Current Grantees

Current Grantees

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Jan 2023 Create Grantees

Funding for artists and organizations for an arts and/or cultural project taking place in Santa Cruz County

Francisco Alonso ($3,000) – Publicación de 40 libros de arte con 20 de mis obras originales y una breve narración por cada una en español e inglés. 20 de ellos los donaré a bibliotecas, “juvenile hall centers,” cárceles de adultos y a escuelas. (Publication of 40 books of art with 20 of my original work and a brief narrative for each in English and Spanish. 20 will be donated to libraries, juvenile hall centers, prisons, and schools).

Loubayi Arnaud ($2,400) – Ha Mbongui African dance and drum conference at Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center in May 2023, including dance and drum classes, African vendors (clothes, jewelry, food, art), and a performance.

Pablo Calderaro ($3,000) – Huitzil-Ollin: Autonomous Music & Arts Collective Supporting Grassroots Land Defense & Agriculture through a 4 song EP and a free culminating performance event. The event will be based around creating solidarity, lifting up community voices, & addressing community issues, and potentially take place on agricultural land.

Julia Chiapella ($1,000) – The Hive Poetry Collective is collaborating with Bookshop Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History to present The Hive Live!, a series of bi-monthly poetry readings free to the public beginning in January 2023 and continuing through November. At least two poets will be featured at each reading with a focus on BIPOC, queer, and disabled poets.

Brenda Leach ($2,400) – Bodypainting art to foster body acceptance for 13 people processing physical changes. Projects may include people dealing with cancer, mastectomy, eating disorders, effects of dialysis, pregnancy, gender issues, etc. The art will be artistically photographed, and some images will be printed on canvas for future exhibition along with quotes and words about the person’s experience.

Andrew Purchin ($3,000) – What’s Home? An Evening of Creative Listening Across Differences will present new music, theater & dance performances with documentary screenings about each artist’s collaboration with housed and unhoused individuals that informed these new artworks.

Genevieve Rico ($800) – Writing and developing a short film within Santa Cruz County (Watsonville focus), exploring the stigma behind grief within the Latinx/e family culture.

Lauren Seales – String Theory ($2,400) - A new musical piece for lyricist and violin, approximately 5-7 minutes in length, to be created, recorded and performed in a collaboration between Isaac Collins (hip hop lyricist) and Edwin Huizinga (violinist and composer), stemming from a calling to address white supremacy in classical music.

Shared Adventures ($2,200) – Weekly art class for individuals with physical and developmental challenges, covering a range of art media and styles, starting with pastel sketching, pencil drawing, water colors, acrylic paints, various 3D media, and photography. Experiences with life models and plein air painting will be included. A goal is to have a group project in the Santa Cruz County Fair as well as any opportunity for a mural or public art and at least one First Friday event.

All About Theatre ($3,000) – Building a resilient future: Capturing the Youth Pandemic Experience with Theater Arts – Youth from all over the county will participate in a creative writing, composing, performance piece as a series of workshops. The project will explore how youth experienced the lockdown, record their concerns, fears, and dreams during this time of great change.

Jan 2023 Develop Grantees

Professional development funding for artists and arts organizations

Samantha Bounkeua ($1,000) – To purchase studio audio equipment to expand the range of production possibilities for the release of 2023 music catalog for synch licensing.

Sarah Buckius ($1,500) – To pay for large-scale printing of illustrations/designs for exhibition at The University of Michigan, The Institute for Research on Women and Gender and the Women’s and Gender Studies Department, Lane Hall Exhibit Space, in May 2023

Denise Chasin ($750) – To attend an advanced painting weekend with artist Laureen Mantecon in New Mexico. This is a continuation of the past 10 month “Deep Dive Program.”

Crystal Contreras* ($1,000) – To take a papermaking workshop and a block printing course, and to purchase linoprinting equipment to further my lino art creations

Farnaz Fatemi ($875) –To develop freelance writing opportunities through website development and professional coursework

Elhadji Faye* ($1,000) – To purchase African Djembe Drums for teaching

Melody Overstreet ($1,500) – To attend a series of workshops on Natural Dyeing to further my skills in Textile Arts.

Krista Pollock* ($1,500)– To purchase a good computer that will further accommodate Digital Media work.

