Title
2016 Arts Education and Concerns Trust Foundation Grant (NB)
This item requests approval of the City Commission for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (PRCA) in collaboration with the Gainesville Arts & Parks Foundation, Inc., to apply to the Arts Education and Concerns (AEC) Trust Foundation for a grant in the amount of $36,500 to support a mobile stage cultural concert series entitled, Picnics in the Parks.
Explanation
The PRCA Vision 2020 Master Plan identified the need to develop and implement new outreach cultural programming in one or more City parks, especially at Fred Cone Park, Depot Park, Albert “Ray” Massey Westside Park, and the Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center. The proposed grant would fund a minimum of four concerts and provide operating funds for the Gainesville Arts & Parks Foundation (GAP Foundation). The Picnics in the Parks mobile stage cultural concert series will provide outdoor cultural programs where they do not currently exist.
Cultural resources play a significant role in transforming lives, as well as enriching creative spirit. PRCA seeks to capture the creative spirit in children and adults through music and the arts with this new outreach program. The Picnics in the Parks mobile stage cultural series will expose youth and adults to cultural arts with music and dance on Saturday afternoons starting in July 2016. Cultural resources connect communities in unique and meaningful ways. It is well known that art and culture are a part of a solution to many challenges that face our communities today e.g. health and wellness, crime prevention, and quality of life for residents and visitors to our community.
The vision for PRCA is to develop a series of mobile stage cultural programs to be implemented on Saturday afternoons initially and then eventually during the weeknights in the fall when both children and adults can attend.
Fiscal Note
There is no fiscal impact of this grant application request.
Recommendation
The City Commission: 1) approve the request to accept a grant, if awarded, from the AEC Trust Foundation in partnership with the Gainesville Arts & Parks Foundation to implement the mobile stage cultural concert series, Picnics in the Parks; and 2) authorize the City Manager or designee to execute the grant agreement and other related grant documents, subject to approval by the City Attorney as to form and legality.