The Old Globe Earns California Arts Council Grant Award

The Old Globe has received five California Arts Council grants for the work it is doing to make theatre matter to more people, to both support existing programs and expand into new areas. The grant awards to the Globe total $91,855 for the period of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. The Artist in Communities program granted $16,200 to the Globe for its coLAB community new-work-creation program; Arts Education Exposure granted the Globe $16,200 for Free Student Matinees; JUMP StArts awarded the Globe a $2,500 planning grant to pilot Reflecting Shakespeare-in which inmates create original theatre pieces based on works by the Bard-in the juvenile justice system; Veterans in the Arts awarded $16,200 for the Globe's Technical Center Apprentice Program for Military Veterans; and Youth Arts Action provided $16,200 for the 2019 Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio, the Globe's summer program for high-school students.

The Globe was also awarded a contract totaling $24,555 from Arts in Corrections to train Globe Teaching Artists to work in correctional facilities and to adapt Reflecting Shakespeare for individuals with physical and mental disabilities experiencing incarceration at San Diego's Donovan State Prison.

"The Old Globe believes that theatre matters, and in our commitment to make it matter to more people, we rely on the California Arts Council's extraordinary support," said The Old Globe's Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "These newly announced grants will help us make our arts engagement programs matter to thousands and thousands of San Diegans, including students, veterans, and homeless and incarcerated individuals. Our programs are enriching, educational, and inclusive, and we couldn't be more honored that their power and impact are recognized and enhanced by the CAC. We are grateful for this funding."

The Globe is one of 96 grantees chosen to receive funds through the Artist in Communities program, which is designed to support artistic residencies in community settings. The Globe received $16,200 for coLAB, a program that fosters collaborations between professional artists and community members to create original theatrical works. In 2019, collaborating artist Daniel Jáquez and residents of City Heights will develop a new performance piece for the City Heights 2019 Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Festival. Free public performances will be offered on Saturday, October 26 at 2:00 p.m. at the City Heights/Weingart Branch Library & Performance Annex; and on Sunday, November 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the Globe's Copley Plaza.

The Globe is one of 124 organizations that received funding through the California Arts Council's Arts Education Exposure program. The Globe's Free Student Matinees were funded with a grant of $16,200. The Free Student Matinee Program will provide nearly 5,500 students and teachers from schools throughout San Diego County free admission to the Globe's world-class plays and musicals. For many students, this is their first exposure to professional theatre. Free pre- and post-show workshops build students' artistic literacy and provide key background information about productions.

The JUMP StArts program, supporting arts education and artist-in-residence programs for youth engaged in the juvenile justice system, awarded a grant of $2,500 to the Globe to work with Amanda Wallace, Visual and Performing Arts Technician for the San Diego County Office of Education's Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS), to adapt Reflecting Shakespeare-our successful program currently used in adult correctional facilities-to better meet the needs of system-engaged youth. Through this planning grant, the Globe will test an adapted version of the program in up to three JCCS facilities. The Globe was one of 51 grantees receiving support from this CAC program.

The Globe is one of 46 grantees chosen for the Veterans in the Arts program, which enriches the lives of our veterans and their families, with an award of $16,200 for the Technical Center Apprentice Program for Military and Veterans. The program will offer paid job training for veterans, active military re-entering civilian life, and their spouses. During the grant period, apprenticeship positions will be provided for up four participants, each training for a minimum of eight weeks. The Globe will work with Veterans Village of San Diego and other local military partners to identify and recruit new apprentices.

The Globe is one of 244 grantees chosen for Youth Arts Action, receiving $16,200 for the 2019 Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio, a four-week summer program for students in grades 9-12 and recent high school graduates. The program offers a unique opportunity for students to develop foundational skills for reading, interpreting, and performing Shakespeare's plays, and also to cultivate their own artistic voice through storytelling and creating original material inspired by deep, personal connections to Shakespeare.

A separate CAC contract for service provides funding for Arts in Corrections-$24,555 for the development of a training program for Globe Teaching Artists to work in correctional facilities and to adapt Reflecting Shakespeare activities to meet the needs of populations with physical, developmental, and mental disabilities experiencing incarceration at San Diego's Donovan State Prison. This program will expand the pool of artists qualified to do this very challenging work, with intensive training for up to five Teaching Artists to work in a prison environment and create a common language and methodology. The current program activities, designed for general population yards, will be adapted to meet the unique needs of all of the prison population.

These awards were featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council, which distributed grant funds totaling $24,508,541 for 2018-2019 across more than 1,300 grants. This year's total award amount marks an increase of more than $8.1 million over last year's investment, the second-highest investment in statewide arts programming for California, surpassed only by the 2000-2001 fiscal year.

California Arts Council-funded projects span the whole of the arts and cultural fields, with funding offered in 14 unique grant-program areas addressing access, equity, and inclusion; community vibrancy; and arts learning and engagement; and aligning with the California Arts Council's vision of a state strengthened by a spectrum of arts and artists. New artwork, events, classes, workshops, and other opportunities for creative expression funded through these projects will directly benefit our state's communities, with youth, veterans, returned citizens, and California's historically marginalized communities key among them.

"Arts and culture are inextricably linked to our humanity," said Nashormeh Lindo, California Arts Council Chair. "They serve as a universal touchpoint for understanding and addressing our societal issues-dismantling inequity, healing trauma, reframing justice, inspiring truth, and shaping futures. Our Council is humbled to support the vital work of these organizations and their passionate efforts to make a better California for us all."

Lindo continued, "CAC grants are hard-won through a competitive process, and we applaud all those who applied this year. We encourage organizations that were not among the awardees to continue their efforts for a potential award next year, and we welcome the growth of our programs to bring new applicants into the fold."

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