FY 2006 Grant Awards: Arts on Radio and Television

Some details of the projects listed below are subject to change, contingent upon prior Endowment approval.

Alabama Educational Television Foundation Authority (aka Alabama Public Television)
Birmingham, AL
$25,000
To support post-production and outreach activities for a television documentary by Celia Carey on visual artist Thornton Dial. Mr. Dial Has Something to Say will include footage of the artist discussing and creating his work and scenes from the Thornton Dial retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

American Documentary, Inc. (aka P.O.V.)
New York, NY
$220,000
To support the selection, acquisition, packaging, and promotion of films for broadcast on the public television series P.O.V. ("Point of View"). As the longest running PBS series devoted exclusively to the art of independent, non-fiction film, P.O.V. brings documentary artworks - rarely found in the mainstream media - to national audiences.

Amherst College (on behalf of Folger Shakespeare Library)
Amherst, MA
$20,000
To support the production of a radio series on the influence of William Shakespeare's works in the United States. Consisting of three one-hour documentaries, Shakespeare in American Life will be produced by Richard Paul and distributed by Public Radio International.

Art 21, Inc.
New York, NY
$170,000
To support the fourth year of Art:21 - Art in the Twenty-First Century. A public television series about contemporary visual art and artists in the United States, the project will yield four one-hour programs as well as ancillary outreach activities.

Artemis Media Project
Foley, AL
$5,000
To support the production of a radio documentary about W.C. Handy (1873-1958). The hour-long program will examine the life, work, and legacy of the man known as "the Father of the Blues."

Atlantic Public Media (aka APM)
Woods Hole, MA
$20,000
To support the production of a radio series showcasing the creative work of new and established radio producers. The Transom Radio Hour will offer national audiences a series of programs based on material from the Peabody Award-winning Web site Transom.org.

Beale Street Caravan, Inc.
Memphis, TN
$10,000
To support the production and national broadcast of the public radio series Beale Street Caravan. Weekly, one-hour programs featuring performances by blues artists will be broadcast on more than 330 public, community, and college radio stations nationwide.

Bowery Arts and Science, Ltd.
New York, NY
$25,000
To support the production of a documentary film by Robert Levi on jazz musician and NEA Jazz Master Hank Jones. Hank Jones: From the Inside will be a one-hour, musical-performance film featuring the life and work of one of America's greatest living jazz pianists and arrangers.

Capital Concerts, Inc.
Washington, DC
$25,000
To support staging and related costs for The National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth, two patriotic concerts at the United States Capitol to be nationally broadcast live on PBS in 2006. A national television audience of 10 to 12 million watches these 90-minute programs each year.

Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc.
Hartford, CT
$40,000
To support the production of public television series on music for young children. A series of 13 half-hour programs, Lomax, the Hound of Music will draw on America's rich and diverse tradition of roots music to help pre-school and early elementary school children develop their musical ability.

Educational Broadcasting Corporation (aka Thirteen/WNET New York)
New York, NY
$525,000
To support the development and production of the television series American Masters for PBS broadcast. Definitive documentary profiles of major cultural figures will be made available in 2007-08 to millions of viewers in all 50 states over 345 public television stations.

Educational Broadcasting Corporation (aka Thirteen/WNET New York)
New York, NY
$525,000
To support the development and production of the television series Great Performances and Dance in America for broadcast on PBS. Regardless of geographic or economic limitations, American television audiences in all 50 states will be provided free access to a diverse range of cultural programming in 2007.

Educational Broadcasting Corporation (aka Thirteen/WNET New York)
New York, NY
$35,000
To support the production and evaluation of the pilot episode for an animated art education series for children. ARTOPIA will be a daily half-hour public television program on the visual arts for five- to eight-year olds.

Educational Broadcasting Corporation (aka Thirteen/WNET New York)
New York, NY
$80,000
To support the development and production of a public television series chronicling comedy in the United States. Intended for primetime broadcast on PBS, Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America will consist of six one-hour programs exploring the archetypes of American comedy and their evolution over the last hundred years.

ETV Endowment of South Carolina, Inc.
Spartanburg, SC
$60,000
To support the production of new programs for the weekly radio series Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz. National Public Radio will distribute the programs to American audiences listening to 246 stations in the United States, and to international audiences via NPR's Worldwide Service.

Film Arts Foundation
San Francisco, CA
$20,000
To support completion costs for a documentary film by Arthur Dong on the history of the Chinese in American feature films. The 90-minute film will be a multilayered look at American cinematic history from the early 1900s up to the present day through the lens of the Chinese American experience.

Film Odyssey, Inc.
Washington, DC
$45,000
To support the production of a documentary film by Karen Thomas. Exiles in Hollywood will trace the personal journeys of European writers, directors, producers, composers, and actors who contributed to many of Hollywood's enduring films.

Film/Video Arts, Inc.
New York, NY
$15,000
To support pre-production costs for a documentary film by Thomas Allen Harris. Reflections in Black: Black Photographers from 1840 to the Present will examine the lives of pioneering photographers, artists, entrepreneurs, and activists who used the photographic image as an art form and as means of fostering respect for their race.

