Long Island Decentralization Grants for the Arts Awarded to 18 Town of Huntington Arts Organizations & Artists

HUNTINGTON, NY, 8 March 2010 - The arts are alive and well in Huntington despite the economic situation, as evidenced by the Huntington Arts Council's recent awarding of grants to 18 arts organizations and artists in the Town. The 2010 Long Island Decentralization Grants for the Arts Regrant Program funded a wide variety of programs in the area, including a writers' workshop, a photography exhibit, a dance program and many concert series.

These grants are funded through the New York State Council on the Arts via the Huntington Arts Council. Funding decisions are made by a volunteer panel of Suffolk County artists, arts professionals and community leaders. Grant recipients represent a huge range of artistic disciplines, including music, theater, poetry, dance, media and the humanities. The goals of the program include fostering an appreciation and participation in the arts and making the arts more accessible to the people of Long Island.

The awards for both Nassau and Suffolk counties were presented at a ceremony Thursday, February 25 at the Walt Whitman Birthplace in Melville. Below is a list of Huntington arts organizations and their programs:

  • Huntington Choral Society, "2010 Concert Series"
  • Huntington Historical Society, "Music for Educational Outreach Festivals"
  • Huntington Youth Bureau Youth Development Research Institute, Inc., "A Writers Workshop"
  • Island Senior Citizens Orchestra, Inc., "Island Symphony Orchestra 2010 Concert Series"
  • Long Island Dance Consortium, "Kaleidoscope of Dance"
  • Long Island String Quartet, "A Jewish Connection"
  • Neil Scholl, "Images of Long Island, The Art of Hal B. Fullerton"
  • Northport Arts Coalition, "Do-ing Music" and "Happenings on Main Street"
  • Northport Community Band, "2010 Season"
  • Northport Community Orchestra, "2010 Free Concert and Outreach Performance"
  • Ridotto Arts Organization, Inc., "Ridotto 2010 Concert Season"
  • Senior Citizens' Pops Orchestra of Long Island, "2010 Suffolk County Free Concert Series"
  • Story Arts Inc., "Nature Tales: Storytelling Concerts & Workshops"
  • The Northport Chorale, Inc., "Spring and Winter Concerts"
  • The Performing Arts Foundation of Dix Hills, Inc., "Fall Festival of Guitar at Five Towns College"
  • Thea Monier-Williams, "Pop-up Studio: Community Collaborative Art"
  • Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, "Young Poets Poetry Event"
  • Yvette Brideau, "I am the Voice"

In 1977, the New York State Council on the Arts developed the Decentralization program in response to a state legislative mandate that encouraged the administration and awarding of grant money at a local level. Through this program, non-profit arts organizations and individual artists may apply annually for grants to help strengthen the arts and cultural programs in their communities. It is the intention of NYSCA that these funds, regranted through Decentralization, provide developmental support to those organizations exhibiting quality programming, community support, and professionalism.

The Huntington Arts Council, the primary regranting agency for NYSCA, is a not-for-profit organization which enriches the quality of life of Long Islanders with programs and services that address the needs and interests of artists, cultural organizations and the community. The Council's programs reach over one million Long Island residents, and it serves the entire region with its cultural listings at www.huntingtonarts.org. The Huntington Arts Council has been designated a "Primary Institution" by the New York State Council on the Arts, a title meaning "vital to the cultural life of New York State." The Council is the official arts coordinating agency for the Town of Huntington, in addition to its services to over 600 member cultural organizations and individual artist members.