City Parks Foundation Announce The Richard Rodgers Amphitheater Grantees for 2012-13

City Parks Foundation and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation today announced the winners of the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater performing arts grant, a one-time $25,000 award intended to attract premier arts presenters to produce works at the recently constructed Richard Rodgers Amphitheater at Marcus Garvey Park in historic Harlem. 

Thirty grant applications were submitted for consideration and vetted by an esteemed peer panel of arts presenters and community leaders from five Harlem-based institutions: The Apollo Theater; the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance; Harlem School of the Arts; Harlem Stage / Aaron Davis Hall; and the Harlem Community Development Corporation. 

Five grant applicants of the pool were selected on the merits of their proposed project and submitted work samples and each finalist will be awarded $5,000 to present works at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater during the summer of 2012 or 2013.

“We are so pleased not only to have been able to help construct the new Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in the park where Richard Rodgers played as a child,” said Joshua Rubenstein, Treasurer of the Rodgers Family Foundation, “but also now to help further his legacy by making grants to such deserving neighborhood recipients.”

Below are the chosen grantees.

Jazzmobile

An all-star concert in August 2012 announcing Jazzmobile’s 50^th Anniversary, featuring the Jazzmobile Big Band, a multi-generational big band comprised of musicians ages 20-80+ under the leadership of jazz legend Jimmy Heath, featuring special guests and artists.

Museum for African Art

Two free community-based outdoor music festivals in summer 2013, featuring bands from across the African Diaspora and the Latin world. The festivals will bridge the diverse communities surrounding Marcus Garvey Park through the cross cultural languages of music and dance.

Dance Theatre of Harlem

Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble is the Second Company of the world-renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem. This talented group of young dancers will share their unique blend of classical, neoclassical and contemporary ballet with a style and flavor that is distinctively Harlem. This first summer performance in the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater scheduled for early June, 2012, marks the end of a four-year national “Dance for America Tour” by the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble.

“Can't Be Silenced,” the Mafrika Music Festival

Mafrika Music Festival is an annual free outdoor gathering at Marcus Garvey Park featuring both traditional and modern African/world musicians, dancers and artists of diverse disciplines (cuisine, sculpture, painting and literature), in a celebration of common African heritage. This year, the festival will happen on Sunday, July 15 from 10am to 7pm.

The Classical Theatre of Harlem

The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH) is a professional theatre company founded in 1999 at the Harlem School for the Arts. In each of its productions—which have included numerous works by Shakespeare, Euripides, Beckett, Wilson and Walcott, CTH is dedicated to returning “classics” to the stages of Harlem, to nurturing new, young, and culturally diverse audiences, and to producing theatre that truly reflects the diversity of ideas and racial tapestry of America. CTH will present a full production of William Shakespeare’s “Midsummer’s Night Dream” at the Richards Rodgers Amphitheater in summer 2013.

“The renovation of this bandshell was enormously good news for the long-term health of Marcus Garvey Park and the surrounding community," said Alison Tocci, President of City Parks Foundation.  "Now, we’re thrilled to announce that we are supporting increased programming here, which is one of the most important methods of reclaiming a park as a vital community resource.  This beautiful new bandshell will now become a vital community and educational resource for decades to come.” 

“These grants will help ensure that the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater offers high-quality cultural programs and serves as the premier outdoor performance venue in Harlem,” said Manhattan Parks Commissioner William Castro.  “The Rodgers Family Foundation should be commended for reinforcing its commitment to this wonderfully reconstructed facility by providing the funding that made these grants possible.”

In keeping with its mission to connect people with their neighborhood parks, City Parks Foundation (CPF) was proud to play a lead role in the project development of the new Richard Rodgers Amphitheater and to facilitate the grant application and award process.  CPF is the only nonprofit organization to create programs in parks throughout all five boroughs of New York City. We enrich and connect New Yorkers through free and accessible arts, sports, education and community-building initiatives, working in over 750 parks and reaching more than 600,000 people each year.

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