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VSA MINNESOTA, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a two-year grant of $38,000 in support of Project Grants for Artists with Disabilities and developmental programs and services provided to professional artists with disabilities.  The mission of VSA Minnesota is to create a community where people with disabilities can learn through, participate in, and access the arts.  The purpose of the Project Grants is to encourage the creation of new artistic work by emerging Minnesota artists with disabilities.  Grants may fund the creation and production of new work, travel to research and present new work, professional documentation of new work, purchase of supplies or equipment to create new work, professional development, and rental of space to create and present new work.  An open call and panel review process determine the annual selection of Project Grant recipients.

MATT RUSKIN received funding for The Warriors, an hour-long documentary about an international group of eco-warriors. In 1997, they began occupying the Glen of the Downs Nature Reserve in Ireland, in an attempt to protect old growth trees that were threatened by a road widening plan.

VOICE & VISION, New York City, received a grant of $8,000 to support the production of a new work, FireDance, by Chiori Miyagawa. The mission of Voice & Vision, founded by Marya Mazor and Jean Wagner, is to build an artistic home for the many women who feel under-served and under-represented by the art and imagery of mainstream culture. As an investment in an emerging organization, as well as an emerging creator, the Jerome Foundation authorized subsidy.

DARIAN PARKER, choreographer and performer, New York City, will travel to Bamako, Mali, to conduct intensive study of Malian dance--the technical aspects, its accompanying music and the folklore--with master artists to enhance his abilities as a performer and choreographer. Parker’s study will center on dance training with members of Bamako’s artistic community, music training, and conversations and interviews with artists, community elders, and other gatekeepers of the cultural, folkloric, and historical significance of Malian dances and the accompanying music. One particular area of study will involve the form known in the United States as Lamba. This Malian dance was traditionally performed by the Djeli, a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician considered a repository of oral tradition. Parker wants to understand how different ethnic groups in Mali interpret the form.