Arts programs get $140,000 from NEA

Three arts organizations in Hawaii’s second congressional district will receive a combined $140,000 in federal grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Rep. Ed Case announced today. “These matching grants will promote vital arts education throughout our community, especially among our keiki, and also perpetuate Hawaiian music and hula as well,” Case said in a statement.

Case, a member of the U.S. House Education Committee, said the NEA is “recognizing that Hawaii is an incredible resource for some of our nation’s best cultural treasures.”

The organizations receiving the grants are:

• Maui Community Arts & Cultural Center (Kahului, Maui)
  $60,000 to support “Quality Learning by Design,” a project which will implement the statewide “Arts First: Hawaii Arts Education Strategic Plan 2001,” including teacher and artist training through a consortium with the Hawaii State Department of Education. Also, $30,000 to support a project that will highlight Hawaiian-based music, dance events, and traditional storytelling.
• Hawaii’s Volcano Circus (Pahoa, Hawaii)
  $25,000 to support “Project Playmates,” which provides year-long instruction for youth in video production, drama, dance, acrobatics, and circus skills. The culmination of the project is a drama performed by children who are assisted by their parents.
• Hula Preservation Society (Kaneohe, Hawaii)
  $25,000 to support the preservation of ancient hula through an online hula library. Through digital technologies, the voices, faces, movements, stories and knowledge of Hawaiian hula masters are being gathered, preserved and disseminated.

According to Case’s office, the grants are for fiscal year 2004, and are intended to preserve the nation’s diverse cultural heritage, support arts education for children and youth, and preserve nationally significant cultural artifacts and collections.