Office for the Arts spring grants announced

The Office for the Arts (OFA) has announced its support of 23 student art projects and performances that will take place during Arts First weekend (May 1-4). Sponsored by the OFA grants program and selected by the Council on the Arts, the projects range from music and the visual arts to theater and the cultural arts. The Council on the Arts, a committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, responded favorably to 83 percent of the grant requests. Council members include Robert J. Kiely (chair), Elizabeth Bergmann, S. Allen Counter, Deborah Foster, Jorie Graham, Christopher Killip, Annette Lemieux, Cathleen McCormick, Jack Megan, Robert J. Orchard, Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Marcus Stern, and John Stewart.

The spring 2003 grants for dance

Arts First Dance Festival 2003, Megan Cameron ’05: OFA Grant for the annual Arts First Dance Festival, which brings together many Harvard dance groups, both undergraduate and graduate, in a performance at Lowell Hall.

Crimson Dance Team, festival performance, Rebecca Gomez ’03: Linker Grant for the Crimson Dance Team’s presentation of three pieces incorporating elements of jazz, funk, gymnastics, and ballet.

Harvard Ballet Company, ballet selections, Laurie Schnidman ’05: Linker Grant for a performance featuring selections from the 2002-03 company season as well as original choreographed pieces created by senior members of the company.

Asian American Dance Troupe, Fei Tian, and modern Asian- American dance, Anne Nguyen ’04: Linker Grant for a performance featuring an ancient Chinese court dance, as well as an original student choreographed dance piece that combines traditional elements of Asian dances with modern interpretation.

Harvard Vietnamese Association, Vietnamese dance – Ba nang thieu nu, Hoang-Oanh Nguyen ’04: Linker Grant for a showcase of works including dances inspired by traditional Vietnamese music.

The spring 2003 grants for literature

The Harvard Advocate, “Interstice Reading,” Lily Brown ’04: Segal Grant to produce a reading that will accompany a collaborative exhibition of visual art and text. Students will read from a variety of works incorporated in the exhibition and speak about their experiences.

Xanadu, prose slam, Jim Weatherall ’04: OFA Grant for a “prose slam” in which undergraduates will have the opportunity to read excerpts of prose. The intent is to offer a new way for creative writers to present their work.

The spring 2003 grants for multidisciplinary arts

Collaborative installation, Nancy Selvage: Segal Grant for the creation of a collaborative multimedia installation in Harvard Yard. The installation would create intimate intuitive environments and gathering spaces.

The Harvard Advocate, “Interstice,” Karl Hinojosa ’05: Solomon Grant to produce an exhibition of student art and literary work. The exhibit will include written work in response to the visual pieces of various media.

Women’s Leadership Conference, “Ostara,” Uju Obi ’04: Segal Grant to produce a performance celebrating female talent. The event will bring together many different genres of female artists such as singer-songwriters, acoustic ensembles, and dancers.

Theater and Visual Arts in Dialogue, Lesley Ma ’03: Segal Grant for an exhibition featuring set models, design drawings, costume sketches, scenery pieces, backstage photographs, and props. The exhibition will expose the creative process behind the scenes of several campus theater productions, presenting an important aspect of theater production that audiences usually do not experience.

The spring 2003 grants for music

A performance of sacred 20th century motets, Neil Davidson ’03: Linker Grant for a concert featuring “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” by John Tavener; “Pater Noster” and “Ave Maria” by Igor Stravinsky; “Quatre Motets” by Maurice Duruflé; and a selection from “All-Night Vigil” by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Harvard Wind Ensemble, “Colorful Winds,” Nick Jameson ’06: Linker Grant for a concert (to be held on the steps of Memorial Church) that links music and images.

Harvard Sunday Jazz Band, “Ellington Meets Mingus,” Alan Lenarcic ’03: Linker Grant for the annual performance of the Sunday Jazz Band at the Arts First luncheon. This year’s concert will include the works of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus.

Mozart Society Orchestra spring concert, Jeff Bezanson ’04: Linker Grant for a program of orchestral repertoire featuring a varied selection of pieces.

Harvard Pops Orchestra, Mark Goldin ’05: Linker Grant for the Pops performance featuring a new treatment of “Casey at the Bat,” written by music director Allen Feinstein ’86, along with a student arrangement of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Save the Music Inc., Quincy House Folk-Rock Festival, Nicholas Topjian ’03: OFA Grant for an outdoor, mini-folk/rock festival featuring solo singer-songwriters from inside and outside the Harvard campus. The event will provide a forum for touring professionals and recent musician grads to offer advice to students who are hoping to pursue careers in music.

The spring 2003 grants for theater

Asian American Association Players, “Day Standing on Its Head,” Stephanie Lim ’03: Linker Grant for a production of the Philip Kan Gotanda play, which centers on a law professor who finds his life and marriage unraveling when he researches a paper on his involvement in a 1970s campus strike. Odd characters invade his dreams, spilling into his waking life so that he is unable to tell the two worlds apart.

Void Productions, “Phaedra’s Love,” Anthony Gabriele ’03: Timthy S. Mayer Grant for the local premiere performance of Sarah Kane’s dark and piercing retelling of the Phaedra myth.

Sunken Garden Children’s Theater, “The Princess and the Pea,” Eva Furrow ’03: Linker Grant for an outdoor performance of the classic fairy tale in the Sunken Garden of Radcliffe Yard.

Winthrop House Drama Society, “The Tempest,” Matthew Baggetta: Segal Grant for an outdoors Shakespeare in the park flavored production in the courtyard between Gore and Standish Halls featuring music and choreography by students.

Immediate Gratification Players, “The Twister Show”, Gregory Gagnon ’04: Timothy S. Mayer Grant for a character-based long- form improvisation performance in a space that will be decorated to look like a giant Twister mat.

The spring 2003 grant for visual arts

“Dress,” Elizabeth Janiak ’03: Solomon Grant for a multimedia art exhibit that explores gender and consumer identity through the annual Filene’s bridal dress sale.