FY 2008 Grant Awards: Arts on Radio and Television

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

American Documentary, Inc. (aka P.O.V.)
New York, NY
$250,000
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.

Art 21, Inc.
New York, NY
$200,000
To support the fifth 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.

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 302 public, community, and college radio stations nationwide.

Bowery Arts and Science, Ltd.
New York, NY
$10,000
To support production and completion costs 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.

Bowery Arts and Science, Ltd.
New York, NY
$10,000
To support post-production costs of a music performance film by Robert Levi. Hidden Music: Billy Strayhorn's Secret Songs will be a one-hour public television program featuring newly discovered jazz and vocal compositions written by the co-composer and arranger for the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

Capital Concerts, Inc.
Washington, DC
$25,000
To support staging and related costs for The National Memorial Day and A Capitol Fourth, two patriotic concerts at the United States Capitol to be nationally broadcast live on PBS in 2008. A national television audience of 10 to 12 million watches these 90-minute programs each year.

Center for Asian American Media
San Francisco, CA
$75,000
To support production and post-production costs for a one-hour documentary on the making of the opera The Bonesetter's Daughter. The Bonesetter's Daughter: the Making of an Opera will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration between librettist Amy Tan and composer Stewart Wallace.

Center for Independent Documentary, Inc.
Sharon, MA
$25,000
To support pre-production and production costs for a documentary by Nancy Kates. Regarding Susan Sontag will be a portrait of the late writer and critic.

Chicago Chamber Musicians
Chicago, IL
$10,000
To support the Chicago Chamber Musicians radio series. The 13-week series is nationally syndicated through the WFMT Radio Network and is carried by 50 stations serving 200 markets.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago, IL
$10,000
To support the BP Chicago Symphony Orchestra Radio Broadcast Series. Carried on 128 stations, the two-hour programs are heard by an estimated weekly audience of 868,000 listeners.

Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc.
Hartford, CT
$50,000
To support the production of a television series about American art collectors. Planned as three one-hour programs, The Collectors will tell the story of the great art collectors of the past whose philanthropy helped establish the major museums of the United States, and will also examine the ideas and practices of contemporary collectors.

CultureWorks, Ltd. (aka CultureWorks)
Philadelphia, PA
$15,000
To support the first phase of production for a documentary radio series on the work of William Shakespeare. Planned as 13, one-hour programs, Radio Shakespeare: His Work, His World, & Ours will be produced by Steve Rowland and written by Larry Abrams, with sound design by Tom Lopez.

Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall
Detroit, MI
$10,000
To support the production of a radio series featuring the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The Great Nines: a Classical Season with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will showcase six "ninth" symphonies.

Educational Broadcasting Corporation (aka Thirteen/WNET New York)
New York, NY
$565,000
To support the development and production by Thirteen/WNET New York of performing arts specials for 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 2009.

Educational Broadcasting Corporation (aka Thirteen/WNET New York)
New York, NY
$575,000
To support the development and production by Thirteen/WNET New York of the television series American Masters for PBS broadcast. Definitive documentary profiles of major cultural figures will be made available in 2009-10 to millions of viewers in all 50 states on more than 345 public television stations.

ETV Endowment of South Carolina, Inc. (aka Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz)
Spartanburg, SC
$65,000
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 listeners on 254 stations in the United States, and to international audiences via NPR's Worldwide Service.

Filmmakers Collaborative, Inc.
Waltham, MA
$10,000
To support the post-production costs, clearance rights, and distribution expenses for a documentary film about the author Louisa May Alcott (1832-88). Using dramatic re-creations, interviews with scholars, feature film clips, archival illustrations, and actors reading from Alcott's diaries, letters, and fiction, the film will provide a complex portrait of the writer best known for her novel Little Women.

Filmmakers Collaborative, Inc.
Waltham, MA
$50,000
To support post-production costs and clearance rights for a documentary film by Tracie Holder and Karen Thorsen. Joe Papp in Five Acts tells the story of the founder of New York's Shakespeare in the Park and the Public Theater.

From the Top, Inc.
Boston, MA
$60,000
To support production of the public radio series From the Top. The weekly, hour-long radio program features performances by young classical musicians ages 8 to 18, interviews, and appearances by guest artists.

From the Top, Inc.
Boston, MA
$75,000
To support production of the television series From the Top: Live From Carnegie Hall. The series will consist of 13 programs featuring young classical musicians performing for a live audience.

Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, Inc. (aka WETA)
Arlington, VA
$150,000
To support WETA's production of a series of arts news reports. Each six- to ten-minute report will be included on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, which airs five nights a week on PBS.

Independent Television Service, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
$175,000
To support the selection, acquisition, and packaging of films for the public television series Independent Lens. This weekly primetime PBS 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.