Josefina Rocha Vega ($750) – To purchase painting materials to further expand my presence as a local artist via website, art markets/fairs, open studios, and gallery showings.

Royal Eagle Bear Productions ($1,200) – To relocate the de la Riva Herstory archive to Santa Cruz County.

Virginia Sajan ($1,500) – Updated equipment (three lenses and a backup camera body) for my art/photography business.

Jackson Sales ($1,000) – Fresco Painting Intensive at the Muralism School of Oaxaca

Santa Cruz Art League ($1,200) – National Association of Latino Arts & Culture (NALAC) Advocacy Leadership Institute

Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center* ($1,500) – To hire an HR consultant to assist with establishing staff pay rates and create an employee handbook.

Marissa Walker ($1,500) – To attend metal fabrication workshop with Nicole Ringhold.

Bev Zerbib-Berda* ($684.20) – Corelite Kiln Shelves, for studio 120 at the Tannery, to be used by four women ceramic artists.

April Zilber ($1,395) – To purchase cold-working equipment to tune fused glass bell plates by grinding.

*Tannery loft/studio tenant, funded by the Tannery Program

Jan 2023 Support Grantees

General operating support for nonprofit arts organizations and fiscally-sponsored arts groups

Actors’ Theater of Santa Cruz ($3,000)

Arte Del Corazón ($6,000)

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music ($7,000)

Distinguished Artists ($4,500)

Indexical ($5,000)

Kuumbwa Jazz Society ($4,000)

Motion Pacific ($6,000)

Natural Bridges Media ($5,000)

Pajaro Valley Arts* ($7,000)

Royal Eagle Bear Productions* ($7,000)

Santa Cruz Art League ($4,000)

Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony ($4,000)

Santa Cruz Juneteenth ($3,500)

Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) ($4,000)

Santa Cruz Shakespeare ($7,000)

Santa Cruz Symphony ($4,000)

Scotts Valley Community Theater Guild ($3,000)

Senderos* ($7,000)

Tandy Beal ($4,000)

Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center ($5,000)

The 418 Project ($3,000)

The Beat Within ($3,000)

West Creative Performing Arts ($4,500)

William James Association ($2,500)

*Two-year grant awarded as pilot multi-year funding strategy for the Support Grant program

2021-2024 Elevate Grantees

Funding to “elevate” a cohort of arts organizations to the next level of success over a three-year period.

Fall 2022 SPECTRA Grantees

Matching grants to bring arts education opportunities into schools and organizations across Santa Cruz County to enhance their arts education programs. .

Green Acres Elementary ($1,450) - Michael Katz, storytelling performance

Live Oak Elementary ($2,000) - Travis Adams, ceramics workshop

Shoreline Middle ($2,000) - after-school mural project

Pacific Elementary ($1,500) - Terri Steinmann, theater residency

Calabasas Elementary ($2,000) - Mural residency

Lakeview Middle ($2,000) - Augusto Alvarez, dance residency

Watsonville Charter School for the Arts ($2,000) - Debbie Wu, visual Arts residency

Bayview ($1,050) - Nora Sarkkissian, after-school ceramics residency

Brook Knoll Elementary ($1,000)- Tandy Beal and Co, dance residency

Soquel Elementary ($1,000) - West Theatre, theater residency

Community dance classes ($2,000) - Folklorico Estrellas 

Community music classes ($2,000) - Activities 4 All

July 2022 Cultivate Grantees

Project Support

Arte Del Corazón ($2,400) – Two Art Markets that support local artists economically, provide free arts activities to the community, expose locals to dance and music performances and strengthen the value of the arts within the Watsonville community.

Vivien Bassouamina ($2,400) – Kikulu Kianza: 11th Annual Traditions of the World Drum and Dance Conference 2022 in Santa Cruz.

Coastal Watershed Council ($2,000)– San Lorenzo Park Playground Serpent Community repainting.

Isabel Contreras ($2,100) – Mexican Independence Day Dance Showcase and Festival in Santa Cruz County.

Raúl Díaz ($2,100) – Celebrando el Día de la Madre en la Tradición Mexicana Festival Cultural.

Michael Flora ($1,950) – Meshworks – a multimedia installation derived from artificial intelligence.

