Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge
20 Projects Receive $3.7 Million in Funding
Michael Spring, Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, Knight Arts judge Rosa Sugranes and Arsht Center Chair Ricky Arriola
Tony Goldman of Goldman Properties, Beth Boone, Miami Light Project and Knight Foundation’s Dennis Scholl. Goldman Properties and Miami Light Project will create an arts incubator in Wynwood called The LightBox at Goldman Warehouse.
Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Susana Ibargüen and Knight Foundation President and CEO Alberto Ibargüen.
Knight Arts Challenge Judge Rosa Sugranes, Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Susana Ibargüen
Howard Herring, New World Symphony, Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation. The New World Symphony received a grant to attract new and younger audiences by commissioning videos or images to accompany musical pieces during select performances.
Knight Foundation President and CEO Alberto Ibargüen, Miami City Ballet’s Edward Villella. With this grant, the Miami City Ballet will again have a live orchestra accompanying its performances.
Laura Reskin, Sweat Records, Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation. Sweat Records will use the grant to expand community programming and launch an online store to sell locally-produced music and goods.
Winners of the 2009 Knight Arts Challenge
Cathy Leff, The Wolfsonian-FIU, Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation
Teatro Avante’s Mario Ernesto Sanchez, Knight Foundation’s Dennis Scholl. Teatro Avante will enhance its award-winning Hispanic theater festival by adding a comprehensive Latin American theater conference for the festival’s 25th anniversary.
More than 300 people gathered at the Knight Concert Hall Monday to celebrate the winners of the 2009 Knight Arts Challenge – a community-wide contest to find the best ideas for the arts in South Florida. Knight Foundation President and CEO Alberto Ibargüen presented the 20 winning ideas with a total of $3.7 million. The projects include putting an orchestra back in the pit during the Miami City Ballet’s 2010-13 seasons, creating an incubator for the arts in Wynwood (a joint Miami Light Project – Goldman Properties effort) and expanding audiences for the Florida Grand Opera by giving away more than 2,000 tickets to a production of Carmen. The Knight Arts Challenge is a $40 million initiative to bring together South Florida’s diverse community through the arts. The judges of the contest, lead by Knight Foundation Miami Program Director and art collector Dennis Scholl, included Rosa Sugranes, Karla Ferguson, Susie Wahab, Bonnie Clearwater, Evelyn Greer, David Castillo, Teddy Abrams and James Judd.
Photos by Yamila Lomba