National Endowment for the Arts awards $60,000 to West Michigan poet, Grand Rapids Symphony, UICA
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a West Michigan poet a $25,000 Creative Writing Fellowship for 2017.
Amorak Huey, who teaches writing at Grand Valley State University, receives one of 37 identical fellowships totaling $925,000, granted to writers from 19 U.S. states.
The NEA also has awarded Grand Rapids Symphony a $10,000 grant for its annual “Symphony with Soul” concert, featuring three-time Grammy Award winning singer Lalah Hathaway.
Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts was awarded $25,000 to support an exhibition of art titled “Here + Now” with work by contemporary African-American artists.
“The arts are for all of us, and by supporting organizations such as the Grand Rapid Symphony and Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts,” says NEA Chairman Jane Chu, in a prepared statement. “Whether in a theater, a town square, a museum, or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer.”
Creative Writing Fellowships give writers the time and space to create, revise, conduct research, and connect with readers. Fellowships alternate between poetry and prose each year. The 2017 fellowships were divided between an almost equal number of men and women.
Huey, of East Grand Rapids, is the author of “Ha Ha Thump,” a collection of poetry published in 2015, and the chapbook “The Insomniac Circus,” published in 2014. He serves as faculty adviser for Fishladder, the GVSU student journal of art and literature.
Before coming to GVSU, Huey worked for more than a decade as an editor and reporter for newspapers in Florida, Kentucky, and Michigan, including serving as assistant sports editor at The Grand Rapids Press.
Lalah Hathaway, who is nominated for two more awards at the 59th annual Grammy Awards, will be special guest for the Grand Rapids Symphony’s 16th annual “Symphony with Soul” in February in DeVos Performance Hall.
The Grand Rapids Symphony’s award is its third consecutive grant in six years through the NEA’s biennial Challenge America program, which supports projects that extend the reach of the arts to those with limited opportunities due to economics, disability, ethnicity, or geography.
In 2002, the Grand Rapids Symphony created “Symphony with Soul” to open its doors to the wider community. The concert and its accompanying “Celebration of Soul” gala has grown to become an important annual event in Grand Rapids. Past artists and entertainers have included Vanessa Williams and Dee Dee Bridgewater plus Grand Rapids’ own Marvin Sapp.
“The Grand Rapids Symphony launched ‘Symphony with Soul’ to welcome a broader audience into our community concert hall, as participating performers as well as patrons,” says Roger D. Nelson, vice president and chief operating officer. “Fifteen years later, people who had never set foot in a concert hall or heard an orchestra perform live have now become a permanent part of the Grand Rapids Symphony family and enjoy the wonder and joy of music that was meant for everyone.”
Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt leads the performance on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. Along with Hathaway, the one-night only show features the Grand Rapids Community Chorus organized by Duane Davis, retired director of vocal music at Grand Rapids Community College.
Proceeds from “Symphony with Soul” and “Celebration of Soul” gala help support the Mosaic Scholarship Fund, which provides training on musical instruments and mentoring by professional musicians of the Grand Rapids Symphony. The Mosaic Scholarships were created in 2005 with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
UICA’s “Here + Now,” opening Jan. 27 and continuing through March 31, 2017, includes exhibitions plus performances and events with emerging or mid-career African-American visual artists, spoken-word artists, poets and writers. Artists include Nakeya Brown, Mario Moore and Rashida Bumbray.
The NEA in December awarded more than $30 million to nonprofit arts organizations in 48 states for 2017. A total of 21 grants totaling $445,000 were awarded in Michigan.
