Join us for a Life in the Arts Interview with David Edwards, Artistic Director of the Out of the Box Theatre

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation (www.masterworkarts.org) is pleased to announce the launch of our next series of A Life in the Arts interview series with multi-hyphenate thespian, David Edwards, who's also the Artist Director of the Out of the Box Theatre. 

 Find out more about the Out of the Box Theatre (www.outoftheboxtheatre.com) and David (www.davidedwardsonline.com), who's had a storied career from Broadway and beyond, tonight, 7/29/24 at 7pm ET. 

Here's are the Zoom details: 

You are invited to a Zoom webinar. 

When: Jul 29, 2024 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

Topic: A Life in the Arts - David Edwards and Out of the Box 

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81338920119?pwd=ZaS27793S1HKZYk_Ckm6v6OyKEeTCA.SgwOcz6CcNIJMVolPasscode: 259618 

 For questions, contact masterworkarts@gmail.com.

 The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts for over 60 years. 100 percent of your donation funds art and artists through community grants, competitive awards, and a premier award for an emerging artist. Find out more at www.masterworkarts.org.

July Facebook Fundraiser Challenge for Masterwork

 Winner to receive 2 tickets to the Camille A. Brown & Dancers Premier of 'I AM'

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation is offering two tickets to this special premier performance at the renowned Jacob's Pillow Festival to the top Facebook Fundraiser for Masterwork during the month of July.

 Never set up a Facebook Fundraiser before, no worries - follow these simple steps from your Facebook account: 

1. Click Fundraisers in the left menu of your News Feed
2. Click Raise Money
3. Select Nonprofit/Charity
   
4. Select Masterwork Music and Art Foundation, choose a cover photo and fill in the fundraiser details
5. Click Create 
6. Invite friends and family to donate to your fundraiser

100% of what you raise for Masterwork will go toward support art and artists through our grant programs.

For more about Camille A. Brown, visit: www.camilleabrown.org/

For more about the performance, see:

For questions, contact masterworkarts@gmail.com

 

Announcing our 2024 Community Arts Grant Awardees

 Announcing The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation 2024 Community Arts Grant Awardees

June 2024 

 

Our Community Grant Awards are designed to support organizations and people that encourage excellence in the arts at the community level. For the 2024-2025 community grant season, four grants were offered —  one at the $1,000 level and three at the $500 level.  Artists and arts organizations  in the tri-state area were encouraged to apply. 

Special thanks to Masterwork’s Program Committee - Joseph White, Eric Hafen, Eileen White, Tony Javed and Alice Glock for their work identifying award criteria and evaluating applicants.

We’re pleased to announce the following awardees:

 

 

·      Our $1,000 award goes to the Out of the Box Theatre.

 

Serving the New York community for over eighteen years, the mission of the Out of the Box Theater Company is three-fold – to provide opportunities for working professionals in their prime,most over the age of 50, to work outside the restrictions of age, race, sex, and disability,to make quality theatrical programming available to seniors and to present new interpretations of period plays.

For more about the Out of the Box Theatre Company, visit: https://www.outoftheboxtheatre.com/

 

 

·      Our three $500 awards go to  the Athens Cultural Center, The Friends of Beattie-Powers and the Stephen Petronio Dance Company respectively

 

·  1.  Athens Cultural Center  

 

The Athens Cultural Center's mission is to encourage an understanding and appreciation of arts and culture, to uplift creative voices within our community, and to create a welcoming atmosphere for all. ACC has been serving the upstate New York community for twenty years, offering a rich variety of exhibitions, events, and classes for art enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds.

 

For more about the ACC, visit: https://athensculturalcenter.org/

 

 

2. The Friends of Beattie-Powers

 

Serving the community of Catskill, NY for over twenty years, The Friends of Beattie-Powers are dedicated to preserving and protecting the natural beauty and historic integrity of the Beattie-Powers grounds and circa 1840s house, while making it accessible to the public for programming “for all.”

