FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           December 7, 2006

Release No. M-135-06

CITY AWARDS SIX $5,000 GRANTS TO

PERFORMING ARTS ORGANIZATIONS

Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced today the City has awarded grants of $5,000 each to six nonprofit organizations under the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts Production Grant program.

The grant program, now in its second year, supports the production of new works in dance, theatre, music and literature that will be part of each organization’s future repertoire.

This year’s awardees are:

·       Dance Pioneers, for the dance and music production “Kriptonite.”

·       Hawaii Foundation for Chinese Culture and the Arts, for the production of newChinese choreographies and dance reconstructions to premiere Spring 2007.

·       Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus, for the composition of “Ka‘ililauokekoa.”

·       Hawaii Youth Symphony, for the production of “Symphony: For Youth by Youth” by 18-year old composer Michael Foumai.

·       Monkey Waterfall, for a multimedia production titled “Shrines to Paradise.”

·       The Alliance for Drama Education, for the production of T-Shirt Theatre’s “Bully?”

“It is a privilege to be able to support a wide range of organizations that are helping to showcase and build upon the artistic richness of our Honolulu,” said Mayor Hannemann.  “We were impressed by the quality and diversity of these applications and we know the grants will go far toward fostering creative endeavors.”

 The program helps to maintain the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts’ mission of encouraging, sustaining and incorporating culture and the arts as an essential part of Honolulu’s social and economic life.

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Contact:

            Michael Pili Pang, 523-4674

            Dymian Racoma, 527-5288