TACA Awards $300,000 to 41 Grantees

November 10, 2022November 11, 2022 Staff Report 0 Comments GIVINGPEOPLE

The Arts Community Alliance announced today that 41 Dallas County grantees are recipients of its second round of Catalyst grants.

Catalyst grants are distributed without restrictions and are made twice yearly in the fall and spring and are designed to support high-performing arts organizations that are strengthening Dallas’ vibrant arts identity.

The 41 Catalyst grantees are sharing $300,000, with grants ranging from $4,000 – $12,000. Among grantees, three organizations are new or not recently funded, including kNOwBOX dance, Agora Artists, and Voices of Change. Grantees may use the funds on a range of expenses, such as program costs, salaries, administration, office expenses, technology, or other operational needs.

Martheya Nygaard, co-creator and managing director of kNOwBOX dance, shared, “We at kNOwBOX dance are grateful to be a first-time recipient of a TACA Catalyst Grant! This grant will directly impact our operational costs and sustainable growth. We believe that by saying ‘NO’ to the boxes of limitations, boundaries, and confines for connection, we enable ourselves to say ‘YES’ to fostering innovative possibilities, facilitating trans-geographical connections, supporting local artists and audiences, and highlighting underrepresented and diverse voices. With TACA’s support, we can continue to serve as a catalyst for positive impact and transformation for the Dallas community and beyond via the kNOwBOX dance Film Festival and Dance Behind the Screen podcast.”

TACA has awarded a total of $875,000 in funding in 2022 between the ongoing Pop-Up Grant program, Fall & Spring 2022 Catalyst Grants, and the newly re-imagined TACA New Works Fund that focuses on new artistic works by BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and/or female artists.

TACA is unique because all grant funding is raised yearly through fundraising and donations. Catalyst grants co-chair Sheilon King added, “Our arts community here in North Texas is teeming with exciting creative work. TACA exists because there continues to be a need for funding by these organizations, and we rely on the extraordinary generosity of our donors to make that funding possible.”

David Lozano, executive artistic director of Cara Mía Theatre, said, “Over the past two years, Cara Mía Theatre experimented with new ways of performing, and expanded our educational and community programs when the theatre field struggled with programming and revenue. TACA helped keep the lifeblood of our organization going by investing in our operations and our artists during this difficult time. Today, Cara Mía Theatre has become the fifth largest Latinx theatre in the United States, and we owe much of our success to TACA.”

TACA’s Fall Catalyst grantees include the following, listed in alphabetical order: