ready to do the work required of me as an actress, but I am not a skilled singer and it’s holding me back. I would also like to enroll in some more acting classes in order to maintain and expand upon my education. The grant money would go right back into the community by way of helping me become a better equipped artist, and by supporting the other artists that provide educational resources.
Michael Morris, Jr.
micmorrisjr@gmail.com
Being an unemployed artist due to the pandemic has taken a toll on my mental, emotional, physical, and artistic state. The funds provided by the Sow & Grow Grant have given me hope that I may be able to record a professional dance reel and become a certified yoga instructor. I have been blessed beyond measure with the gift of dance. Still, I have held myself back from countless opportunities by not having a professional dance reel recorded due to the lack of funds to pay videographers. I am an artist that puts quality first and foremost over quantity to showcase my dancing. This generous grant will allow me to share my dance artistry in a high-quality manner with my Atlanta arts community and the world. Within this pandemic, I also developed a sincere love for the art and practice of yoga. I began practicing yoga to remain physically active and mentally stable during this time of great chaos throughout the world. I am now interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor to tune in with myself on a deeper and more authentic level. The Sow & Grow Grant will allow me to fund my yoga certification training and attain the vast knowledge and principles associated with the practice of yoga. Becoming a certified yoga instructor will teach me how to share the discovery of my inner power with others throughout my Atlanta arts community and how to remain grounded in my dance artistry upon recording my professional dance reel. I am incredibly grateful for this grant's opportunity to allow artists to stay motivated and encouraged during this pandemic and political climate. I look forward to furthering myself through my artistic passions.
candi dugas
candi@candidugas.com
Though I LOVE that y'all have made real space for artists to care for themselves, and that use of grant funds is more than good enough, I actually will use the grant funds to help finish funding my current project, the 1st phase of development for FAR AWAY FROM HOME (a musical). We are at 81% of our funding goal, and this grant would be a great help in reaching it!
Our award-winning team hosted the FAH reading workshop series finale last night. We have one more event, a fatherhood conversation with Fulton County residents on 6 Dec 2020. FAH has been a very special project with some very special, a-mazing artists (whom I've been blessed to help employ during this pandemic) telling a story that helps to amplify the Black male voice, and his quest to belong - truly.
You may read more about FAH here: https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/artistry-of-candi-dugas/campaigns/3669 (FYI - the way Fractured Atlas’ campaign pages work do not accurately reflect the full picture of our fundraising for FAH.), as well as on its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FarAwayFromHomeBycandidugas.
Thank you for this opportunity for financial support, and for ALL the work you do for racial equity for artists in our Atlanta community!
Iman Siferllah-Griffin
ImansMovement@GMAIL.COM
The project in which I am manifesting, titled Garage 11, is converting my three-car garage into a community accessible and affordable dance space. On average, Atlanta studios and dance spaces rent anywhere between $50 - $150 hourly. My project will provide an affordable option with a cost of 10/hr for individuals and $15/hr for groups. I am seeking financial support so that I can complete this project with style and quality. I believe it will positively influence the Atlanta dance community.
In July of 2020, I purchased a property that includes Garage 11. This property also will be utilized for a separate project; The project offers affordable housing opportunities for college students majoring in dance degrees. I am applying for the Sew & Grow Grant for Garage 11 only, though both of these projects are connected. Garage 11 will be accessible to the broader Atlanta arts community and those involved in my affordable student housing project free of cost.
I, like many other artists, have been financially impacted by Covid-19. I need the Sew & Grow Grant to finish my project. Although I see this project as an opportunity that will positively affect my community, my artistic investments are my livelihood. With this grant, I will be able to complete the installation of sprung shock-absorbent floors, mirrors, and purchase an adequate sound system. I then will be able to provide an affordable dance space for hundreds of dancers and artists in Atlanta and keep a roof over my head and food on my table.
Stephanie S. Scott
stephanie@trisproductions.com
Following the murder of Floyd George, Black artists nation-wide, reacted along with the Black activists in the streets, by speaking truth to power, loudly. Within the Atlanta theatre community, Black artists on multiple day-long Zoom calls, shared stories of micro aggressions, slights of prejudice and overtly racist acts they had been subject to for decades. Horrendous stories poured out of crying eyes and through angry voices, forcing the entire Atlanta theatre community to come to grips with its ills.
