Clarksville, TN – The Clarksville Montgomery County Arts and Heritage Development Council (AHDC), as a designated agency of the Tennessee Arts Commission, recently awarded a total of $17,240 to eight non-profit organizations in Montgomery County, Cheatham County, Dickson County and Humphreys County.
Five Montgomery County nonprofit organizations received awards totaling $16,200.
ArtLink Clarksville received $2,500 for artist fees and supplies to support their programs in music and visual arts.
They offer workshops and creative activities such as watercolor painting, creating mixed media pieces, learning a musical instrument, and chalk drawings in their studio and out in the community for young people of all ages, with a special emphasis on youth ages 12 to 22.
Better Choice of Living was awarded $2,600 to pay musicians to perform at a black-tie ball dinner and dance honoring senior citizens 65 plus and to help with a visual and performing arts workshop this May. These events are the culmination of year-long activities aimed at encouraging young people of color to polish and showcase their creative skills.
Clarksville Community Concert Association received $2,300 to help pay the artist fees for the musical group, Huntertones, who will headline the Mid-South Jazz Festival 60th Anniversary in March with a performance and an outreach activity. Huntertones is a Brooklyn-based group that brings people together around the globe with fun, imaginative and fearless music.
Cumberland Winds received $1,900 to pay artist fees and workshop clinician fees for at least 12 concerts and high school band clinics. Cumberland Winds offers concerts of diverse genres to audiences in the greater Clarksville-Montgomery County, Houston County, Henry County, and Stewart County area. They also offer master classes to schools in these counties and plan a joint High School Band and Cumberland Winds concert.
Friends of Fort Defiance received $1,500 for professional fees to bring in reenactors and performers for their 2020 and 2021 events and for supplies to support these events. Friends of Fort Defiance are planning six special events using reenactors, artisans and musicians to bring to life historical figures, crafts and social activities of the region’s past.
The Art League of Cheatham County received $1,840 for artist fees and supplies to support two events: a Discover the Arts weekend in September and a Juried Art Exhibit in April. The Discover the Arts weekend will feature 24 local artists exhibiting 62 pieces worth more than $50,000. The April exhibit is open to Cheatham County artists and attracted 300 visitors last year.
Friends of Johnsonville State Historic Park in Humphreys County received $3,000 for artistic fees to bring in crafters, reenactors, storytellers and musicians for their annual Civil War Days Living History Event. If the event, slated for November, must be cancelled, the Park will host these artists in smaller weekend events.
Promise Land Heritage Association in Dickson County received $1,600 for artist fees for workshop clinicians for a Black History Month program celebrating the African American musical heritage of spirituals and gospel music. The full-day event will include a film and discussion on Black Sacred Music, along with performances by guest artists as well as community, church, and student choirs.
The Clarksville-Montgomery County Arts and Heritage Development Council administers the Arts Build Communities grants in seven counties — Cheatham County, Dickson County, Houston County, Humphreys County, Montgomery County, Robertson County, and Stewart County — for the Tennessee Arts Commission. ABC grants are designed to encourage community organizations throughout the state to host arts-related activities.