 

For more about The Friends of Beattie-Powers, visit: https://www.beattiepowers.org/

 

3. The Stephen Petronio Dance Company

 

Founded in 1984, the mission of Stephen Petronio Company (SPC) is to support the vision of choreographer Stephen Petronio, which includes the creation and presentation of his existing and new works, alongside legacy initiatives meant to preserve the history of postmodern dance lineage, while also advancing its future through new works that honor and extend the history and offer a platform for a greater inclusivity of artistic voices.

The Stephen Petronio Dance Company also offers dance classes for youth through the Petronio Education Program (PEP) in Columbia and Greene counties, New York, which this award supports. 

For more about the Stephen Petronio Dance Company, visit: https://petron.io/  

 

The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts for over 60 years. 100 percent of your donation funds art and artists through community grants, competitive awards, and a premier award for an emerging artist. Find out more at www.masterworkarts.org.

 

   #MasterworkArts

   #CommunityArts

   #LovetheArtist

   #LovetheArts

The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation’s 2024-2025 Community Arts Grants Applications Now Available

March 30, 2024

 

For the 2024-2025 award season, The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation will issue  four community arts grants to organizations or individuals striving for excellence in the arts in the tri-state area. One grant will be given at the $1,000 level. Three additional grants will be issued at the $500 level. Individual aspiring artists and arts organizations located in the tri-state area of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are encouraged to apply.

 

Interested parties are encouraged to contact masterworkarts@gmail.com to receive an application and submit the completed form by midnight Wednesday, May 1 to be considered for the 2024-2025 grant season.

 

Here are more specifics on our grant criteria:

 

·      We’re looking for the best proposals for arts projects that encompass fine and performing arts - including music, dance, visual art, and nonprofit theatre productions that engage the community.

·      Volunteer involvement is an important factor. Please explain how volunteers will be engaged for your submission.

·      Applications that illustrate a commitment to excellence in the arts through theme and/or design will receive greater consideration.

·      Applications that illustrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through reach, theme and/or by design are encouraged to apply.

·      Note that this award is not intended to cover operating expenses or support for a fundraising initiative.

·      2023-2024 Community Grant Awardees should not apply.

·      Community Grant Awardees prior to 2023-2024 are encouraged to apply.

·      Applicants should identify how The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation will be recognized in relation to the work.

 

Awardees agree to be featured in Masterwork Arts promotional materials and promote Masterwork Arts offerings.

 

Awardees will be notified the week of June 16, 2024.

 

How to apply:

 

Email masterworkarts@gmail.com for your application. Fill it out and email it back to masterworkarts@gmail.com  before midnight Wednesday, May 1, 2023.

 

Questions? Contact masterworkarts@gmail.com.

 

About Masterwork Arts 

Masterwork Music & Art Foundation was founded more than 60 years ago in Morristown, New Jersey. The Founders, Shirley May and David Randolph, were passionate about the arts and understood the importance of nurturing developing artists and making the arts available to a broad audience. Generations of artists were influenced by the years of concerts, theatrical events and fine arts projects Masterwork Arts funded and produced. Today, Masterwork Arts supports excellence in the arts through a variety of grant offerings and awards, a virtual series “A Life in the Arts and virtual classes that are open to all.

Masterwork Arts Grants $10,000 Premier Award to Camille A. Brown & Dancers

 In a bold shift, this year’s award goes toward the development of an original work, allowing Masterwork to present more artists to larger audiences than ever while growing the canon of world-class dance pieces. CABD represents a thrilling first for this funding opportunity. 

MADISON, NEW JERSEY –  January 30, 2024

Masterwork Music and Art Foundation is proud and delighted to honor Camille A. Brown & Dancers (CABD) with their newly reimagined Premier Award. The $10,000 grant now funds the development of a new work entitled I AM. I AM will be a celebration of life, blending step and traditional African dance, slated to debut to audiences in summer 2024. In the coming years, Masterwork will bestow one $10,000 award in one of their remaining areas of focus, furthering the Foundation’s vision of bringing excellent and vital art to the world across disciplines with a belief these offerings can enrich all our lives.

 

 The photo to the left showing CABD dancers in rehearsal was taken by Maurice Lee.

 

Donations to Masterwork help maintain their commitment to ensuring 100 percent of all donations go directly to artists and arts programs. To make a gift, visit www.masterworkarts.org.

