EARLVILLE OPERA HOUSE ANNOUNCES $119,160 IN CULTURAL GRANTS!

The Earlville Opera House (EOH) is pleased to announce the allocation of $119,160 in cultural funding to 36 non-profit organizations and artists through the 2021 Broome, Chenango & Otsego Decentralization (DEC) Grant Program. $15,000 of this funding has been provided for Broome County by the Stewart W. & Willma C. Hoyt Foundation.

The Decentralization Program offers grant support up to $5,000 for community arts and arts education projects. Due to pandemic restrictions, the annual Awards Ceremony will not take place this year, but the EOH looks forward to celebrating with grantees again beginning in 2022.

The New York State Council on the Arts established the DEC Program in 1977 to foster the continued development of local cultural resources responsive to community need. DEC serves all of New York State’s 62 counties, including areas that are geographically isolated, economically disadvantaged and ethnically diverse. The EOH is one of 27 DEC sites across the state. The basic principle of DEC re-grant funding is local decision-making using a peer panel grant evaluation process. The DEC Program operates annually and panel nominations are accepted on a rolling basis.

The Broome, Chenango & Otsego DEC Program serves as a catalyst for local cultural development by supporting projects of artists and arts organizations that expose children, adults and seniors to events that enrich and enhance their lives. Funding provided through these programs helps to strengthen our communities by reaching the most rural of our townships and villages, providing increased access to a greater quality of life through the arts. The DEC program began in Chenango County in 1986, with Broome County added in 2003 and Otsego County in 2011. The Earlville Opera House began administering the program in 2020.

Congratulations to the following 2021 DEC grant recipients:

BROOME COUNTY:

*The Binghamton Poetry Project with the Binghamton Center for Writers; Tri-Cities Opera; *Shannon DeAngelo; *Endicott Performing Arts Center; *+Binghamton Community Orchestra; *KNOW Theatre; *Christopher Bodnarczuk; *Christina Muscatello; *Spool Contemporary Art Space; *SRO Productions III; *Vestal Museum

* Denotes additional funding provided by the Stewart W. & Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, Binghamton

+ Denotes Arts Education Grant

CHENANGO COUNTY:

+Matt Pryor; Afton Community Theatre; +Bonnie Gale; City of Norwich; Otselic Valley Fishing & Heritage Association; Norwich Theater Company; Guernsey Memorial Library; 6 On The Square; Chenango Arts Council; Storm Hammond; South New Berlin Free Library; The Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts; Chenango County Historical Society and Museum; Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival; Out of the Woodwork Players; Jill Kraft
+Denotes Arts Education grant.

OTSEGO COUNTY:

Orpheus Theatre; Pathfinder Village; Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble; Unadilla Historical Association; The ARC Otsego; AKF Foundation for Culture and Environment; Oneonta Community Concert Band Association; First United Presbyterian Church; Butternut Valley Alliance

For additional information on the DEC Program or the grant recipients, their projects and contact information, please visit the EOH website at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com, or call 315.691.3550. Watch our website for 2022 DEC opportunities and information on attending 2021 DEC grantee performances and events!

The Earlville Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street in the charming Village of Earlville, NY 13332 and is handicap accessible. Please view our website and like us on Facebook!

THE BROOME, CHENANGO & OTSEGO DECENTRALIZATION (DEC) PROGRAM IS ADMINISTERED BY THE EARLVILLE OPERA HOUSE WITH PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS, WITH THE SUPPORT OF GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO AND THE NYS LEGISLATURE. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR BROOME COUNTY PROVIDED BY THE STEWART W. & WILLMA C. HOYT FOUNDATION.

Broome, Chenango & Otsego Decentralization Program moves to Earlville Opera House under direction of new Coordinator, Victoria Calvert Kappel

The Earlville Opera House (EOH) is pleased to accept invitation by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to administer the Broome, Chenango & Otsego Decentralization Program, effective July 2020, for arts and cultural grants available in 2021 and beyond.

Founded in 1977, the Decentralization Program (DEC) was developed to ensure that New York State's cultural funding reaches every part of the state.  DEC has since become one of the most effective means of making arts support available to geographically, economically and ethnically diverse segments of the state's population. The program serves each of the state's 62 counties by offering annual grants up to $5k each to non-profit organizations, artists and collectives for cultural and artistic public programming. There are only 27 DEC sites across New York State. EOH DEC grant opportunities include Community Arts Grants and Arts Education Grants.

EOH is thrilled to announce that skilled arts administrator Victoria Calvert Kappel will join the EOH team as the new Decentralization (DEC) Coordinator. Victoria was most recently Executive Director of Arts at the Palace in Hamilton, NY.  During her four year tenure she developed new and creative programming including Summer Youth Theater Workshops and From Script to Stage, a new play development residency. Prior to that, Victoria was Executive Director of the Chenango Arts Council for 15 years where she led the Council’s growth to a regional, diverse and inclusive community arts venue, expanding quality family performing and visual arts programming.

A native of Indiana, Kappel held Executive Director positions in Indianapolis and Chicago, working with and developing community-based cultural organizations and educational theater companies.  She is a member of Actors Equity Association and SAG/AFTRA.

