Out North Contemporary Art House announced today that it has received a $250,00 grant from ArtPlace, one of four Alaska grantees — and 47 grantees nationwide — to receive an ArtPlace grant this cycle.

Out North was founded in 1985 by Gene Dugan and Jay Brause as a venue to present LGBTQ theater productions — a role it has continued to perform even after expanding to general programming.  This year alone, Out North has presented the Pulitzer-winning play I am My Own Wife, and played host to a number of important LGBTQ community events, including the annual Pride Prom for Anchorage/Mat-Su youth, a screening of the lesbian classic Desert Hearts, and several events for Anchorage’s Alaska Pride Fest 2012, including Jason Ingram’s presentation on his experience in the ex-gay movement in Anchorage, a Pride Parley of LGBTQ poets, and a screening of On These Shoulders We Stand about gay rights history in Los Angeles.

Out North will direct its grant in support of its Art House Residency program:

The Art House concept marries Out North’s programming needs with the needs of the artists in the community in a lively exchange of vision, practice, resources and production.

Art House Residents work independently, maintaining their own identity, but collaboratively with other residents and Out North.

2011–2012 Art House Residents at Out North include:

• F Magazine
• Anchorage Music Co-Op
• Momentum Dance Collective
• Focus: Art
• Off the Rocks
• Be Here Now, an artistic revolution
• 49 Writers Cafe
• Artistic Amnesty Projec
• Hmong Cultural Center
• Alaska Film Forum
• Poetry Parley
• Community Print Shop
• Brave New Alaskan Voices
• Institute for Speculative Media 

Congratulations, Out North! — and thank for your ongoing support of the LGBTQ community, and your dedication and commitment to the arts in Alaska.

Out North press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Contact: Teeka Ballas
(907) 279-8099, ext. 203
operations@outnorth.org

 Out North Contemporary Art House received one of 47 grants awarded by ArtPlace, a coalition of private and public funders dedicated to developing community vitality and diversity through the arts.

Out North’s $250,000 grant will nurture its Art House Resident Group project, a collaborative, dynamic community space where a dozen resident groups can create, present, produce, teach, and build pride, resilience and resolve through the arts.

“We are honored to receive such a pivotal grant from such an eminent and important organization,” said Dawnell Smith, Out North’s executive director. “The artists, volunteers, leaders, and arts advocates who have dedicated so many creative hours to Out North should feel proud of all they’ve done to build this space, and for all that we can now do to cultivate the work we do.”

ArtPlace received almost 2,200 letters of inquiry from organizations seeking a portion of the $15.4 million available for grants in this cycle. Inquiries came from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The three other Alaska recipients include the Alaska Arts Southeast, Inc., the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the Anchorage Museum Association. A full list of grants can be found at artplaceamerica.org.

ArtPlace is comprised of 11 of the nation’s top foundations including the Rasmuson Foundation, eight federal agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts, and six of the nation’s largest banks.

Out North is a multidisciplinary art house, comprised of 15 different art groups, including Brave New Alaska Voices, Focus: Art, F Magazine, Anchorage Music Co-op, Momentum Dance Collective, Poetry Parley, Institute for Speculative Media, Alaska Film Forum, and 49 Writers.

For more information on Art House Residents, go to: www.outnorth.org/arthouse
For high resolution images, contact operations: 907.279.8099 xt 203 or operations@outnorth.org

Out North, now in its 27th year, is a nonprofit arts house that strives to produce, present and nurture art that challenges and inspires.
For more information, contact operations at  (907) 279-8099 or operations@outnorth.org

Above: Shelby “Mahogan” Wilson performs poetry at Pride Parley, Out North Contemporary Art House, 6 June 2012. Pride Parley, held during during Pride Week in Anchorage, was part of Poetry Parley, a monthly poetry event at Out North where local voices read the works of great poets, and present their own work.

Photos by Melissa S. Green