HIF invited interested organizations to apply for “Art and Culture Small Grants” for a maximum of $5,000. The grant was announced in December, 2016 with an application deadline of February 5, 2017. The programs had to be aimed at introducing, popularizing and educating about Hungarian history, art and culture among the Hungarian American communities and wider American audiences.
HIF received 49 grant applications in this grant category totaling $313,949 and decided to support 9 projects for a total amount of $39,000.
Selection and evaluation: as HIF noted in the grant announcement, preference was given to applications where in addition to HIF there were strong additional sources of funding used for a project, where applicants demonstrated a commitment to the project through a meaningful contribution of their own human and/or financial resources.
HIF’s board decided to fund the following projects and programs in this grant cycle:
United Hungarian House (CA)
Merry-Go-Round Theater Play
Merry-Go-Around (Körhinta)Theater play performed by the Hungarian National Theater of Budapest will play after Toronto in Los Angeles in October 2017. 65 artists from Hungary will participate in the production with the Hungarian National Dance Group (Magyar Nemzeti Tánc Együttes). This Hungarian play, which was a hit at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956, is expected to draw an audience of 1500 people.
Total budget: $6,000 – Grant amount: $5,000
Ethnic Dance Theatre (MN)
Land of Legends: A Journey Through the Carpathian Mountains
“Ethnic Dance Theatre (EDT) will be presenting Land of Legends: A Journey Through the Carpathian Mountains at the E.M. Pearson Theater on the campus of Concordia University, in St. Paul, MN. The audience will experience a variety of dance and music selections from the region of the Carpathian Mountains in Central and Eastern Europe. New choreographies will represent the music and dances of the Carpatho-Rusyn people of eastern Slovakia/western Ukraine; the Jewish traditions from northeastern Hungary and the Saxon dances of Transylvania. An additional component that gives the audiences a context to the next number/culture they will be seeing is a slide show of relevant photographs with voice over narration. This narrative engages their minds providing an opportunity for EDT to educate as well as entertain and fulfill our mission to foster understanding and awareness of world cultures.”
Total budget: $43,785 – Grant amount: $5,000
American Hungarian Foundation (NJ)
Digitizing our Archive
This project will digitize the Archive of the American Hungarian Foundation. The goal is to deliver documents online, preserving the collection for future generations of American Hungarians for everyone not just the limited Hungarian Community locally. The American Hungarian Foundation Archives hold a wealth of archived but sparsely used information including gems from the organization’s history. By digitizing the archive, AHF will open the door to educate more people than ever before.
Total budget: $45,000 – Grant amount: $4,000
Hungarian Association (OH)
Hungarian Congress
The Hungarian Congress encompasses a weekend of activities including lectures, Hungarian films, an interactive Children’s program, art, folk art and book exhibits. The two major evening programs include a traditional debutante ball and a Literary & Artistic Program. The Saturday luncheon involves a guest speaker focusing on the theme for the year which in 2016 was “Hungarian Spirit: Ideals and Ideas.” The grant specifically covers the Literary & Artistic portion of the program. Performers at the Literary & Art evening will also run an interactive workshop for children on Saturday afternoon, including, song, dance and crafts.
Total budget: $30,000 – Grant amount: $3,000
American Hungarian Federation (VA)
July 1944
The project involves the publication and dissemination of a book titled Deportation of the Jews of Budapest Foiled covering a crucial period of Hungary’s history. The publication of the book will foster a greater understanding of Hungarian history, target non-Hungarians and promote interaction with other educational institutions.
Total budget: $16,500 – Grant amount: $4,000
Museum of Arts and Design (NY)
Judith Leiber: Crafting a NY Story Exhibit
Hungarian-born designer, Judith Leiber spent sixty-five years in the handbag industry, from an apprentice in Budapest to the owner of an internationally renowned handbag company based in NY City. Judith Leiber: Crafting a NY Story tells the tale of this illustrious craftswoman, designer, and businesswoman who survived the Holocaust to become one of the red carpet’s premier fashion icons. The first museum exhibition of Leiber’s work in over twenty years, Judith Leiber: Crafting a NY Story brings together almost 100 of her legendary bags. The exhibition includes handbags that encompass the history of her eponymous company, which Leiber founded in 1963 at the age of forty-two, through 2004, when she designed her last handbag. The exhibition demonstrates the centrality of immigrant entrepreneurship in the fabric of NY, as exemplified by Leiber’s remarkable story.
Total budget: $137,082 – Grant amount: $5,000
American Foundation for Hungarian Literature and Education (NY)
Festival of Folk Arts and Hungaricum Festival at the Hungarian House of NY
Building on the success of previous years, the aim of the project is to organize a bilingual Hungarian festival at the Hungarian House and on 82nd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, consisting of arts and crafts presentation and workshops, all day long, taught by award-winning artisans, members of the Association of Hungarian Folk Artists, Hungary. Folk music and folk dance workshops for children and adults represented by the Hungarian Heritage House, Hungary, to provide concert and dance performances represented by the Hungarian Heritage House, Hungary as well as presentations of traditional folk costumes
Total budget: $49,500 – Grant amount: $5,00
Ti Ti Tábor Hungarian Folk Camp (WA)
Community Connections
Community Connections, involves reaching out to arts organizations that could benefit from and appreciate what the Ti Ti Tabor camp has to offer. By forming new relationships with these organizations, the organizers not only broaden participation in camp, but increase the visibility of Hungarian folk culture as the partner organizations bring what they learned through camp to their respective communities. Partnerships with the following four dance organizations are involved: Brigham Young University’s International Dance Ensemble; International Ballet Academy of Kirkland, WA; Radost Folk Ensemble of Seattle; and Sussefusse Ensemble of Portland, Oregon.
Total budget $6,030 – Grant amount: $4,000
American Hungarian Folklore Centrum (NJ)
Toborzo Hungarian Folk Dance Gathering
The Folklore Centrum will organize a Hungarian folk dance and folk music gathering in one of the most important Hungarian enclaves in the USA East Coast, in New Brunswick NJ. TOBORZO Hungarian Folkdance Gathering is modeled after the Táncháztalálkozó, held in Budapest every year. TOBORZO will be a micro – version of this well-known and popular event. Ensembles from New Brunswick and Passaic NJ – NY City – Boston – Pittsburgh PA, Cleveland OH, Washington DC, Detroit MI, Chicago IL will be involved.
Total budget: $32,800 – Grant amount: $4,000