Soulsville Foundation, Blues City Cultural Center receive grants
Soulsville Foundation and the Blues City Cultural Center will each receive a $150,000 grant award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Congressman Steve Cohen announced Friday.
Both are arts education organizations that serve youth in Memphis. Founded in 1998 as the Ewarton Foundation, Soulsville Foundation is the parent organization of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy and The Soulsville Charter School.
"Our mission really is to think about legacy, students and the next generation artists," said Richard Greenwald, CEO of the Soulsville Foundation. In keeping with that mission, he said the funds will be put toward programming including the enhancement of the museum's virtual Black History Month tour and Stax Music Academy's Black History Month concert.
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Blues City Cultural Center is a Black cultural arts organization that uses visual, creative and performing arts as a platform for education, engagement and empowerment for marginalized communities.
BCCC executive director Ayana Williams said the center had halted some of its programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She hopes to use the funds to revitalize the organization by compensating art teachers and directors and investing in marketing strategies.
"Blues City Cultural Center is definitely reaping the rewards and the hard work and the longevity that they're able to now not only keep for themselves, but to share with others and continue to make an impact," Williams said about the organization's 43-year history. "So it lets us know that the work that we are doing is well needed and definitely being recognized."
The grants come as part of the American Rescue Plan, which is to provide relief to those facing difficulties due to the pandemic.
“Stax Music Academy, one of the premier musical institutions, inspires our next generation with the legacy and skills of a Memphis music tradition, and the Blues City Cultural Center has been a jewel in the Memphis arts scene for more than four decades. We are sure to see the fruits of this investment,” Cohen said in a news release.
Astrid Kayembe covers South Memphis, Whitehaven and Westwood. She can be reached at astrid.kayembe@commercialappeal.com, (901) 304-7929 or on Twitter @astridkayembe_.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Soulsville Foundation, Blues City Cultural Center receive grants
