Jacob's Pillow Receives $400,000 Cultural Facilities Fund Grant
BECKET, Mass. - Jacob’s Pillow Dance announces today that the organization has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF), a program of the state of Massachusetts, administered through a collaborative arrangement between MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.The grant will be used for future campus improvements including the construction of a new 2,000-square-foot stage to replace the aging Inside/Out outdoor performance space, which features a Festival-long dance series that is free and open to the public. Several parking and grounds updates that will also improve public access to the Festival and the visitor experience. Jacob’s Pillow is a world-renowned dance center, home of America’s first and longest-running dance Festival, and a National Historic Landmark, the only dance institution to receive this designation.
This award will allow for the continuation of parking and grounds improvements that began in 2007, also funded by CFF, offering increased conveniences for Pillow patrons. The award must be matched by Jacob’s Pillow within three years and this funding applies to capital projects only, not to general operating costs.
“It is an honor to be recognized by the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, particularly in this challenging economy,” comments Ella Baff, Executive Director of Jacob’s Pillow. “It speaks to the value of the creative economy in the Berkshires that the state has devoted funds to capital improvements at cultural organizations such as the Pillow, which create jobs, generate tourism dollars and enrich our communities. Raising the required matching funds for this grant while also raising much needed annual operating money will be a challenge, but I am confident that the support Jacob’s Pillow enjoys in the community will make this project a success. The Pillow is committed to welcoming all people to dance and our free public programs and historic grounds are a huge part of this.”
The Marcia and Seymour Simon Performance Space, familiarly known as Inside/Out, offers free performances by emerging and established dance companies and dancers of The School at Jacob’s Pillow during the Festival, Wednesdays-Saturdays at 6:30pm. In 2008, more than 14,000 audience members attended a free performance. Intended renovations will enhance the Inside/Out experience for artists and visitors, and ensure that the popular free series can continue.
Planned parking and grounds improvements include the addition of a secondary parking lot egress which will help to alleviate traffic congestion, a new staff parking lot to open up new parking spaces for patrons, additional lighting and pathways for safety, and much-needed improvements to maintenance facilities and storage areas.
Eighty-five organizations across Massachusetts will receive grants ranging from $4,000 to $400,000 from the state's Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF). The grants, totaling $12,467,900, were announced on May 14 by MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), which administer the program jointly. Of the amount awarded, $12,009,900 will support 61 capital projects, $379,000 will be used by 17 groups for feasibility and planning studies, and $79,000 will be used by 17 groups as systems replacement plan grants.
The Pillow’s 2009 Festival season runs June 20 – August 30. Highlights include the U.S. premiere of Groupe Emile Dubois’ Des gens qui dansent; Radio and Juliet, a new take on Shakespeare’s classic, performed by Slovenia’s Ballet Maribor to the music of Radiohead; the U.S. debut of Fang-Yi Sheu’s new company LAFA & Artists, from Taiwan; the hip-hop masters of Rennie Harris Puremovement; and the world premiere of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Orbo Novo, performed by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. The Festival companies hail from around the world including Grenoble (France), Los Angeles, Málaga (Spain), Maribor (Slovenia), Montréal (Canada), New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Taipei (Taiwan), and Vancouver (Canada). For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org.