“This shift in priority strengthens the impact of the generosity of our donors. Now, our Premier Awards will help employ whole teams of artists and, In the case of CABD, be associated with a work in perpetuity,” said Executive Director, Todd Whitley.

 The photo to the right of Camille A. Brown was taken by Josefina Santos.

A most gracious Camille A. Brown said on a brief break from her work on the Broadway-bound Alicia Keys musical, Hell’s Kitchen, “I am very excited about my new dance work, I AM. When I watched the TV series Lovecraft Country, I was deeply moved by Hippolyta‘s journey, particularly in the episode called "I AM." That episode inspired my vision for the Broadway revival of for colored girls who considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf and continues to be a strong point of reference as I create this new work. I've found that many aspects of the last few theater projects I’ve worked on are influencing this new dance work. I love this interconnectedness that comes up in the creative process. From contemporary dance to Hip Hop, I hope this work shows my continued evolution as a choreographer and dance maker.“

Masterwork has more than 60 years of history of supporting excellence in the arts. A key factor in deciding among the six finalists, all of whom demonstrate the utmost excellence in their past work and proposals for this grant, was how the new work would reflect the times in which we live. 

“Having just come out of a pandemic and with hatred, violence and unrest exploding worldwide, I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about our selection of I AM! It’s the kind of ‘joy bomb’ (or should I say, ‘joy balm’) the world really needs right now,” said Tony Javed, Board President for Masterwork Arts.

Masterwork also provides four to six Community Arts grants as well as other programs each year, funding opportunities to get involved with the arts at home while nurturing new works that spark the imaginations of today’s audiences and will stand the test of time for future audiences. 

You can make a gift toward next year’s grantees at www.masterworkarts.org.

About Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation, a non-profit educational organization, promotes, presents, and supports fine and performing arts, including music, literature, theater and visual arts. The Foundation's purpose is dedicated to the advancement of cultural and educational pursuits demonstrating the high standards which have become associated with the name, "Masterwork." The Masterwork Foundation gives grants for projects in a range of media including music, visual arts, literary endeavors, and theatrical productions.

FREE Virtual Dance Classes

 Dance with us - not only because it's good for you. Dance with us because it will make you feel good, too!

Image by artist Paul Cadmus.

About the Class

The format of the hour and a half long class offers a forty five minute warm up that pulls from a number of dance disciplines and includes some floor exercises meant to strengthen back muscles.  There’s a section on across the floor technique and a small choreography at the end. Participants are encouraged to modify exercises and may opt-out of any section they choose. 

 

These classes are open to all, though people 50+ are encouraged to join.

 

Classes are offered on Saturdays at 10:30am and Tuesdays at 6:00pm. Zoom invites are sent out early the day of each class. 

Email masterworkarts@gmail.com to receive an invite. 

 

About the Instructor

 

Todd Whitley began his dance career as an adult, accumulating live, broadcast and film performances while maintaining a career as a digital strategist for nonprofits. He has received grants for a number of community based choreography projects and has been teaching classes for the past eight years. He feels strongly about the benefits of dance, both physical and as a tool to unlock creative thinking and problem solving.

 

About Fees

 

These classes are FREE! 

 

There are no fees for class. However, participants are encouraged to support three community-based organizations that support the arts:

• The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation ( www.masterworkarts.org )

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

PO Box 1116

Madison, NJ  07940

• The Friends of Beattie-Powers ( www.beattiepowers.org ) 

Friends of Beattie-Powers

P.O. Box 453

Catskill, NY 12414

•  The Athens Cultural Center  ( www.athensculturalcenter.org ) 

The Athens Cultural Center

24 Second Street

Athens, New York 12015

 

Each of these organizations is promoting this offer in-kind. 

 

As with any dance class or school, neither The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation, nor the instructor are liable for individual injuries sustained in or out of class. 

 

For more information and to be receive class invites, email masterworkarts@gmail.com . 

 

#MasterworkArts

#LovetheArtist

#LovetheArts

#Dance

Call for entries -- 2023 Masterwork Arts Community Grant Opportunities

 5 Community Arts Grants Available!

 

Apply to masterworkarts@gmail.com by midnight Monday, May 1 to be considered for the 2023-2024 grant season.

