Masterwork Music and Art Foundation Announces 2026 Community Arts Grant Awardees

Our Community Arts Grant Awards are designed to support the incredible artists and organizations bringing creative excellence to our local communities. This year, we offered four grants to creators across the tri-state area:

1 Grant at the $1,000 level

3 Grants at the $500 level

A huge Thank You to our Program Committee-Joseph White, Eric Hafen, Eileen White, Tony Javed, and Alice Glock-for their dedication to evaluating this year's applicants and defining our award criteria.

Here are this year's awardees:

· The $1,000 award goes to the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra

The RSO Quartet, comprised of the principal string players of the Ridgefield Symphony

Orchestra, will perform a concert inspired by the visual art of the exhibition The Aldrich Decennial: I am what is around me. The exhibition features artists who live and work in the state of Connecticut.

For more about this event and the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, visit: www.ridgefieldsymphony.org

$500 awards go to each of the following:

· The Masterwork Chorus - The Chorus offers a Reach Out program, which brings live choral music directly to senior citizens and individuals residing at assisted living, rehabilitation, and healthcare facilities throughout Morris County. It is the cornerstone of their outreach efforts and is made possible entirely through the dedication of our volunteer singers.

For more about the Masterwork Chorus, visit: www.masterwork.org

· Found Sound Circle -- Found Sound at Bettenbender Bridge is a two-hour, site-responsive community arts event centered on the covered bridge at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts, New Brunswick, NJ. The event will invite participants into a guided exploration of the site's sonic environment, culminating in a collaborative composition, developed and performed in real time by Found Sound Circle ensemble members and audience participants.

For more about the Found Sound Circle, visit: www.stephanieleotsakos.com/foundsoundcircle

· FJK Dance - The dance company will present a Fall performance of To Heart, a multimedia production by Fadi Joseph Khoury. Inspired by the poetry of Rumi. Through the integration of contemporary dance, live painting, calligraphy, music, video projection, and animation, To Heart highlights the beauty and depth of Middle Eastern culture while challenging cultural stereotypes.

For more about FJK Dance, visit: www.fjkdance.org

Congratulations to all of this year's awardees!

About The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts for over 60 years. One hundred percent of your donation funds art and artists through community grants, an emerging artist award, and a premier award for a new work. Find out more at www.masterworkarts.org.