The Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County (“ACA”) has named two recipients of the 2021 Artist Awards, given twice yearly to local performers or artists who directly educate, inspire, and uplift the local community with their work. The award provides grants up to $500 to support current projects. The Newport String Project organization and artist Taleen Batalian were chosen to receive this year’s awards.
The Newport String Project will use its grant to underwrite “Emerge,” a series of four free chamber music performances, to take place in local parks and green spaces in 2022. The organization will partner with the MLK Center, the Florence Gray Center, and other community service organizations to offer the outdoor performances, which will feature professional musicians of the Newport String Quartet alongside students from their youth mentoring program.
Artist Taleen Batalian will use her grant to underwrite “Waves and Shadows,” a collaborative performance installation, which will use sculpture garments to merge performance, music, dance and environment through an installation. The installation has two parts; the first, a film, was created at Beavertail State Park in Jamestown, RI, in 2021. The companion piece is a live performance that will take place at the Jamestown Arts Center in Spring 2022.
About the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County: Since 1994, the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, has promoted and advanced arts and culture in Newport County for the benefit of the community. A member-supported organization, the ACA offers events, networking opportunities, support for artist members, and hosts arts and cultural events for the greater community. ACA aims to help guide the interconnection between creative and cultural contributors, and the people of Newport County.
