Femina Potens receives a Creating Public Value Grant
Press release
Femina Potens receives a Creating Public Value Grant from the Arts Council. Funding supports arts organizations in rural and underserved communities.
The California Arts Council announces that Femina Potens will receive a 2011-12 Creating Public Value grant of $8,500. Femina Potens, located in San Francisco, was one of 77 organizations that submitted the strongest proposals to enrich their local communities through music, theater, visual arts, dance and other arts.
Femina Potens will provide a community-based multidisciplinary arts education program addressing the needs and interests of LGBTQ youth. Over a 7-month period, the Artistic Director will curate and organize 24 weekly 2-hour experiential arts programs and field trips to LGBT arts events. Femina Potens will conduct this project in partnership with the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center (LYRIC). Funds will support the fees of the participating artists.
“The Arts Council’s Creating Public Value Program aims to assist arts organizations located in rural and underserved communities in our state,” said Craig Watson, Director of the California Arts Council. “Geographic and economic constraints can hamper arts programming in rural areas and in urban communities where there is limited access to the arts. These organizations improve the quality of life and economic progress in these neighborhoods by providing arts programming for all ages.”
The Creating Public Value Program’s intent is to promote partnerships, lifelong learning, and the social and economic impact of the arts. Grantees demonstrated how they will support new and expanded programs to benefit the communities they serve through any of the following goals: supporting safe and creative opportunities for youth; fostering attractive and livable neighborhoods and communities; providing greater access to the arts for individuals, families and communities; and/or encouraging economic and community development.
Funding for this program comes in part from the sale of the Arts Plate, the iconic license plate with a sunset and palm tree motif designed by California artist Wayne Thiebaud. If one million drivers put Arts Plates on their vehicles, California would have $40 million for the arts and arts education annually.
About Femina Potens
Femina Potens is a nationally recognized non-profit arts organization, established in 2000, and dedicated to the advancement of LGBTQ & Allied Artists and Communities. Femina Potens is a leading queer organization in San Francisco and in 2012 launched new programming in NYC and Los Angeles.