Southborough – The Southborough Cultural Arts Council (SCAC) announced that in December 2014 it awarded $8,191 to 15 grant recipients. A total of 18 grant applications had been received, requesting $10,817.
“We’re thankful that this year we are able fund numerous great programs to benefit the Southborough community,” Council Director Jen Hansen said. “We received $4,300 from the Massachusetts Cultural Arts Council, and had $3,891 in unclaimed funds from previous years.”
Among the 2014 grantees there are seven musical performances, and two programs at the library. For the second year in a row, the SCAC is providing significant funding for the Southborough Recreation Summer Concert Series. The SCAC is partially funding the March 8 Assabet Valley Mastersinger’s performance at St. Marks School of a new full symphonic choral work by James Whitbourn, “Annelies,” which is based on “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
Details of grants are as follows: Teen craft programming at the Southborough Library ($1,000); Sachem Magazine printing costs, Algonquin Regional High School ($1,000); Heritage Chorale Pops Concert at St. Mark’s School ($250); Discovery Museum, Acton ($250); Messiah Concert at Pilgrim Church ($250); Century Chinese School Art Group Spring Chinese Festival Performance, Algonquin Regional High School, February ($600); Symphony Pro Musica Summer Winds Concert, Hudson High School and Westborough Mill Pond School ($250); From Cows to Computers: the ‘70s in Southborough, Donna McDaniel at Southborough Library ($500); Assabet Valley Mastersingers, “Annelies” concert, St. Mark’s School ($1,000); Audio Journal for the blind, visually impaired, or reading impaired ($300); Metrowest Symphony Orchestra, Youth and Experience Concert, Keefe Tech, ($200); Northborough Area Community Chorus, Spring and Holiday Concerts, Southgate (Shrewsbury), ARH, Trottier Middle School and the Willows of Westborough ($350); Westborough Community Chorus – Holiday Production, Sarah Gibbons Middle School, Westborough ($250); Southborough Library display case for art objects ($499); Southborough Recreation Summer Concert Series ($1,492).
The SCAC currently has eight members and is hoping to grow in the coming year. This past year the SCAC focused on funding grants and held a successful scarecrow contest on Heritage Day in partnership with the Southborough Rotary Club.
“We’re looking into supporting shows of local artists, and holding an open studio event in Southborough,” Hansen said. “We could use more members to support these activities.”
Anyone interested in joining the council is asked to visit www.southborougharts.org and complete the online form. Southborough artists are also invited to visit the site and complete the form to join the SCAC directory, which is under development.
