Photo caption: Mayor Nelson congratulates Arts Council grantees arriving for a workshop in the Gato Building. Pictured Front row: photographer Michelle Wisniewski and painter Fran Decker; Emily Lowe of the Keys Chorale; Ginny Terry of the Keys Chamber Orchestra; artist Carol Anderson; and Nora Revelin of Keys Kids. Standing in back row: Arts Council Chair June Girard, County Mayor Murray Nelson, Penny Jampol of the Coffee Mill Dance and Yoga Studio, musician Gary Zimmerman, poet June MacArthur, educator Dr. Kathy Lancaster; writer Judy Bradford; Arts Council Executive Director Monica Haskell; Heritage House Director Ray Sneath and Tom Jordan of 4th World Productions. Photo by Al Sachs.

Marlene Koenig, grantee

The Florida Keys Council of the Arts announces the winners of its most current grants and awards.

These grants and awards are supported by Arts Council fundraising and memberships, private donations and by the sale of Florida "State of the Arts" license tags. Additionally, the South Florida Cultural Consortium Visual and Media Artist Fellowship is supported by funds from the Dade and Broward County Boards of County Commissioners.

Donna Smith won the largest locally-funded grant, the $2,000 Key West Writers Guild award. Writers Ian Cockfield and Cricket Desmarais received honorable mentions in this competition. This annual award is sponsored by a private donor and the Key West Writers Guild, and is administered by the Florida Keys Council of the Arts.

Michel Delgado & Marlene Koenig won the 2004 South Florida Cultural Consortium Visual and Media Arts Fellowships. Both painters will each receive $7,500 and be included in an exhibit at the Miami Art Museum opening September 10.

Artist in Schools grantees secured grants ranging from $370 to $1,000. Grantees in the Artists in Schools program, in which an artist partners with a teacher or librarian to enhance the existing curriculum include:

• Marathon High School teachers Paul Arena and Dr. Kathy Lancaster with author Mark Mathabane for a leadership keynote speech
• Marathon High School teacher Lee Cook, Sugarloaf School teacher Patty Roman and Key West High School teacher Michael Truhan with Inga Lise Wright and the Keys Chamber Orchestra for Piano and Chamber Music of the Romantic Period
• Horace O'Bryant middle school art teacher Jimmy Wray with potter Jay Gogin in East Meets West
• Penny Jampol and the Coffee Mill Dance Outreach Program with teachers and daycare providers from Poinciana, Glynn Archer and Gerald Adams Elementary schools and Horace O'Bryant Middle School
• Sugarloaf School teachers Joanne Brennan, Linda Poole and Martha Marshall with June MacArthur in The Poet Within
• Gerald Adams elementary teacher Janet McNaughton with Carol Anderson for Alphabet Art
• Gerald Adams music teacher Nora Revelin and drummer Skipper Kripitz in Breaking Up the Set

Grantees in the ArtReach program secured awards ranging from $250 to $1,000. ArtReach grants encourage an artist or cultural organization to partner with a community business or organization to reach a wider audience. Winners include:

• The Heritage House Museum with the Gardens Hotel for the 10th Annual Robert Frost Poetry Festival
• Musician Gary Zimmerman with the Key West Art & Historical Society for Tunes from the Key West Custom House
• Photographer Katie Zimmerman with the Market Share Company for Key West High School 2003 Photo Collection
• Key West Plein Air Painters and the Key West Ferry Terminal for an exhibition at the new terminal
• Fourth World Productions (Tom Jordan, Ernesto Lima & Ian Cockburn) and the San Carlos Institute for Tales from the Top
• Michelle Wisniewski and the Key West Police Department for a photography show

Additionally, an Emergency Grant was awarded to Emily Lowe and the Keys Chorale for support of the March 5 performance of Carmina Burana.

Support for programs of the Florida Keys Council of the Arts is made possible in part by the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and private donations. For more information, visit www.keysarts.com.

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