Gwinnett Creativity Fund Re-Cap

Operations + Project Grant Cycle Recap

Awarding $183,000 in operations + project grants...

...to 19 Gwinnett County non-profit arts organizations...

Explore Gwinnett and Gwinnett County reaffirm their commitment to the arts through the creation and growth of the Gwinnett Creativity Fund

...for Gwinnett County arts and cultural initiatives!

February 2023 - December 2023

95% of GCF funding – directly to Arts Organizations

“We are so pleased to award $183,000 in operations + project grants

to organizations from Gwinnett’s smallest to largest arts organizations, with projects ranging from family camp to film/TV workforce development to public art.”

Lisa Anders

Explore Gwinnett Tourism + Film Executive Director

Operations Grants

The Gwinnett Creativity Fund Operations Grant provides much-needed foundational support for Gwinnett’s arts + cultural organizations, offering overall support of the organization’s mission, rather than specific projects or programs. This support is the working capital nonprofits need to sustain their day-to-day operations.

For the 2023 Operations Grant Cycle, we are pleased to award funding for seven (7) organizations, totaling $74,000.

• Application Period: February 13-March 31, 2023

• Orientation: GCF hosted numerous orientation sessions (as well as individual orientation sessions for new applicants) in order to ensure applicants understood the process, deadlines and eligible grant expenses.

• Committee Review: An impartial panel of 3 reviewed each organization’s grant request, budget documentation, and supporting documents. Awards were granted based on available funding and each organization’s budget size.

• Awards: 50% of the grant is remitted upon award announcement and a ceremonial “Big Check” photograph is staged and posted on the website and social media. The other 50% is given when the Final Report is submitted (July 31st). Final Reports include receipts and invoices of funds spent and other supporting documentation and examples of program credit.

Atlanta Harmony Celebration!

$4,500 Grant Recipient

Atlanta Harmony Celebration! is a Gwinnett-based women’s a cappella group singing in the barbershop style. Formed in 2003, AHC! has enjoyed over a decade of performing throughout the community and participating in competitions. As a registered chorus of the international barbershop organization, Atlanta Harmony Celebration! competes in area and international contests.

$20,000 Grant

Aurora Theatre at Lawrenceville Arts Center celebrates humanity’s rich cultural fabric through creative and educational programming, cultivating a community of belonging for all. Located in the most diverse county in the region, the Aurora is compelled to tell the diverse stories of this community honestly and authentically. Aurora Theatre produces distinct shows created by diverse playwrights for Gwinnett’s diverse and multicultural audiences.

Aurora Theatre

Recipient

Hudgens Center for Art & Learning

$20,000 Grant Recipient

2023 marks Hudgens’ 42nd year of offering accessible arts education to Gwinnett County, providing low-cost classes and workshops for more than 15,000 annually. The Hudgens offers free admission to allow all to explore their three galleries and 15 annual exhibitions.

Lionheart Theatre Company

$7,000 Grant Recipient

FIRSTTIME RECIPIEN T •

GWINNETTCREATIVITY FUNDGRANTS •

Lionheart Theatre company works to enrich the Southwest Gwinnett community by offering entertaining, educational, affordable and accessible performing arts. Offering encouragement to both the experienced and the novice, there is an opportunity for everyone to engage and create something unforgettable.

Live Arts Theatre

$6,500 Grant Recipient

Live Arts Theatre is a community focused teaching theatre, where amateurs are paired with experienced professionals to produce diverse, challenging theatrical work which engages, educates, and entertains. Live Arts cultivates equity, diversity and inclusion, valuing all volunteers, artists, crew members and audience members who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and differently abled.

Suwanee Arts Center

$10,000 Grant Recipient

Suwanee Arts Center hosts classes, workshops, exhibits and events for Gwinnett’s aspiring artists. There are open professional development opportunities for amateur and professional artists, allowing SAC to engage with a wide, diverse portfolio of arts enthusiasts.

The Weird Sisters Theatre Project

$6,000 Grant Recipient

FIRSTTIME RECIPIEN T •

GWINNETTCREATIV TY FUNDGRANTS •

The Weird Sisters Theatre Project is a female-run theatre group focusing on female-centered stories, an underrepresented demographic in theatre, as female playwrights are widely underproduced. Mentoring the next generation of female producers and arts administrators, their work creates theatre by women, for everyone, and is committed to cultivating opportunities for female artists, both onstage and off.

Project Grants

Gwinnett Creativity Fund Project Grants provide support for arts and cultural projects in Gwinnett County. Projects may be one-time events, such as a festival or exhibit, or a series of events, such as a roster of classes or a series of productions. Projects with multiple components should show there is a cohesive thread and goals tying the project together.

