INTIATIVE UNITES ART EXPERIENCES, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Southern Methodist University received a $300,000 grant that will fund the Meadows School of the Arts’ Ignite/Arts Dallas initiative.
The three-year grant from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support programs and special projects for Ignite/Arts, which works to meld art and community engagement.
“SMU is honored to be recognized by the Mellon Foundation in this way,” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said in a release. “SMU and Dallas have worked together for most of the last 100 years to make Dallas the arts center it has become, and this grant will help ensure that there will be many more opportunities to expand the benefits of the arts in our community and beyond in the years ahead.”
“We want to continue to be good stewards for our students, local artists, and communities in general by fostering artistic experiences that challenge ourselves and each other about the issues of the day,”
Clyde Valentín
One of the programs receiving funding is the Dallas Arts Project, which supports two local artists per year. Selected artists receive the financial means to execute their work as well as advocacy and technical support from Ignite/Arts Dallas.
The second is Purposeful Presentation Program, which aims to present touring theatrical productions from across the U.S. to “to present non-traditional, multidisciplinary performance work exploring the themes of racial and cultural equity, religion, immigration, the environment, and other contemporary issues.”
Ignite/Arts Director Clyde Valentín said the grant will help the burgeoning organization continue to grow including the hiring of a new program coordinator.
“The work we are supporting, the ways we are collaborating are not new to many parts of the country, but are relatively new to Dallas. We want to continue to be good stewards for our students, local artists, and communities in general by fostering artistic experiences that challenge ourselves and each other about the issues of the day,” Valentín said.
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