The DEC program has been administered in Chenango County since 1986 and was fortunate to leverage private funding from the Stewart W. & Willma C. Hoyt Foundation in Binghamton to combine with NYSCA funding, a state-wide example, for additional cultural development support in Broome County. To date, DEC has re-granted well over a million dollars into the tri-county service area to foster arts and public arts engagement.

As stated by EOH Executive Director, Michelle Connelly, “The DEC Program enables cultural development in the most rural and impoverished pockets of our service area, bringing arts and culture to populations who may have little or no access to these humanities. The program fosters growth and capacity of local non-profits and cultivates careers for emerging and established artists. Most importantly, DEC supports meaningful public arts engagement and youth arts education opportunities that assist individuals in connecting with themselves and others through the arts. As a result, DEC is a community capacity builder as well as a driver for economic development in our region.”

Connelly added that “Assuming administration of the DEC Program is a most welcome addition to the programs and services offered by the Earlville Opera House Multi-Arts Center.  We look forward to reestablishing the program in order to provide the most professional technical assistance to the regional arts field as possible with Victoria at the lead”.

The Earlville Opera House was founded in 1972 as a non-profit community service organization promoting the arts in rural Central New York by offering programs of cultural, educational and historical significance. Inclusive in the organization’s mission is to preserve the architectural and historic integrity of the EOH, a unique second-story theater constructed in 1892.  Key EOH programs include a wide range of eclectic culturally diverse visual and performing arts programs represented through rotating gallery exhibitions featuring the works of local, regional and national artists; a live performance series presenting shows ranging from community theatre to nationally renowned touring musicians; arts workshops; classes and arts education opportunities for all populations.  The EOH was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 

Watch our website at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com for more information to be released on the DEC Program including 2021 grant guidelines and application materials. Victoria can be reached at victoria.kappel@earlvilleoperahouse.com for DEC inquiries. We look forward to an in-person meet and greet as the future allows!

The Earlville Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street in the quaint Village of Earlville, NY 13332 and is handicap accessible.  We can be reached at info@earlvilleoperahouse.com, or through Facebook.

EOH events are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and through the generosity of EOH members.  Additional support for the Broome DEC Program graciously provided by the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, Inc.

ANNOUNCEMENT: EOH TO ASSUME ADMINISTRATION OF THE BROOME, CHENANGO & OTSEGO DECENTRALIZATION PROGRAM

The Earlville Opera House (EOH) is pleased to accept the invitation by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to administer the Broome, Chenango & Otsego Decentralization Program, effective July 1, 2020, for arts and cultural grants available in 2021.

Founded in 1977, the Decentralization Program (DEC) was developed to ensure that New York State's cultural funding reaches every part of the state. Decentralization has since become one of the most effective means of making arts support available to geographically, economically, and ethnically diverse segments of the state's population. The program serves each of the state's 62 counties by offering annual grants up to $5k each to non-profit organizations, artists and collectives for cultural and artistic public programming. EOH DEC grant opportunities include Community Arts Grants and Arts Education Grants.

The DEC program has been administered in Chenango County since 1986 and was formerly managed at the Chenango Arts Council by EOH’s current Executive Director, Michelle Connelly. Connelly grew the program over twenty years from $13k to $130k, increasing DEC’s service area from Chenango County into Broome and then Otsego County at the invitation of NYSCA. Connelly leveraged private funding from the Hoyt Foundation in Binghamton to combine with NYSCA funding for additional cultural development support in Broome County, a state-wide example. To date, DEC has re-granted well over a million dollars into the tri-county service area to foster the arts and public arts engagement.

As stated by Connelly, “The DEC Program enables cultural development in the most rural and impoverished pockets of our service area, bringing arts and culture to populations who may have little or no access to these humanities. The program fosters growth and capacity of local nonprofits and cultivates careers for emerging and established artists. Most importantly, DEC supports meaningful public arts engagement and youth arts education opportunities that assist individuals in connecting with themselves and others through the arts. As a result, DEC is a community capacity builder as well as a driver for economic development in our region.”

Connelly added that “Assuming administration of the DEC Program is a most welcome addition to the programs and services offered by the Earlville Opera House Multi-Arts Center. We look forward to reestablishing the program in order to provide the most professional technical assistance to the regional arts field as possible”.

The Earlville Opera House was founded in 1972 as a non-profit community service organization promoting the arts in rural Central New York by offering programs of cultural, educational and historical significance. Inclusive in the organization’s mission is to preserve the architectural and historic integrity of the EOH, a unique second-story theater constructed in 1892. Key EOH programs include a wide range of eclectic culturally diverse visual and performing arts programs represented through rotating gallery exhibitions featuring the works of local, regional and national artists; a live performance series presenting shows ranging from community theatre to nationally renowned touring musicians; arts workshops; classes and arts education opportunities for all populations. The EOH was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Watch for more information coming on the DEC Program including 2021 grant guidelines and application materials. To apply for the new job opening for Decentralization Program Coordinator, visit: www.earlvilleoperahouse.com. No phone calls.