 

 

Each year, The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation issues a number of community grants to organizations or individuals striving for excellence in the arts. This year, our Board has refined the criteria and expanded our offerings. For the 2023-2024 community grant season, we’ll be giving out five grants. One grant will be given at the $1,000 level. Three additional grants will be issued at the $500 level. The call is for individual aspiring artists and arts organizations located in the tri-state area of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are encouraged to apply. 

 

Here are more specifics on our grant criteria: 

• We’re looking for the best proposals for arts projects that encompasses fine and performing arts - including music, dance, the visual arts, and nonprofit theatrical productions that engage the community. 
• Volunteer involvement is an important factor. Please explain how volunteers will be engaged for your submission.
• Individual aspiring artists and arts organizations in New Jersey and New York are encouraged to apply.
• Works that illustrate a commitment to excellence in the arts -- either through theme or by design will receive greater consideration.
• Note that this award is not intended to cover operating expenses or support for a fundraising initiative.
• 2022 Community Grant Awardees should not apply. 
• Applicants will need to email masterworkarts@gmail.com for an official form and then submit the completed form to masterworkarts@gmail.com by midnight Monday, May 1, 2023. 
• Applicants should identify how The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation will be recognized in relation to the work. 

Awardees agree to be featured in Masterwork Arts promotional materials and promote Masterwork Arts offerings.

 Awardees will be notified the week of June 19, 2023. 

How to apply:

 

Email masterworkarts@gmail.com for your application. Fill it out and email it back to masterworkarts@gmail.com  before midnight Monday, May 1, 2023. 

 

For questions about the above contact masterworkarts@gmail.com

 

About Masterwork Arts  

 

Masterwork Music & Art Foundation was founded more than 60 years ago in Morristown, New Jersey. The Founders, Shirley May and David Randolph, were passionate about the arts and understood the importance of nurturing developing artists, and making the arts available to a broad audience. Generations of artists were influenced by the years of concerts, theatrical events and fine arts projects Masterwork Arts funded and produced.   Today, Masterwork Arts supports excellence in the arts through a variety of grant offerings and awards, a virtual series A Life in the Arts and virtual classes that are open to all. 

 

Remembering Artist and Board Member Tim Watkins

“As a kid I built worlds for my toys. As an adult, I build worlds for other kids.” Tim Watkins

Tim Watkins, a resident of Brooklyn and Athens, NY, longtime life and work partner of Carol May and creative force of nature, passed on December 30, 2022.

Among his many credits, he was a Board member of The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation for over forty years. We’d like to honor him with this post and a grant dedicated in his honor.

A native of England and Canada, Tim received his BFA from the Alberta College of Art & Design in 1979. Shortly thereafter he met his soulmate and life partner, Carol May, at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, an artist’s residency.

They were among a pioneer wave of artists who established studios in what was then the largely blighted burrow of Brooklyn. 

A founding partner of May + Watkins with his wife, the design and fabrication firm brought their work to a national audience. Their interactive public art installations have been featured across the country and are profiled on www.maywatkinsdesign.com

In the early 00s, Tim and Carol expanded their operations to Athens, NY, which allowed them to create larger works and to become vital members of the upstate community.  Tim was a Board member of the Athens  Cultural Center for a number of years, where he produced several gallery shows during his tenure.

For those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Tim, his buoyant energy and zest for all things creative were sure to leave a fond impression.  While he struggled with the challenges a cancer diagnosis incurs for a number of years, he never let that get in the way of living his life fully.

Tim was a remarkable person and a dedicated colleague who all of us on the Board of the Masterwork Foundation will miss dearly.

A celebration of life will be scheduled for a later date. If you’d like to be invited, email masterworkarts@gmail.com.

In lieu of flowers, consider donating to either The Athens Cultural Center or The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation.  The Masterwork Foundation will be offering a special community arts grant in Tim’s honor.