For the 2023 Project Grant Cycle, we are pleased to announce funding for seventeen (17) organizations, totaling $109,000.

• Application Period: April 10-May 10, 2023

• Orientation: GCF hosted numerous orientation sessions (as well as individual orientation sessions for new applicants) in order to make sure that the applicants understood the process, deadlines and eligible expenses for the grant.

• Project Period: May 1 – December 31 (8 months) Responding to arts organizational feedback, it was determined a longer project period would be more beneficial and allow more opportunity.

• Committee Review: An impartial panel of five (5) reviewed each organization.

• Site Visits: The committee conducted in person and virtual site visits for organizations which sufficiently passed the first panel review.

• Awards: 50% of the grant award is given upon announcement and a ceremonial “Big Check” photograph is staged and posted on the website and social media. The final 50% of the award will be given after the Final Report is completed (within 45 days of project completion) and all eligible expense receipts, samples/ images of the completed project are uploaded.

Live Arts Theatre $2,000 Grant Recipient

Project Grant funding will support “The Taming,” an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew showcasing a female-driven cast in a modern comedy, touching on current issues dotting our political landscape. Written by a female Georgia playwright, the show takes place with a beauty queen, a liberal blogger and a republican senator’s aide clashing ideals while coming to a consensus on building a better America with the ideals of the Founding Fathers. “The Taming” showcases opposing beliefs without demonizing the characters that hold them and will serve as a conversation starter and away to bridge the gap between opposing viewpoints.

Contemporary Classics Theatre $2,000 Grant Recipient

Contemporary Classics exists to challenge and transform classic Western theatre traditions by creating an inclusive community of diverse people, ideas, and cultures. Project Grant funding will support “A Karaoke Riot” which is inspired by Clifford Odets’ 1935 one-act, “Waiting for Lefty.” The struggles of the working-class, dramatized in a series of vignettes by Odets’ play, will be featured, but given a modern-day update through cast improvisation to create a brand new production with new situations and new characters representing the challenges of the “gig economy.”

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS THEATRE

Sugarloaf Youth Ballet

$2,500 Grant Recipient

FIRSTTIME RECIPIEN T •

GWINNETTCREATIVITY FUNDGRANTS •

First-time applicants the Sugarloaf Youth Ballet work to inspire individual achievement in dance to enrich the community through quality arts programming. Project Grant funding will support “Hansel and Gretel” featuring production dancers from 5 to 18 years of age.

Suwanee Performing Arts

$2,500 Grant Recipient

Suwanee Performing Arts works to ignite a passion for the arts which nurtures and inspires the creative leaders of tomorrow through the magic of live performance. Project Grant funding will support “Broadway in the Park Broadway in the Park 2023”, Disney’s The Aristocats KIDS, and Anastasia: The Musical (Youth Edition). Transforming Town Center Park’s outdoor amphitheater into a Broadway-style stage with professional lighting, sound, costumes and sets. Casts perform for crowds as large as 4,000 people and a youth cast of about 70. Youth involved in the arts develop discipline, focus and self-confidence, and research shows higher scores in all subjects when students engage in the performing arts.

Suwanee Arts Center

$4,500 Grant Recipient

Project Grant funding will support their 2023 Summer Camp program, which includes a junior artist camps, color and design, 2and 3-D, Claymation Film Camp and others. Their youth program creates a foundational appreciation of the arts, as well as exposing them to multiple arts and cultural opportunities.

Norcross Gallery & Studios

$3,000 Grant Recipient

Project Grant Funding will support “La vida através del lente” (NorcrossLife Through the Lens), a city-wide photography competition. Addressing the cultural divide between the two sides of Norcross, this visual arts project will be open to all, free of charge and will feature up to 1,000 photos clotheslined in multiple locations throughout the city’s 6 mile radius. This city wide project will create a spirit of “la familia” by all sharing their photos and unique vantage points of family and community.

The Weird Sisters Theatre Project $3,000

Grant Recipient

The Weird Sisters Theatre Project is a female-run theatre group focusing on female-centered stories. Project Grant funding will support “The Pros and Cons of Killing Your Cult Leader,” a satirical comedy following five high-ranking women in The One True Way Intentional Living Community. As seasoned cult members welcome a new member into the Elder Women’s Chamber, the community is revealed to not be what it seems. And so, the Elder Women’s Chamber must debate the best way to save their livelihoods and their community and try and figure out if those things are even worth saving. The story is about re-examining values while holding onto faith, sisterhood, and community.

FIRSTTIME RECIPIEN T GWINNETTCREATIVITY FUNDGRANTS •

African American Culture & Arts Festival, Inc.

