Stage Aurora receives PNC financial Arts Alive Grant

Access to dance performances, the musical power of hip hop, Shakespeare theater, a traveling art mural project, and art labs are among the highlights of five Jacksonville arts organizations which will receive funds this year from the PNC Foundation’s Arts Alive program.  The grants are part of a three-year program to bring PNC Arts Alive to the Jacksonville, Florida community and Stage Aurora Theatrical Company is proud to be part of the mix.  The non-profit winners represent a wide range of disciplines, audiences and participatory experiences from arts groups’ large and small, city and suburban.  Throughout 2016, PNC has diligently worked with the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville to develop the Arts Alive opportunity locally and bring the initiative to its thriving community.

“The PNC Foundation has been a wonderful partner and we are thrilled they decided to bring PNC Arts Alive to our region’s arts and culture community,” said Antonio Allegretti, executive director, Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville. “I’m confident these grant recipients will inject Jacksonville with innovative and exciting new programs for the entire family. Most importantly, these new resources will have profound effects on our sector and will improve the quality of life through access to art.”  The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville reports that its creative economy has a $2.4 billion impact on the region.

Through the PNC Arts Alive program, Jacksonville Dance Theatre’s Bridge Project, will commission a newly choreographed work by dancer and choreographer James Boyd, an African American dance artist with a national and renowned reputation in the field of professional dance.  The work will be presented to underserved audiences throughout Jacksonville documented by filmmaker Alexa Velez.  To learn more about James Boyd, visit his website.

Stage Aurora – Ritz Theatre is an innovative program designed to introduce professional African-American theatre to underserved audiences in Jacksonville, Florida.  For the 2016-17, the centerpiece of the project is four to five fully subsidized performances for families, seniors, middle and high school students of low-income status for a total of 2,000 tickets to attend The Ritz Theatre and Museum.  The proposed main stage season includes: Dreamgirls, Porgy and Bess, Lion King, Jr., Ain’t Misbehavin’, Drawn From The Water and/or To Kill a Mockingbird.  One performance of each production is subsidized at 400 seats for low-income patrons.

Congratulations to Darryl Reuben Hall and the Stage Aurora Theatrical Company, on their conquest to bring more culture to the city of Jacksonville and the surrounding area.