Trustus to Receive $10,000 Grant from National Endowment of the Arts

Trustus Theatre has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Grants for Arts Projects award of $10000. This grant will support the production of Fairview by Jackie Sibblies Drury, directed by Terrance Henderson. This grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.

"The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects in communities nationwide," said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. "Projects such as this one with Trustus Theatre strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy."

"Trustus Theatre is grateful to the NEA for providing funding to ensure we can continue to produce cutting edge work that encourages relevant and necessary social conversations," said Trustus' Executive Director Jessica Fichter.

Trustus Theatre will present the 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Fairview April 28th through May 13th, 2023. The play provides a poignant look at white fragility and the white gaze which is incredibly relevant to the Columbia, SC community. With race being at the forefront of the discussion in America, producing Fairview is a tangible project to bring the discussion of race into the artistic landscape of Columbia and to provide artists with actionable avenues for change. The show is directed by Terrance Henderson, Trustus' Equity Advisor and Company member. "Doing this work helps me to be a better ambassador of the organization," said Henderson. "It allows us to heal wounds and build trust by communicating cues of safety to marginalized groups who look for those cues when navigating institutional spaces, allows us to set measurable goals and make concrete steps towards achieving those goals, and helps us to actualize our spoken mission of inclusivity in real terms."

Funding from the NEA will be used to support training sessions and support for the creatives involved in the project, as well to fund talkbacks following performances. Talkbacks are scheduled following performances on April 30, 2023, May 7, 2023, and May 11, 2023.

Tickets for Fairview go on sale to the general public on April 11th. For more information, visit trustus.org or call the Box Office at (803) 254-9732. For more information on other projects included in the NEA's grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.