Moody Fund Awards 36 Dallas Arts Groups

The Moody Fund for the Arts (MFA) today announced that, in its first year, the fund is awarding $150,000 in grants to 36 small Dallas arts organizations. The fund also announced that the total award amount is a 50% increase over the previously announced $100,000, allowing the MFA to provide more grants to cultural groups.

"These organizations and their proposals show what an exciting time this is for Dallas' arts community, and the cultural impact these grants will have throughout the city," said Francie Moody-Dahlberg, chair and executive director of The Moody Foundation. "We are honored to support this vibrant, dynamic cultural scene."

The grants range in size from $3,500 to the first-year maximum of $7,500. They support a strong cross section of the many small and emerging organizations in the vibrant cultural ecosystem of the nation's ninth-largest city. Some awards will help fund world premieres, commissions and diversity projects, and some will provide general operating support. The selected projects comprise a wide range of genres, as well as ethnic and culturally specific groups, many targeting culturally under-served communities. Performance venues include Moody Performance Hall, the City's cultural centers, community spaces and neighborhoods across Dallas.

"These grants will be a shot in the arm to boost the health of these small organizations and our cultural ecosystem," said Mayor Mike Rawlings. "It is exciting to see the wide range of groups and projects the Moody Fund for the Arts is helping, and that this visionary fund will be there to support them year after year."

The award amount was increased this year from $100,000 to $150,000. This was made possible after The Moody Foundation surprised everyone last December by fully funding the $10 million gift establishing the MFA's endowment. It was originally to be paid out at $1 million a year over ten years.

"We're grateful and excited that The Moody Foundation was able to accelerate their generous funding," said Gail Sachson, a member of the MFA Executive Committee. "We believe we've achieved the goal of providing support for impactful proposals, and from a diverse range of groups who serve many different parts of our city."

MFA was created to provide grants to small and emerging Dallas arts groups that are supported by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and have annual budgets of $1 million or less.

2018 Moody Fund for the Arts Award Recipients

• Academy of Bangla Arts and Culture
• Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico
• Arga Nova Dance
• The Artist Outreach, Inc.
• Avant Chamber Ballet
• Bandan Koro African Drum and Dance Ensemble
• Bruce Wood Dance Project
• Cara Mi?a Theatre Co.
• Chamber Music International
• Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas
• Color Me Empowered
• Creative Arts Center of Dallas
• Dallas Chamber Symphony
• Dallas Film Society
• Dance Council of North Texas
• Dark Circles Contemporary Dance
• Echo Theatre
• Fine Arts Chamber Players
• Indian Cultural Heritage Foundation
• Kitchen Dog Theater Company
• Museum of Geometric and MADI Art
• New Texas Symphony Orchestra
• Sammons Center for the Arts
• Second Thought Theatre
• Shakespeare Dallas
• Soul Rep Theatre Company
• SPARK! Dallas
• Teatro Dallas
• Teatro Flor Candela
• Texas Winds Musical Outreach, Inc.
• The Writer's Garret
• Turtle Creek Chorale
• Undermain Theatre
• Uptown Players, Inc.
• USA Film Festival
• WordSpace

52 arts organizations applied for the flexible MFA grants. The awards came in five categories:

• New Works, Commissions, Unique Presentations (8 grants)
• General Program & Operating Cost Support (18 grants)
• Community Performance/Artist in Residency (3 grants)
• Capacity Building (5 grants)
• Cultural Equity/New Initiatives (non-performance) (2 grants)

The award decisions were made after an extensive peer review of all the applications, budgets and materials by the MFA Advisory Review Panel:

• Kathleen Culebro - artistic director, Amphibian Stage Productions
• Danielle Georgiou - artistic director & choreographer, Danielle Georgiou Dance Group
• Terry Loftis - vocal artist and Tony-nominated producer
• Ginger Reeder - former arts administrator and vice president of Neiman Marcus
• James N. White - Cultural Affairs Commissioner

The panel's recommendations were then reviewed by the MFA Executive Committee:

• Roberto Cortez - managing director, Deloitte
• Gail Sachson - arts advocate, writer, former chair of the Cultural Affairs Commission
• Jennifer Scripps - Office of Cultural Affairs Director

The Moody Fund for the Arts is a $10 million endowment that is part of a $22 million gift from the Moody Foundation to the arts in Dallas, including a $12 million gift to the AT&T Performing Arts Center's capital campaign. In recognition of the generosity of the Galveston-based Moody Foundation, the City of Dallas renamed Dallas City Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District to Moody Performance Hall. The Center's staff provides administrative support for the fund. More information can be found on the MFA website, moodyartsfund.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.