For many Black thespians this was the first time they’d ever shared these stories beyond the safe circles of family and friends. But not all of us had a need to participate in such a gut-wrenching purge. Why? Not because we hadn’t all experienced racism in our theatre community, but instead because there were those of us who had chosen to address the issues we faced at the moment of the transgression without, or in spite of, concern regarding loss of livelihood or other retribution.
When a Black actor asked that vocal contingent, how we had learned to do this, the answer became the seed for this project.
Sweetening This Bitter Earth: The Alchemy of Truth-Telling is a video project that will document the performances of Atlanta Black theatre artists as they deliver monologues, written by Black playwrights, which specifically embody the act of Speaking Truth To Power. The monologues will cover the historical time period from post-Emancipation to the present.
If we truly want to be about the business of healing then we must engage in Truth-telling, for it is the only human activity that has the alchemical power to facilitate effective and lasting transformation.
Kayla Parker
parker.kaylar@gmail.com
If awarded the $1,500 Sow & Grow Grant I would dedicate $1,000 towards producing my project “All These Lesbians (A.T.L),” a short series that details the intricacies of being queer in Atlanta, Georgia. The funds would be used to secure spaces and props, pay cast and crew, and ensure enough PPE is available to film this project during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series will be available for free on Youtube and Vimeo. This project feels important as we are in the midst of a global pandemic and a global call for racial reckoning. Many voices have emerged from this movement but there seems to be a void as it relates to telling queer stories. This project seeks to fill that void and ensure queer represtation in a world where our voices are often silenced.
The other $500 of the grant I would dedicate towards branding materials. These branding materials include a personal website and social media marketing for A.T.L and other projects.
Jarius Cliett
jcliett@jmcproductions.org
JMC Productions is an Atlanta based production company that was founded in February 2020 to inspire the Atlanta community through art and bring more performance opportunities to the South. We specialize in promoting the discipline of music, producing and showcasing opera and musical theater events, and providing performance opportunities. We have produced three events since our launch including our recent virtual concert Lift Every Voice: A Celebration of Black Art.
Being awarded this $1,500 grant would help us produce a lightly staged concert version of Ragtime: The Musical. In May 2020, several Atlanta theaters were exposed for their mistreatment of BIPOC artists. A particular theater that had produced Ragtime was a part of the exposed group. The testimonies that were heard and read created a desire in us to produce a safe, inclusive production of Ragtime for artists.
Due to COVID-19, it is extremely difficult and unsafe to hold large-scale, in-person events. However, we have begun researching how to return to the theater in a safe and social-distanced manner, in order to further one of our company values of paying artists that work for JMC Productions. We pride ourselves on making sure our artists are compensated for their times and talents, in order to sustain a fulfilling lifelong artistic career.
This grant will not only help us produce a concert version of Ragtime, but also help us further our mission in the Atlanta community. We want Atlanta artists to know that they have a safe and respectful workplace to follow their dreams and passions. We believe in progress and advancing the artists we serve, and we appreciate your time and consideration in helping us further this mission.
Courtney Morgan
courtneylockeent@gmail.com
Between the pandemic and being a new mom, life has been nothing but crazy. I was laid off two weeks before everything was shut down. Like so many others, I lost jobs and income and could not get an “in the meantime” job because of child care. Then there was added stress of having two essential employees living in the house and the isolating nature of only being around a young child all day. There has been a learning curve.
I am navigating this new world and figuring out, not only, how to contribute to my community, fulfill myself creatively and spend time with my son. I realized I need to take charge of my career and I need to produce my own work. I want to create a community of actor moms for not only resources but entertainment and start a production company based around actor moms. This is going to start small with a short film and web series and hopefully grow into a full studio producing tv shows, podcasts, movies and stage works. A huge part of it will be in house child care so actor mommies have one less thing to worry about.
This grant will be the start and go towards the web series, I am writing/producing, about a workaholic-dancer-mom who has been forced into stay at home mode, due to a pandemic, and the gangly band of stay at home moms; who she feels she has nothing in common with. Its something that my son will be present for and can be involved in.
And to be totally honest, $100 will probably go to getting a sitter and taking a yoga class because a mommy could really use a shavasana…socially distanced and with masks, of course.