The artists in Delray Beach are starving no more.
"Exit, Pursued by a Bear," is the latest play ongoing at Delray's Arts Garage, which won $50,000 in awards from the Knight Foundation on Dec. 3 (Photo courtesy: Arts Garage)
The nascent Arts Garage, founded in 2010 as a multi-disciplinary hub for visual artists, musicians, performers, film presenters and arts educators, won a $30,000 grant and a $20,000 People’s Choice Award from the Knight Foundation at its annual awards presentation Monday night in Miami Beach.
The Arts Garage is an intimate venue which hosts everything from repertory theater to films to jazz performances in Delray Beach’s reborn downtown. It was one of 34 projects in South Florida to win a share of $2.28 million as part of the Knight Arts Challenge. They hosted the likes of Latin jazz great Sammy Figueroa in May.
“The arts not only inspire and challenge, they help create the shared experiences that connect people to one another and the places they live,” Alberto Ibarguen, president of Knight Foundation, said in a statement.
The Knight Foundation supports ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. And it further announced an additional $23 million to fund the arts in South Florida. It supports everything from small organizations such as the Arts Garage to renown Miami City Ballet.
The bonus award for the Arts Garage was the People’s Choice Award, which it won in a text-to-vote campaign. Its goal is to attract South Florida artists to its venue, where they can display everything from exhibits to performance art.