Two Glendale residents were among 31 artists throughout the state to whom the Arizona Commission on the Arts, an agency of the State of Arizona, awarded $5,000 Research and Development Grants.

Awarded through a competitive application and review process, Research & Development (R&D) Grants support Arizona artists as they work to advance their artistic practice, expand their creative horizons, and deepen the impact of their work. This year, thanks to a new public-philanthropic partnership between the state agency and the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), and through funding from the Newton and Betty Rosenzweig Fund for the Arts, the number of available awards more than doubled, from 15 to 31.

Grantees represent a variety of artistic disciplines and reside in communities throughout the state. Funded projects include a four-mile long mural, a children’s book about transracial adoption, a celebration of women in Jazz, and an experimental fusion of break dance and the Columbian social dance style known as Cumbia.

Among those awarded grants are Liz Guzman and Ruby Morales, both of Glendale.

Peoria’s Felipa Lerma, artist & Artistic Director of Comun Teatro, was on the Artist Research and Development Grant Review Panel.

The grant to Ms. Guzman, a percussionist, will support travel to the Philippine Islands this summer where she will study with masters of various Filipino folk music traditions. Upon her return, Ms. Guzman will create a new body of work for marimba showcasing traditional Filipino folk music.

She is a percussion educator and performer who currently serves as the percussion specialist at Arizona School for the Arts in Phoenix. Her duties at ASA include instructing beginning through advanced levels of percussion and directing the award winning ASA Percussion Ensemble. She received her degree in percussion from Arizona State University in 2004 under the direction of Dr. Douglas Nottingham, Dr. JB Smith, Dr. Mark Sunkett, and Bill Wanser (Phoenix Symphony, retired).

Ms. Morales, a dance artist, will use her grant funds to convene a group of dancers for a five-week paid training intensive and rehearsal process during which the dancers will develop a shared movement language rooted in two disparate dance styles–break dance and Cumbia – and develop a new performance piece.

Ms. Morales is a dancer, social activist, performer, poet and educator. In 2018 she graduated from Arizona State University with a BFA in Dance and was awarded the Gammage Herberger Scholarship for demonstrating active leadership and community involvement. Her art comes from a deeply rooted love for Hip hop, her Mexican culture, and the blending of the two.

After reviewing and scoring applications individually, the panelists convened for a public meeting at the Arts Commission’s office to discuss top-scoring applications and make recommendations for funding. Ben Baer, a Governor-appointed Commissioner of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, acted as the panel chair, overseeing the process without participating in the review.

The Arts Commission’s grant funding is provided by the State of Arizona and funding awarded through a competitive annual process by the National Endowment for the Arts. This year, the Arizona Community Foundation matched state funding allocated to the Research & Development Grant program dollar-for-dollar.

“Arizona artists contribute such value to their communities, including the many ways they provide leadership through creativity, skill, inquiry, and ingenuity,” Jaime Dempsey, Arts Commission executive director stated. “We are so grateful for ACF’s partnership, which has meant that together we can encourage and expand support for the critical research and development phase of artists’ work.”

One of 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies across the U.S., the Arizona Commission on the Arts is a 52-year-old agency of the State of Arizona and a leading force in the creative and professional development of Arizona’s arts sector.

The Arizona Community Foundation, established in 1978, is a statewide family of charitable funds supported by thousands of Arizonans. With five regional offices serving communities in the state, the Arizona Community Foundation is among the top 25 community foundations in the nation with more than $938 million in trust and endowment assets.

Visit azfoundation.org .

IF YOU GO

What: Arizona Commission on the Arts Quarterly Commission Meeting

When: 1 p.m. Thursday, June 27

Where: Arizona Commission on the Arts, 417 W. Roosevelt St.

More Information: Visit azfoundation.org