
New York, NY – April 26, 2016
The MAP Fund proudly announces the selection of 36 new, live performance works that will receive a total of $1.1 million in direct support for project development and premiere. Primarily supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, MAP is an affiliate program of Creative Capital.
Established in 1989, MAP is among the longest-running grant programs in arts philanthropy, having supported over 1,120 new works of performance with a total of $28 million. MAP invests in artistic production as the critical foundation of imagining and — ultimately — creating a more equitable and vibrant society.
To achieve this goal each year MAP hires peer artists and administrators who work independently, in communities, and in institutions across the United States. This cohort is tasked with identifying as many different notions of experimentation as the applicant pool provides — this year’s total pool numbered 790 — ultimately selecting the 36 proposals that capture their imaginations and convey a sense of great social urgency.
MAP Fund Program Director, Moira Brennan, said,
MAP has always been a place where artists can seek support for their boldest ideas. This year’s list rightly reflects the intensity of this cultural and political moment in stunningly original ways. We’re honored to be able to play a part in the realization of these projects and the impact they will have in the world.
This year’s projects reflect a wide range of distinctive and exciting approaches to creating new work and engaging with the world. Reflecting upon themes that surfaced and resonated among the applicant pool, panelist Thomas F. DeFrantz noted,
White privilege, as something that needs to be scrutinized and dismantled, seemed to bubble through many of the proposals. There were many unusual collaborations or ‘workings alongside each other’ that seemed urgent to imagine new circumstances for creativity; this seems timely as we figure out how to share a more-resource-poor planet as best we can.” Read more
Please join us in celebrating the boldness of artistic vision among the following grantees:
- A Contemporary Theatre for Tale of the Heike by Philip Kan Gotanda, Yussef El Guindi, Kurt Beattie
- American Conservatory Theater for Port City by Christopher Chen
- Appalshop (Roadside Theater) for Performing Our Rural Future by Roadside Theater
- Brooklyn Arts Exchange sponsoring Building a Better Fishtrap: From the River’s Mouth by Paloma McGregor
- Brooklyn Youth Chorus for Silent Voices by Sahba Aminikia, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Mary Kouyoumdjian
- CalArts Center for New Performance for Carolyn Bryant Project by Nataki Garrett, Andrea LeBlanc
- Dancers’ Group sponsoring ARA: Waterways Time Weaves by Dohee Lee
- Fractured Atlas sponsoring Gender/Power Composition IV by Maya Ciarrocchi, Kris Grey, Sandra Parker
- Fractured Atlas sponsoring Slave Rebellion Reenactment by Dread Scott
- Gametophyte Inc. for Petra by Dean Moss
- Grand Central Art Center for Vireo: The Spiritual Biography of a Witch’s Accuser, Final Episodes by Lisa Bielawa, Charles Otte
- Hidden Voices for Serving Life by Lynden Harris, Kathryn Hunter-Williams
- Junebug Productions sponsoring ALLEGED LESBIAN ACTIVITIES by Last Call: New Orleans Dyke Bar History Project
- The Kitchen for Swivel Spot by Jen Rosenblit
- Li Chiao-Ping Dance for i—LAND by Li Chiao-Ping, Douglas Rosenberg
- Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra sponsoring New Water Music by Yotam Haber, New Orleans Airlift
- Manitoga / The Russel Wright Design Center for New Work by Suzanne Thorpe by Suzanne Thorpe
- MAPP International Productions for The Peculiar Patriot by Liza Jessie Peterson
- MAPP International Productions for Poor People’s TV Room by Okwui Okpokwasili
- Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago for Chicago project (not yet titled) by Anthony Joel Romero, Teatro Línea de Sombra
- Network of Ensemble Theaters sponsoring Plantation Remix by Cristal Truscott, Progress Theatre
- New York Live Arts sponsoring Song of Silver Geese + Songs of the World Now (SOWN) 50-state tour by Jen Shyu
- ODC Theater for Seeds (Working title) by Nicole Klaymoon, Shakti Butler, d. Sabela Grimes
- Penumbra Theatre for GIRL Shakes Loose Her Skin by Zakiyyah Alexander, Imani Uzuri
- Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center (Alliance Theatre) for Scenes of Buford Highway by Mark Valdez, Soul Food Cypher
- Seed Artists for INTERRUPTION! By Rob Reddy, Oliver Lake
- Springboard for the Arts sponsoring Soft Goods by Karen Sherman
- Springboard for the Arts sponsoring Then a Cunning Voice and a Night We Spend Gazing at Stars by Emily Johnson
- St. Ann’s Warehouse for A 24-Decade History Of Popular Music by Taylor Mac, Machine Dazzle, Niegel Smith
- Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Project for Chicano Roots Rehab by Anthony Garcia, Daniel Valdez
- TAIKOPROJECT for Concrete Saplings by TAIKOPROJECT, Quetzal
- Trilogy: An Opera Company for FIVE by Anthony Davis, Richard Wesley, Trilogy: An Opera Company
- Urban Bush Women for SCAT! by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
- Unique Projects sponsoring In/Expiration by Sheetal Gandhi
- University of North Carolina School of the Arts for And So We Walked – An Artist’s Journey Along the Trail of Tears by DeLanna Studi, Corey Madden
- Vermont Performance Lab for Virago-Man Dem by Cynthia Oliver, John Jennings, Jason Finkelman
Thank you to the following individuals who served on this year’s final panel:
Christopher Acebo Designer, Associate Artistic Director Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OR)
Thomas F. DeFrantz Professor & Chair Duke University, SLIPPAGE:Performance | Culture | Technology (NC)
Bridgit Antoinette Evans President & Founder Fuel Change (NY)
Adam Fong Composer & Performer, Executive Director Center for New Music (CA)
Rudresh Mahanthappa Saxophonist & Composer (NY)
Joan Osato Photographer, Designer, Producing Director Youth Speaks (CA)
Reuben Tomás Roqueñi Program Officer William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (CA)
Risa Shoup Executive Director Fourth Arts Block (NY)
Jess Solomon Director Art in Praxis, President Alternate ROOTS, Chief Weaver of Social Fabric USDAC (DC)
Shanta Thake Director Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater (NY)
David Thomson Choreographer & Performer (NY)