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Arts Council Receives Rotary Club of Lansing Grant

Arts Council Receives $15K Grant from Rotary Club of Lansing

Council to Launch Young Creatives: Artists-in-Residence Program  

LANSING, Mich., March, 20, 2015 – Thanks to a $15,000 grant from the Rotary Club of Lansing, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing is preparing to launch an exciting project with the Lansing School District. The project is a component of the Arts Council’s Young Creatives Program and will help put teaching artists in the elementary classrooms of the Lansing School District.

“We are overjoyed to receive this generous grant from the Rotary Club of Lansing,” said Deborah E. Mikula, Arts Council executive director. “The Young Creatives: Artists-in-Residence Program will allow the Lansing School District to expand their elementary arts offerings in a way that goes well beyond the resources they currently have.”

The Artists-in-Residence Program will provide teachers with an Artist Roster from which they can select an artist to match their needs. The teachers will then apply for funding through the Arts Council on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the Arts Council has vetted applicants, it will create a web-based roster, including artist photos and bios, which will be available to teachers by August 2015. 

To develop the roster, the Arts Council will conduct a rigid application/audition process, identifying 6-10 teaching artists committed to inspiring creativity through quality arts experiences in dance, music, visual art and theatre. Teaching Artists are professional artists with expertise in one or more arts disciplines who have experience working with children and teachers in educational settings.

“Since the 2013 Lansing School District budget cuts, the district’s 22 elementary schools have been with minimal art and music instruction,” notes Mikula. “Those students come from largely low-income families and have little to no opportunities for alternative arts programs. This in-school program will bring art education back into the student’s lives.”

Each year the Rotary Club of Lansing invites organizations to apply for grant monies raised through the Foundation’s annual Charity Golf Outing. This year thirty-three applications were received and only one project was chosen. “The Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation seeks to support projects that will make a positive difference in the Lansing Community,” said John Pence, Rotary Club of Lansing president. “We are pleased to award $15,000 to the Arts Council of Greater Lansing and are proud to fund a project that will mean so much to Lansing youth.”

Founded in 1965, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing is a non-profit organization that exists to support, strengthen and promote art, culture and creativity in the capital region. For more information, visit www.www.lansingarts.org.