Community Corner

Local Artists Encouraged to Apply for Strauss Artist Awards Grants

The awards benefit artists of all genres so they can continue their work. The 2014 application period is now open.

Do you know an exemplary local artist who deserves recognition?

If so, it's that time of year again—time to apply for the Strauss Artists Awards grants to help keep that artist doing what he or she does best.

Now in its seventh year, the Arts Council of Fairfax County will award three $5,000 grants to recognize professional working artists’ achievements and their demonstrated history of accomplishments, while promoting the continued pursuit of creative work.

The application period is now open, and the deadline to apply is Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014. The guidelines and application materials can be found on the Arts Council of Fairfax County website.

Grants from past years have allowed many talented local artists of all types to continue their work.

2013 Strauss Award recipient Diane Coburn Bruning, artistic director for the Chamber Dance Project, said her grant allowed her to work on a very special project she had been wanting to do for some time.

"The Strauss Fellowship enabled me to start on a new male duet I had been wanting to create, which will be previewed in our Oct. 19 event with Ballet Nova as their new resident company, [and which will] continue to be developed into a dance film short,” she said.

“The Strauss Fellowship helped me initiate these projects, which will be a part of Chamber Dance Project's season next June.”

The Arts Council of Fairfax County will host a free grant writing workshop from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Reston Community Center, The Gallery at Lake Anne, 1609 Washington Plaza N in Reston. A second grant preparation webinar will be offered at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

The Strauss Artist Awards were named for the late Bill Strauss, a writer who also co-founded The Capitol Steps and the Cappies.

"The awards are an investment in the sustained growth and development of the arts in Fairfax County, as well as a way to honor artists’ commitment to an artistic discipline and their contributions to the quality of life in Fairfax County," said Ashlee Kieler of the Arts Council.

The Strauss Artist Award Grants are selected through a competitive review process where the recipients are determined by their work’s merit. No specific project needs to be carried out with the funds granted, Kieler said.

Fairfax County-based artists in all disciplines including visual arts, creative writing, theatre, dance performance and choreography, film and new media, music composition and performance are eligible to apply.

For more information, visit www.artsfairfax.org.

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