$3,000 Grant Recipient

First time applicants the African American Culture and Arts Festival is a free, family-friendly event open to anyone. Live music, poetry, art and dance performances with local artists and vendors for a one-day celebration in downtown Suwanee. AACAF’s purpose is to produce events and host activities that educate, showcase, and celebrate African / Black American culture and arts.

Fezziwig Foundation

$3,500 Grant Recipient

Founded in 2022, the Fezziwig Foundation, in partnership with the Dogwood Theatre Company, is an amateur troupe of college and high school students. Project Grant funding will support the musical production of Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” in summer 2023. The group strives to produce family-oriented amateur/ community theatre for Gwinnett County with a purposely modest ticket price point so the community may easily access and enjoy fun, respectable, reasonably high-quality, artistic products.

Lilburn Elementary School

$7,500 Grant Recipient

First-time applicant Lilburn Elementary School has a playground, open to the public, which has been a labor of love. Located in an historically underserved community, Project Grant funding will provide an Inclusive Playground Mural, an original work of art to be painted on a 13x30 foot wall. Atlanta muralist Elaine Stephenson has been selected. The school mural will be on the grounds, serving over 1,300 students each day and additionally open to the public after hours and on the weekends so many other members of the community will also be able to enjoy it.

LILBURN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

JapanFest

$6,000 Grant Recipient

JapanFest, Gwinnett’s largest cultural event, educates the region on Japan’s rich cultural tapesty through music, dance, food, exhibits and workshops. In 2023, authentic, hands-on learning includes Bonsai, Japanese dance, candy art, origami, Ikebana, Japanese tea ceremonies and more. More than 20,000 residents and visitors attend annually.

Gwinnett Ballet Theatre $8,000 Grant Recipient

The Nutcracker – one of Georgia’ longest running productions. GBT’s Nutcracker features over 90 dancers, 20 costume and backstage hands, a live orchestra and two casts of dancers from the professional members of Gwinnet Ballet Theatre and student dancers from the Sugarloaf Youth Ballet.

Photo by Richard Calmes

Spectrum Autism Support Group $7,500 Grant Recipient

Spectrum Autism Support Group’s aspirations for their new autism friendly playground includes multiple artistic and musical components, engaging children across the spectrum. Their project grant will allow Spectrum to achieve this goal, supporting over 1000 children and adults with autism, as well as their families.

Hudgens Center for Art & Learning

$10,000 Grant Recipient

The Hudgens Center owns nearly 200 works of art as part of their permanent collection. Project Grant funding will be used to create a safe storage space for the collection, one of the most distinguished in Georgia, containing works by masters including Picasso, Miro, Rothko, Lichtenstein, Kandinsky, and more. This collection will be displayed throughout the community, but it requires safe and adequate storage that will ensure its preservation.

Suwanee Public Arts Commission

$10,500

Grant Recipient

The Suwanee Public Arts Commission is dedicated to the creation of public art to enhance quality of life, as well as creating a colorful and unique sense of identity and place. Project Grant funding will support “Pierce’s Corner Mural,” an historic building constructed in 1910 is now 113 years old, and one of the oldest commercial buildings in Suwanee. It has functioned over the years as a general store, silent movie theater, dentist office, antique store, and gas station and the second floor was once a Masonic Lodge. The city purchased the building in 2005 in order to renovate and preserve the space. The mural will be 97 feet long and is approximately 30 feet high. It will be another impactful public art piece added to the extensive offerings in Suwanee.

Aurora Theatre $17,000 Grant Recipient

Project Grant funding will be used to support “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” which chronicles the inspiring true story of Carole King’s journey from teenage songwriter to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Carole King, born Carole Klein, is arguably the most famous female composers of the 20th century. King’s Jewish heritage and musical legacy truly resonates today, with a sharp resurgence on antisemitism across the U.S. Aurora supports Atlanta’s thriving Jewish population, and with this production, committed to exploring the intersectionality of our feminist and Jewish communities.

FreshFilms $17,000 Grant Recipient

Fresh Films provides programs for historically underrepresented teens and young adults to build their work and life skills. Through filmmaking, they are committed to democratizing access and opportunity for BIPOC youth, creating a pipeline for future jobs in the film/entertainment industry.

Project Grant funding will support Summer Creative Cred workshops: including Adobe Certification Program, IATSE/Entertainment Safety/OSHA Certification Program and adding Fresh Films’ training/internship program to Norcross High School. The programs provide arts learning where teens gain valuable skills and insights into arts internships and careers, as well as providing important workforce development for both above and below the line jobs in the film/entertainment industry.