NORWICH – The Chenango County Council of the Arts held its annual decentralization grants ceremony Wednesday night, awarding funds to non-profit arts and culture organizations in Chenango Broome and Otsego Counties and paying special recognition to the Christian Neighborhood Center with the Russell J. Perlman Award of Excellence for its proposed 2012 project concept.
The funding and honors awarded to each organization were reviewed by a nine-member pannel for the Council of the Arts Decentralization (DEC) Grant Program, which promotes an increase of community arts and cultural programs in Broome, Chenango and Otsego Counties. Eligibility of funding for each applicant is determined by guidelines established by the New York State Council on the Arts.
After reviewing grant applications from 68 non-profit arts organizations from across the three serviced counties, the council allocated $80,481 in cultural funding to 56 organizations through the DEC program, with an additional $10,000 given to the Broome County DEC from the Stewart W. and Wilma C. Hoyt Foundation for a funding total of $90,481.
“By the work you do, you are paving the way for people to realize how bright and vibrant our civilization can be,” Chenango Council of the Arts Director Victoria Kappel told attending arts advocates.
This year, allocations to Chenango County organizations were presented by Guilford Superintendent George Seneck on behalf of the Chenango County Board of Supervisors, and to Broome and Otsego counties by Rod Decker, who stood in as a representative for Assemblyman Clifford Crouch.
Said Seneck, “the arts is an opportunity to bring communities together ... and gives people a chance, so to speak, to breathe in crisp, fresh air.”
In addition to receiving $2,000 in DEC grant funding, the Christian Neighborhood Center (a.ka. The Place) was spotlighted for its proposed summer project, “Vibrant Waves on Bluestone,” which earned the 2012 Russell J. Perlman Award for Excellence. After reviewing project outlines from 23 viable candidates in Chenango County, The Place was determined the recipient based on a set of criteria set by the DEC pannel.
The esteemed award (named after the late Russ Perlman, who chaired the DEC panel for two years in the late 90s) is a noble honor, explained Michelle Connelly, program director and development associate at the Chenango Council of the Arts.
“Vibrant Waves on Bluestone” is a mural concept which the organization proposes to paint on a visible building facade in the heart of the city or on removable panels that can be dismantled and reassembled in different places throughout the county.
Under the leadership of artist and mural designer Kathy Creutzburg, youth participants of the project will by painting area landscapes and rivers that flow together and create sweeping timeline that bridges the past and the present. A description of the project written by The Place explains the intent is to draw attention to regional history and its relationship with rivers, water and land.
“Support has allowed us to experiment with youth the finer points of art,” Creutzburg said in accepting the award. “It’s hard for me to watch so many vacant storefronts in such a s beautiful town,” she said, stressing the need for the mural to be visible in the middle of the city.
“This was a great, multi-faceted project,” Connelly said prior to the ceremony. “Especially for a youth organization, it (the award) gives kids more self-esteem and pride in their work.”