From the Top, Inc.
Boston, MA
$60,000
To support the production of the public radio series From the Top. The weekly, hour-long radio program features performances by young classical musicians (ages eight to 18), interviews, and guest artists.

Good Radio Shows, Inc.
Albuquerque, NM
$15,000
To support the production of a series of public radio programs highlighting the early careers and cultural significance of major innovators in popular music. The Emergence of . . . will consist of nine, two-hour programs, each devoted to a single artist.

Independent Production Fund, Inc.
New York, NY
$45,000
To support script revision and production costs for a documentary film by Perry Miller Adato. Paris-The Luminous Years will consist of two, one-hour programs exploring the birth and flowering of Modernism in Paris from 1905 to 1930.

Independent Television Service, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
$135,000
To support the selection, acquisition, and packaging of films for the public television series Independent Lens. This anthology series provides the public with access to innovative dramatic, animated, and documentary works by independent filmmakers.

Indiana Symphony Society, Inc. (aka Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra)
Indianapolis, IN
$10,000
To support the production and distribution of the radio series Indianapolis On-The-Air. Featuring the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the 13-part series is heard on more than 250 radio stations in 41 states.

Jack Straw Foundation (aka Jack Straw Productions)
Seattle, WA
$5,000
To support the production of radio features by Harriet Baskas. Gone - But Not Quite Forgotten is a series of short programs introducing national audiences to a variety of traditions and art forms still practiced in small towns.

Koahnic Broadcast Corporation
Anchorage, AK
$15,000
To support the production of special editions for the weekly radio program Earthsongs. The series features recordings and live performances of contemporary Native American music and reaches an estimated audience of more than 60,000 people each week.

L.A. Theatre Works
Venice, CA
$30,000
To support the production and distribution of The Play's the Thing, a radio theater series intended for broadcast on satellite and public radio stations nationwide. The 52-week series will include up to 10 new radio plays, recorded live before audiences at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, as well as selections from L.A. Theatre Works' extensive audio theater collection.

Latin American Folk Institute
Mt. Rainier, MD
$15,000
To support the production of a radio series on the history of Latin Jazz. Rhythms from the Heart will chronicle this musical genre from its early incarnations in New Orleans, through the Bebop and Mambo eras in 1950s New York, to its popularity today.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.
New York, NY
$150,000
To support the production and broadcast of the television series Live From Lincoln Center. In 2007, the series will be aired on PBS stations in all 50 states, reaching an average of five million viewers per program.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Society, Inc. (aka Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra)
Los Angeles, CA
$10,000
To support the production and national distribution of a series of radio programs featuring live performances of the Mozart piano concertos. Produced by Classical KUSC, the series will include performances by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra led by music director Jeffrey Kahane.

Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. (aka The Met)
New York, NY
$25,000
To support production costs for a national PBS telecast of an all-star gala concert program. The three-hour program will feature world famous singers performing in honor of the four-decade career of the Metropolitan Opera's retiring general manager, Joseph Volpe.

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
Milwaukee, WI
$10,000
To support the production of a series of radio programs featuring the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The WFMT Radio Network will distribute 13, two-hour concert programs to 241 cities across the country.

Minnesota Public Radio, Inc.
St. Paul, MN
$125,000
To support the production and national broadcast of classical music programming. In 2006-07, programs such as St. Paul Sunday and Pipedreams, broadcasts of the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra series, and a choral music series will reach millions of listeners each week.

Minnesota Public Radio, Inc.
St. Paul, MN
$40,000
To support the development of arts segments for the radio magazine program Weekend America. Produced and distributed by American Public Media, the two-hour program features segments on news, issues of the week, and the diversity of American arts and culture.

National Public Radio
Washington, DC
$40,000
To support the production of arts features to be aired on NPR's national newsmagazine programs. Several multipart series will examine books that have touched our lives, unsung heroes of American popular music, and iconic fictional characters.

National Public Radio
Washington, DC
$125,000
To support Classical Music Initiative. The project will include the recording, acquisition, and national radio broadcast of selected American orchestral performances on Performance Today, SymphonyCast, and Creators @ Carnegie; the presentation of American operatic productions for the World of Opera; and coverage of classical music throughout NPR's news programs.

Newark Public Radio, Inc. (aka WBGO)
Newark, NJ
$60,000
To support the production of JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater, a weekly radio series of jazz concerts. The series is produced by WBGO/Newark and distributed by NPR, reaching nearly 200,000 listeners each week throughout the United States.

Oregon Public Broadcasting
Portland, OR
$25,000
To support the production of a documentary film about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. Directed by Jon Else and produced by Bonni Cohen, Shakespeare's Wings will be a two-hour, behind-the-scenes cinema verite program intended for national broadcast on PBS.

Pennsylvania Public Radio Associates, Inc. (aka Echoes)
Chester Springs, PA
$35,000
To support the production of concerts and sound portraits for Echoes, a daily radio series of contemporary music. The series will serve a weekly audience of more than 300,000 listeners on 130 stations in 33 states and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc. (aka New York Philharmonic)
New York, NY
$50,000
To support the production of national radio broadcasts of performances by the New York Philharmonic from its 2006-07 season. Approximately 5 million listeners will hear each two-hour program in the 39-week series.