Amanda Gamban ($2,100) – The Tobera Project is a community-driven arts and culture initiative serving to promote and highlight the Filipino immigrant experience in Watsonville through a series of artistic activities and events.

Alwa Gordon ($750) – Full album and promotion for Alwa Gordon Music.

Bryant Miguel (aka Rip Florence) / Shallow Dive Records ($750) – Releasing an album digitally and on cassette tapes featuring a compilation of local, marginalized musicians’ music.

Museo Eduardo Carrillo ($2,100) – Museo and the Diversity Center will use Chicano/a/Latinx art to inspire personal narrative writing with the LGBTQ+ Creative Aging community.

Thomas Pedersen ($900) – Monthly Speak for Change Podcast event, featuring live music and highlighting BIPOC voices in Santa Cruz County and beyond.

Regeneration, Pajaro Valley Climate Action ($750) – T-Shirts for Climate Justice in Watsonville Art Festival.

Eugenia Renteria ($2,000) – Video Production for Spanglish Latinx Series Film/Video.

Santa Cruz Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Collective ($750) – Santa Cruz Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Festival: Celebrating the contributions and cultural heritage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (the AAPI community) in Santa Cruz County.

Stephanie Suarez ($2,100) – BIPOC LGBTQI+ performing arts event curation & community building in Watsonville.

Chadwick Tree Flores ($1,950) – Redwood Forest Fairytale Photography Book.

Professional Development Support

Francisco Alonso – Comprar una cámara fotográfica para la expansión/colaboración de arte.

Tim Brady / Aquanaut Audio To fund equipment for the filming, audio recording, mixing and promotion of various musicians.

Carlos Campos – Buying video production equipment.

Dave Crellin – To purchase a desktop computer to edit and process video and audio.

Elizabeth Espinoza Mendez – Comprar una computadora para la producción y grabación de canciones originales.

Alwa Gordon To fund the purchase of an updated video camera.

Enrique Lopez Rivera – To purchase printmaking materials to create a series for display and help reestablish participation in the Santa Cruz art community.

Alie Mac – To complete Film Commission courses to advance career in economic development and the arts.

Megan Martinez Goltz – Camera equipment to document and share more community stories.

John Orlando – To study music at Chateau d’Aix Piano Summer School in France.

Pajaro Valley Arts – To fund a facilitator to assist in updating our strategic plan to include the equity framework required to support PVA’s renewed vision and goals.

Josefina Rocha Vega – To purchase painting materials to further expand presence as a local artist via website, art markets/fairs, gallery showings, as well as teaching painting workshops.

Olivia Ronan – To finance travel expenses to The Sable Project artists’ residency ( Stockbridge, Vt.) in order to develop my art practice.

Biagio Scarpello – Purchase tradeshow booth, signage, and expenses involved with marketing and sales.

Santa Cruz Shakespeare – Annual professional development funds for staff.

Cynthia Spillman – To attend an Advanced Painting and/or Studio Strategy and Direction class at Anderson Ranch Art Center Visual Art.

Jovanna Vera-Bobadilla – To purchase supplies and equipment to start a small business online store and increase social media presence.

Tannery Professional Development

Johanna Atkinson – To help fund furthering my education in the arts thus enabling me to be an arts educator.

Rachel Barnes – To attend a sustainable internship to further learn natural-building techniques, to bring grander skills to my artwork in a sustainable nature entangled way.

Linda Cover – To take three printing classes at the Printmakers of the Tannery to raise my skill level.

Oumou Faye – To create a website to expand my presence into the public landscape.

Amanda Hess – To purchase a computer.

Bree Karpavage – To hire a website professional to repair and develop website.

Ellen O’Hanlon – To purchase a laptop to edit original artwork, improve my professional online presence, increase sales and community participation.

CC Parsons – To purchase materials to further expand my product line

Thomas Pedersen – Marketing fees and professional consultant fees to expand Speak For Change’s reach and impact.

Joan Rose Staffen – To help launch and market “The Creative Pendulum”.

Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center – To hire a consultant to assist in researching, coordinating, and applying for grant funding to support the organization’s leadership transition and renewed vision and goals.

Danielle Torvik-Staffen – To buy installation equipment/framing for large scale paintings and pay for labor assistance.

Gazelle Walker – To purchase art prints, t-shirts & clothing with my designs on them to sell locally & expand my creative business.