Kitchen Sisters Productions
San Francisco, CA
$35,000
To support the production and national distribution of a series of audio documentaries to be produced by Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva. The Secret Life of Girls Around the World will be aired on National Public Radio's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Koahnic Broadcast Corporation
Anchorage, AK
$10,000
To support the production of a radio documentary to be produced by Dmae Roberts. Coming Home: The Story of the Alutiq Masks will tell the story of the return to Alaska of masks that have been on display in France for more than a century.

L.A. Theatre Works
Venice, CA
$15,000
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 new radio plays, as well as selections from L.A. Theatre Works' extensive audio theater collection.

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 2009, the series will be aired on PBS stations in all 50 states, reaching an average of five million viewers per program.

Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. (aka the Met)
New York, NY
$50,000
To support production and post-production costs associated with the national telecast of Great Performances at the Met: La Fille du Regiment. Captured in high-definition video, this new production of Donizetti's opera will be broadcast on PBS stations around the country, reaching an estimated audience of three million viewers.

Minnesota Public Radio, Inc.
Saint Paul, MN
$225,000
To support the production, acquisition, and national broadcast of classical music programming. In 2008-09, programs such as Performance Today, SymphonyCast, St. Paul Sunday (to be renamed), and Pipedreams will reach millions of listeners each week.

National Public Radio, Inc.
Washington, DC
$75,000
To support the production, acquisition, and distribution of music programming. Through its Digital Music Initiative, NPR has created an extensive online Web site as a music resource for public radio stations and the public, and will offer new and archival musical performances to stations for broadcast.

National Public Radio, Inc.
Washington, DC
$25,000
To support the production and national broadcast of the public radio series World of Opera. Hosted by Lisa Simeone, the series reaches nearly 500,000 weekly listeners on 134 stations.

Newark Public Radio, Inc.
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 155,000 listeners each week throughout the United States.

Pennsylvania Public Radio Associates, Inc. (aka Echoes)
Chester Springs, PA
$25,000
To support the production of concerts and special features for Echoes, a daily radio series of contemporary music. Distributed by Public Radio International, the series will serve a weekly audience of more than 268,000 listeners on 130 stations in 33 states and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc. (aka The New York Philharmonic)
New York, NY
$40,000
To support the production of national radio broadcasts of performances by the New York Philharmonic from its 2008-09 season. Approximately 2.5 million listeners will hear each two-hour program in the 52-week series.

Phoenix Bach Choir
Phoenix, AZ
$10,000
To support the production and national distribution of a 13-week radio series devoted to choral music. Hosted by Bill McGlaughin, the series will feature the work of six professional choirs.

Public Radio International, Inc.
Minneapolis, MN
$20,000
To support the production of The Global Hit segments on the weekday news and information radio 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.

Public Radio International, Inc.
Minneapolis, MN
$65,000
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 society is a co-production of PRI and WNYC-FM.

Radio Diaries, Inc.
New York, NY
$30,000
To support the production of radio documentaries by Joe Richman. The Audio History Project will air on National Public Radio's All Things Considered.

Riverwalk Jazz
San Antonio, TX
$25,000
To support the weekly public radio jazz series Riverwalk Jazz. Distributed by Public Radio International to 155 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.

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Ltd.
Santa Fe, NM
$10,000
To support the production and distribution of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival radio series. Distributed by WMFT Radio Network, the series is carried by 167 stations throughout the United States.

Shakespeare Theatre (aka Shakespeare Theatre Company)
Washington, DC
$40,000
To support the production of a television documentary by Michael Pack The Shakespeare Wars, based on the book by Ron Rosenbaum, will examine the various interpretations of Shakespeare's works.

Sound Portraits Productions, Inc. (aka StoryCorps)
Brooklyn, NY
$45,000
To support the production of StoryCorps radio segments for weekly broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition. 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.

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 146 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
Philadelphia, PA
$20,000
To support the production and national distribution of the public radio series World Café. A contemporary music and interview series hosted by David Dye, the program reaches more than 500,000 listeners each week.

University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
$60,000
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.

Video Veracity, Inc.
New Orleans, LA
$10,000
To support research, development and pre-production costs for a documentary film on Walker Percy. The documentary, to be produced by Winston Riley, is intended for a national PBS broadcast.

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 and culture is broadcast on 493 NPR stations and is heard by more than 4.5 million people each week.

Window to the World Communications, Inc. (aka 98.7 WFMT Radio/WTTW 11)
Chicago, IL
$50,000
To support the production and national distribution of the radio series Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin. The series consists of weekday one-hour programs focusing on classical music in an informed, educational, and entertaining manner.

WNYC Radio
New York, NY
$15,000
To support the production of a series of radio documentaries by Sara Fishko. The Jazz Loft Broadcast Series will be created from archival audio recordings of jazz musicians made by the photographer W. Eugene Smith from 1957 to '65.

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts
Vienna, VA
$10,000
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, DC.

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 more than 100 radio stations in the United States.

Number of Grants: 51          Total Amount: $3,690,000

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