To donate to the Athens Cultural Center:

Donate online at https://athensculturalcenter.org/
OR
Mail a check made out to the Athens Cultural Center to -
The Athens Cultural Center
24 Second Street
Athens, NY 12015

To donate to The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation:

Donate online at http://www.masterworkarts.org/
OR
Mail a check made out to The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation to -
The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation
P.O. Box 1116
Madison, NJ 07940

<end>

Happy Holidays from your Friends at Masterwork

 

Wishing our friends, followers and their loved ones a joyous holiday season, full of love. 

 

We've had an amazing year - handing out over $15,000 in grants, offering over 100 free classes, and sharing the stories of over 20 inspiring artists. 

 

100% of your support of Masterwork goes to supporting Art and artists directly. Please consider a year end gift to promote "excellence in the arts" with us: www.masterworkarts.org

 

Cheers to the year ahead, your good health and art that inspires!

 

#MasterworkArts #lovetheartist #lovethearts

Support #MasterworkArts on #GivingTuesday

 

Today is #GivingTuesday, the annual day of giving. 

With so many nonprofits to choose from, we'd like you to consider ours - where 100% of your gift goes to supporting artists and the arts. Your gift is shared independent of administrative fees and helped us to give out more than $15,000 in awards last year in the tri-state area. 

We've been on a mission to support excellence in the arts for over 60 years. 

Consider donating to our Facebook Fundraiser to support our next generation artists!

Not able to give this year? Share a hug with the artists in your life instead. Your support makes a difference.

#MasterworkArts #LovetheArtist #LovetheArts

A Life In the Arts Fall Series Schedule

Update: October 24, 2022 

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation is pleased to announce its latest season of A Life in the Arts, a free online series that celebrates people who have dedicated their lives to the arts.

Masterwork, which has been active for over 60 years, provides grants to artists and arts organizations. In 2021-2022, the organization provided over $15,000 in such funding. “With A Life in the Arts, Masterwork is looking to go further and give back more to the arts community,” said Executive Director, Todd Whitley. 

A Life in the Arts is an informative series aimed at viewers such as students, professional artists, arts administrators and others who may be curious about a career in the arts. Guests include professional artists across different disciplines, arts administrators, and educators. Host and interviewer Joseph White, a longtime Masterwork board member, has interviewed guests for the series such as Broadway legend Robert LuPone, the Executive Director of Works and Process at the Guggenheim Museum and alumni dancers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.  

White noted that “viewers can tune in live online — Monday nights at 8pm EST — or stream the recording later on Masterwork’s YouTube Channel.” Masterwork’s growing library of interviews can be accessed here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDl5jNltVxw0eB1eYVAh3lQ

Whitley added “A Life in the Arts provides a personal look into the dedication required for a life in the arts. Our goal is to illuminate a path for young artists while we celebrate the resilience of career professionals.”   

The Fall season of A Life in the Arts, through November 2022:  

 

            Monday, Sept. 19th at 8pm EST, Ethan Galvin of the New Jersey Choral Society

            Monday, Sept. 26th at 8pm EST, Nicole Maniez of print studio Flemington DIY

            Monday, Nov. 7th at 8pm EST, Marina Poudret of the Ladies of Hip Hop 

            Monday, Nov. 14th at 8pm EST, Debbie Mausner and Falls Kennedy of Current Showcase 

            Monday, Nov. 21st at 8pm EST, Chanika Svetvilas and AAPI art project Anonymous was the Dat             Monday, Dec. 12th at 8pm EST, Peggy Gould, Dancer, Choreographer and Educator     

    Monday, Dec. 19th at 8pm EST, Juliet Perrell, Jules and Dee Project   

For questions or more information about A Life in the Arts or the Masterwork Foundation, please email masterworksarts@gmail.com or see www.masterworkarts.org. 

About Masterwork Arts  

Masterwork Music & Art Foundation was founded more than 60 years ago in Morristown, New Jersey. The Founders, Shirley May and David Randolph, were passionate about the arts and understood the importance of nurturing developing artists, and making the arts available to a broad audience. Generations of artists were influenced by the years of concerts, theatrical events and fine arts projects Masterwork Arts funded and produced.   Today, Masterwork Arts supports excellence in the arts through a variety of grant offerings and awards, a virtual series A Life in the Arts and virtual classes that are open to all.