OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation’s leading champion for American opera, is pleased to announce the recipients of its first-ever Civic Practice Grants, supported by OPERA America’s Opera Fund endowment.
Civic Practice Grants help U.S. Professional Company Members of OPERA America and their partners develop new or deeper relationships within their communities — leading to mutual understanding, sustained collaboration, and shared projects and programming.
Grants of up to $30,000 each, awarded on a biennial basis, support opera companies’ efforts to learn more about civic priorities within their communities, to develop relationships with leading arts and non-arts organizations and their leaders, and to discover and deliver services that strengthen their communities, as well as the visibility and trust of the opera company within it.
A total of $180,000 was awarded to seven companies: Chicago Opera Theater, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Minnesota Opera, Opera Omaha, San Francisco Operaand The Santa Fe Opera.
“With Civic Practice Grants, we see a great opportunity to use the art form’s unique qualities to address local civic priorities through authentic, mutually beneficial partnerships,” stated OPERA America President/CEO Marc A. Scorca. “These new grants help opera companies find ways to enhance their real and perceived value as cultural citizens in communities throughout the country.”
Applications for the next round of applications will be available this summer here.