Public Radio International, Inc.
Minneapolis, MN
$60,000
To support the production, distribution, and marketing of Studio 360. The series of weekly arts and culture radio programs designed to illuminate the role of the arts in our society is a co-production of Public Radio International and WNYC/FM.

Public Radio International, Inc.
Minneapolis, MN
$20,000
To support the production of "The Global Hit" segments on the weekday news and information program The World. The daily feature showcases world music for American audiences, offering listeners a unique perspective on other cultures through the medium of music.

Radio Foundation, Inc.
New York, NY
$15,000
To support the production of a series of radio documentaries that will examine the role of Jewish-Americans in the arts. Produced by Larry Josephson, the programs will augment the original nine-part series Only in America: A Celebration of 350 Years of American Jewish History.

Riverwalk Jazz
San Antonio, TX
$25,000
To support the weekly public radio jazz series Riverwalk, Live From the Landing. Distributed by Public Radio International to 151 stations nationwide, each hour-long program combines live performance with interviews, oral histories, and historical recordings to celebrate important artists and eras in jazz history.

San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco, CA
$170,000
To support a public television series featuring Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. Keeping Score is designed to help a national audience appreciate the relevance of classical music in contemporary life.

Santa Monica College (on behalf of KCRW-FM)
Santa Monica, CA
$20,000
To support the production of a radio series presenting classic American short crime fiction. More Mean Streets, USA will be KCRW's second series of hour-long programs of unabridged, full-cast dramatic readings of works written by masters of the genre.

Sound Portraits Productions, Inc.
Brooklyn, NY
$15,000
To support the production of radio segments created from selected StoryCorps interviews. A collaboration between Sound Portraits Productions, the Library of Congress, and public radio stations, StoryCorps is a nationwide project aimed at inspiring Americans to record one another's stories in sound.

Station Resource Group, Inc.
Takoma Park, MD
$10,000
To support Public Radio Exchange's Documentaries on Demand project. Through a curated online repository, independently produced arts-focused radio programs will be made available to public radio stations across the country.

Symphony Space, Inc.
New York, NY
$30,000
To support the production of the public radio series Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story, and the distribution of related CDs. The series, which will air on more than 143 NPR stations, will present leading stage and screen actors reading both classic and new short fiction by established and emerging authors of diverse cultures.

Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania (on behalf of WPXN-FM)
Philadelphia, PA
$20,000
To support the production and national distribution of the public radio series World Cafe. A contemporary music and interview program hosted by David Dye, the program reaches more than 600,000 listeners each week

Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.
St. Paul, MN
$25,000
To support the production of a documentary on the comic strip artist Charles Schulz (1922-2000). Intended for primetime broadcast on PBS, Good Ol' Charles Schulz will be a 90-minute documentary examining the life and work of the creator of Peanuts.

University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
$70,000
To support the production and national distribution of American Routes, a weekly radio series devoted to the roots of popular music and popular roots music. Folklorist Nick Spitzer hosts the two-hour, weekend-oriented program, in which he combines recordings of popular, folk, jazz, and classical forms with in-studio performances, field recordings, and interviews.

WGBH Educational Foundation
Boston, MA
$25,000
To support the production and distribution of short video segments of poetry to public television stations across the country. The Poem initiative is designed to make poetry available to the public on a regular basis during hourly station breaks between PBS programs.

WGBH Educational Foundation
Boston, MA
$50,000
To support the production of From the Top for Television. Intended for national broadcast, the 13 half-hour programs will celebrate young classical musicians whose passion and talent for music is exceptional.

WHYY, Inc.
Philadelphia, PA
$65,000
To support the production and national broadcast of the radio series Fresh Air with Terry Gross. The award-winning daily journal of contemporary arts, culture, and issues is broadcast on 468 NPR stations and heard by 4.75 million people each week.

Window to the World Communications, Inc. (aka 98.7 WFMT Radio/WTTW 11)
Chicago, IL
$75,000
To support the production and national distribution of the radio series Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin. The series consists of daily (Monday through Friday) one-hour programs focusing on classical music in an informed, educational, and entertaining manner.

Window to the World Communications, Inc. (aka 98.7 WFMT Radio/WTTW 11)
Chicago, IL
$45,000
To support the production and national distribution of a public television series devoted to jazz. Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis is a series of half-hour programs featuring interviews with and performances by distinguished jazz artists.

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts
Vienna, VA
$20,000
To support the production and distribution of the radio series Center Stage from Wolf Trap. The series provides national audiences with chamber music performances recorded at the Barns of Wolf Trap near Washington, D.C.

World Music Productions, Inc. (aka Afropop Worldwide)
Brooklyn, NY
$40,000
To support the production and distribution of the weekly public radio program Afropop Worldwide. The series showcases the contemporary musical cultures of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas, and is distributed by Public Radio International to approximately 100 radio stations in the United States.

Number of Grants: 58          Total Amount: $3,690,000

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506