I heard today that we didn’t get the $2,000 grant from the Arts Alliance for the Ypsi bike-powered movie project. I’m tempted to go off on a rant, as I think that our project was better than a lot of other ones that were funded, and would have positively affected a great many more people, but, having been on the other side of the table, awarding grants through the Shadow Art Fair grant program, I know how difficult it can be to make those decisions, especially when funds are tight. This year, I’m told, over 25 groups applied for Arts Alliance mini-grants, and only 9 were granted. (None of them, for what it’s worth, were in Ypsi.) If you want to see a list of the projects that were funded, you can find one here. Among the winners were established community arts organizations like the Ann Arbor Film Festival ($1,000), The Ark ($1,875), and the Brighton Arts & Culture Commission ($3,000).
I’m not giving up on the idea, though. I’ll find the $2,000 we need somewhere… I figure there have to be people in the area that would like to see something like this happen in the community.
I’ll keep you posted.
And, speaking of the Shadow Art Fair, I don’t think that I’ve mentioned it yet, but the next one will be Saturday, December 6 at the Corner Brewery.
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When the Ann Arbor Arts Alliance did their artists census they said it was because they wanted to understand how broad the arts base was in the region and find who was doing interesting work. The impression was as a result they would also be broadening the range of groups they worked with and supported. That is not what happened. When it came time to cut checks they went to all the usual suspects. It isn’t about getting arts to the masses and building communities. It is about spreading money out to pet projects of the board of directors. AH
Don’t give up, Mark.
Give up, Mark.
Man, me and my friends are watching a DVD of Prom Night tonight and we couldn’t even get the arts alliance to pony up for popcorn!
Maybe there’s a tie-in possibility with Ann Arbor’s bike choir? A bike-powered silent movie, with music by the cyclists?