Arts And Education Council Awards $40,000 In PNC Program Grants

The Arts and Education Council announced today that 10 organizations have been awarded a total of $40,000 in PNC Program Grant funding to help strengthen the region's arts community. PNC Program Grants - underwritten by the PNC Foundation - provide funding for arts and arts education programs that address community needs.

"To ensure the safety of our community, we have extended the program year, with the majority of programs happening in 2021 when we can safely gather again," said Cynthia A. Prost, Arts and Education Council president and CEO. "The Arts and Education Council is proud to support these arts organizations that contribute to our vibrant community through innovative arts programs in virtual and in-person environments."

"These PNC Program Grants will help support the creative delivery of arts programming to audiences in this current environment, as well as the planning and preparation for performances and activities that the community can look forward to experiencing next year," said Michael Scully, PNC regional president for St. Louis. "These grant recipients embody the vibrancy of St. Louis' arts landscape. As our community looks to the arts for inspiration and hope, PNC is eager to see these programs come to life."

Since 2012, the Arts and Education Council has awarded nearly 200 PNC Program Grants totaling more than $340,000 for arts programs in the St. Louis bi-state region.

The organizations and programs that have been awarded 2020-2021 PNC Program Grants are, in alphabetical order:

• Bach Society of Saint Louis Bach in School Education Programs during the 2020-21 season will include free voice lessons, master classes and vocal workshops, which will begin when school is back in session.
• Central Print Summer Print Studio engages the community by presenting an original printmaking activity each Saturday during the North City Farmers' Market, with tables set up for outdoor seating and social distancing.
• Gateway Men's Chorus For Love & Country, an introspective look at the LGBTQIA+ community and the United States military, will be performed in 2021.
• Karlovsky & Company Dance Dine on Dance Lunchtime Performances will feature professional contemporary and site-specific dance and live music in outdoor venues when it is safe for gatherings to resume.
• Pianos for People Free Saturday Piano Lessons in Ferguson will meet the increased community demand for music instruction by providing virtual lessons on Saturdays.
• Prison Performing Arts Learning Through the Arts offers year-round performing arts classes to young people, ages 12-24, who are currently in prison or detention facilities, with some virtual classes and other class formats accessible throughout the pandemic.
• Saint Louis Story Stitchers Pick the City UP broadens and deepens participation in and access to the arts in underserved, predominantly African American neighborhoods, with podcasts and Zoom activities.
• St. Louis Shakespeare's 36th Season in 2021 will appeal to a broad, diverse audience and will be staged in a way that is easily accessible to community members and young people at schools in the St. Louis bi-state area.
• Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis' Sixth Annual Tennessee Williams Festival highlights the works of the St. Louis native and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright through multidisciplinary arts events, including a featured performance of "Tennessee Williams and Italy," immersive plays in the Stockton House, cabaret-style performances and a playwriting initiative.
• Union Avenue Opera Cradle Will Rock will close Union Avenue Opera's 2021 Festival Season, which was postponed from 2020. The performances will include a Community Outreach Chorus and Drum Corps and will provide opportunities for discussion during community talk-back sessions.

Applications were reviewed by a volunteer panel of the Arts and Education Council's Grants and Programs Committee and representatives from the PNC Foundation.

For more information about the Arts and Education Council PNC Program Grants, visit KeepArtHappening.org.
### Central Print, a PNC Program Grant recipient, has been offering open studio time, programs and classes in letterpress printmaking in Old North St. Louis since 2014. This summer they are presenting an original printmaking activity each Saturday during the North City Farmers' Market, with tables set up for outdoor seating and social distancing. About the Arts and Education Council: Keep Art Happening. - The Arts and Education Council ensures the 16-county, bi-state region is rich with arts and cultural experiences for all through programs and services that support more than 70 organizations each year, including: general operating grants; arts incubation at the Centene Center for the Arts; PNC Program Grants; the Creative Impact Fund, with lead support from Bayer Fund; the Maritz Arts and Education Fund for Teachers; Bayer Fund Rural Community Arts Program grants; Arts and Healing Initiative, with lead funding from Missouri Foundation for Health and additional funding from the Crawford Taylor Foundation; the Art Education Fund, underwritten by Wells Fargo Advisors; the Catalyst Innovation Lab; the Katherine Dunham Fellowship; the stARTup Creative Competition; Leadership Roundtables; Arts Marketers; the St. Louis Suburban Music Educators Association; the Keep Art Happening Scholarship; and the St. Louis Arts Awards.

The Arts and Education Council is entirely funded by individual donors, corporations and foundations in the St. Louis region. Since its inception in 1963 as the region's only privately-supported united arts fund, the Arts and Education Council has raised and distributed more than $100 million in private funding for the arts - a significant contribution that directly impacts the quality of life in our region. The Arts and Education Council meets all 20 Better Business Bureau Charity Standards and has earned the Wise Giving Seal of Approval, a three-star rating from Charity Navigator and a Guidestar Exchange Gold Participant rating.

Connect with us - Website: KeepArtHappening.org Phone: 314.289.4000. Facebook: ArtsandEducation Twitter: @ArtEdSTL Instagram: Arts_Education_Council

About PNC Foundation - The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through Grow Up Great, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life.
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