FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     March 15, 2005                              

Release No. M-23

FORD FOUNDATION GRANT TO ARTS ALLIANCE

            The Ford Foundation today announced it is awarding a three-year grant of up to $400,000 to the Hawai‘i Alliance  for Arts Education that the alliance will use to work with the city to develop a culture and arts center in Chinatown.

            The grant was announced by Miguel Garcia, acting deputy director of the Community and Resource Development Unit of the Ford Foundation. The grant will be for $100,000 the first year and is renewable for two more years at $150,000 a year.

Marilyn Cristofori, executive director of the alliance, said the non-profit organization dedicated to championing the arts, will use the money to grow the burgeoning culture and arts destination that has developed around the Hawaii Theatre and Mark’s Garage.

Garcia said the alliance “would act as a curator for the neighborhood’s identity as it goes from the past to the present to the future.”

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has sought revitalization of Chinatown since he was on the City Council. He has been in discussion with the Ford Foundation for support since last year.

           The mayor attended the 35^th Annual Mayors’ Institute of City Design in Charleston, S.C., earlier this month and came away further committed to Chinatown revitalization. Expanding the culture and arts aspect of Chinatown is an integral part of that effort.

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Contact:     Mark Matsunaga, 352-1528