The Natick Cultural Council has announced more than 30 grants ranging in amounts from $200 to $2,132 to fund a variety of projects that support the arts, humanities and interpretative sciences.
The projects, intended to benefit the Natick community, run the gamut from films to dance to history.
One project that we’ve previewed is called “What’s in your heart? NATICK,” and will be a public art display on the MBTA pedestrian bridge.
Among other grant recipients are the Brown Elementary School PTO, which is receiving $1,000, and Lilja Elementary School, which is receiving $1,500. Both will use the funds to paint murals at the schools.
Brown Elementary will be having artist-in-residence Joe Pimentel working with students and staff in March to create a welcoming new mural in the lobby, says Michelle Parven, visual arts educator at Brown.
A generous grant from Natick Education Foundation got the school 75% of the way to funding the cost of the mural, and the Natick Cultural Council grant will cover the rest, Parven says.
What will make this mural unique is that Pimentel “incorporates students into the entire process – from ideation (kids generating drawings based on a theme) to execution (all hands on deck to help with the actual painting). He feels that this gives students voice in the design and ownership of the finished product,” says Parven who discovered the Ulster County, N.Y., artist on Instagram.
In October, students met with Pimentel over Zoom and made drawings aligned with the theme “Our School Community.” Pimentel sent Parven drafts of the design, and it has since been finalized in preparation for the artist’s visit to the school during the last week in March. “While I have renderings, I cannot share them with you at this time—we want to keep things a surprise!” Parven says.
The Council, which awarded grants totaling $16,582 in this latest round, will seek applications again in the fall.
Fiscal year ’23 funding list
| Recipient | Project Title | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Argyrople, Catherine | Growing Pains (Feature Film) | $300 |
| Brown School Parent-Teacher Organization of Natick, Massachusetts, Inc. | Brown School Lobby Mural | $1,000 |
| Brown School Parent-Teacher Organization of Natick, Massachusetts, Inc. | Ball in the House | $2,132 |
| Costarelli, Eve | Jerusalema Flash Mob: The Dance of Joy | $200 |
| Edgecomb, Diane | Fantastical Folktales of Flowers | $400 |
| Girardin, Denise | What’s In Your Heart Natick? | $800 |
| Hiller, David | Natick Family Science Nights | $400 |
| Historical Natural History and Library Society of Natick, Inc. | Know Natick History: Natick Reimagined (working title) | $300 |
| Lilja Elementary School | School Mural | $1,500 |
| Lilja School PTO, Inc. | Three Billy Goats Gruff by Pumpernickel Puppets | $400 |
| Lilja School PTO, Inc. | Peoples of the Dawn Land | $400 |
| MUSIC Dance.edu | I am Autistic I am Fantastic | $300 |
| MUSIC Dance.edu | Hip Hop Chair Dance for Seniors! | $300 |
| MacInnes, Rebecca | “Crankie” Muscial Story-Telling | $400 |
| Moock, Alastair | Johnson Elementary PTO presents Alastair Moock’s musical social justice assembly “Playing With Tradition” | $400 |
| Natick High School | RoboNatick Team 6032 “Lightning Hawks” | $300 |
| Natick Parents Music Association, Inc. | Natick Jazz Night | $500 |
| Newman, Howard | Knock on Wood, acoustic folk-rock duo | $400 |
| Polatin, David | “The Fifties – The Golden Age of Music” | $400 |
| Quazi, Shahreen | Tribute to Natick Praying Indians | $350 |
| Radhakrishnan, Smitha | Radical Love: A Community Movement | $600 |
| SPARK Kindness, Inc. | SPARK Kindness Week 2022 | $400 |
| Sound & Spirit, Inc. | “Get Happy!” | $500 |
| Taunton City Band, Inc. | Taunton City Band free community concert | $200 |
| The A Cappella Singers, Inc. | Concert Season 2022-2023 | $500 |
| The Morse Institute in Natick | Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band | $400 |
| Voices of MetroWest, Inc. | Trial Educational Tool – ChoralTracks | $400 |
| Waterman, Jon | Live Music Making History Live | $300 |
| Wilson Middle School | Masterclasses for Music! | $600 |
| Women of Note, Inc. | Women of Note Holiday Concert | $400 |
| York, Matt | Johnny Cash – Songs & Stories | $400 |
| Zaino, Nick | 100 Years of Boston Comedy | $200 |
| Zinshtein, Ronen | Dance competition | $250 |
| Zinshtein, Ronen | National Training camp and Dance competition | $250 |
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So excited to have been awarded funds to help with the cost of the What’s In Your Heart project. What a great organization the NCC is and we can’t thank them enough for this funding.