MELROSE — The Melrose Cultural Council is pleased to announce the grantees for the 2022 calendar year in arts and culture. The MCC allocated $18,050 in funding across 22 arts and cultural projects spanning visual art, music, theatre, public art and place-making, and more. The year-long slate of programs have the potential to reach a diverse audience of our youngest and oldest Melrosians, and everyone in between.

“We are looking forward to enthusiastically supporting the arts in Melrose as we emerge from a very challenging period,” says Council Chair Jason Webb. “We have tremendous talent and enthusiasm for the arts in Melrose and we encourage everyone to support our artists and cultural organizations.”

The list of grantees and grant amounts is as follows:

The Opening Doors Project, $2000

This concert is part of an ongoing series of live musical events with a diverse roster of performers. Grammy-nominated Melrose resident Alastair Moock and his musical partner Reggie Harris perform a version of their program “Race and Song: A Musical Conversation,” accompanied by the Boston City Singers Tour Choir as well as World Rhythm Ensemble, a high school choral and drumming group based in Dorchester. “The Opening Doors Project” intends to make the Melrose cultural scene more diverse and inclusive by celebrating artists of color in our community and beyond. This project helps build bridges in Melrose, attract and speak to families of color, and begins to shift the perception of what Melrose looks and sounds like; bringing our city closer to its ideal of “One community, open to all.

Melrose Public Schools Visual & Performing Arts, $1500

Melrose High School students will have the opportunity to work with Emerald City Theatrical Costumes to design and create costumes for the MHS Drama spring production of Phantom of the Opera. Through Emerald City workshops and technical support, student cast and crew will learn about the process of building a costume plot, designing, constructing pieces, sizing, and fitting actors. This project lies in the intersection of visual and theater arts, drawing together the elements of line, color, and texture with theatrical design.

Melrose Arts Summit, $1400

COVID-19 has changed the arts & cultural landscape of how cities and arts organizations deliver arts and cultural programming. Increased demand for spaces to safely gather for creative experiences, as well as a responsibility to foster DEAI in cultural offerings has shined a spotlight on how cities and arts producers are prepared and organized to meet these challenges. With this in mind, the Melrose Cultural Council and Messina Fund for the Arts are partnering to convene a broad and diverse group of arts and culture producers and consumers to an Arts Summit to explore opportunities to build capacity for a stronger and more collaborative arts and culture sector in Melrose in the areas of funding, marketing, advocacy, diversity, use of venues and more. We aim to uncover new and exciting opportunities for an efficient, vibrant, diverse and sustainable creative ecosystem that supports our amazing individual arts and cultural assets.

Melrose Porchfest, $1100

Annual musical festival that takes place on porches and in backyards throughout Melrose. The festival features local amateur, semi-professional and professional musicians from Melrose and neighboring towns. Music genres include jazz, rock, Latin rock, pop, blues, and traditional Irish music. Porchfest has also expanded to include comedy and spoken word. The day-long event is free and open to the community.

Music at the Market, Melrose Farmers’ Market, $1000

The Melrose Farmers’ Market (MFM) is a beloved community event in Bowden Park every Thursday from June to October and at the YMCA in November and December. Local musicians are invited to play in the park and at the indoor markets. Music is a central part of the MFM and provides a backdrop for the community to gather each week.

Melrose Open Studios Summer Arts Markets, $1000

MOST will present two Summer Arts Markets on the Beebe Estate lawn. What began as an outdoor alternative in 2020 has blossomed into an anticipated event! In 2022, MOST will host two market events that will showcase roughly 40 artists living or creating in Melrose, as well as offer music, food, and participatory art demonstrations.

Polymnia Choral Society Pops Concert featuring music of Elton John, $1000

Polymnia Choral Society presents its annual Pops concert at Memorial Hall. This year, the concert theme features the music of Elton John. For over 65 years, Polymnia Choral Society has been delivering great performances featuring more than 60 voices from Melrose and surrounding communities.

Greater Boston Stage Company, $1000

Discounted theatre tickets for Melrose seniors and students. These funds help the Theater provide discounted tickets for Melrose students & seniors. Last season, 25 percent of all Melrose resident tickets sold were discounted for this audience, saving our seniors and students $6,000 and encouraging more theatre experiences in Melrose!

The Lost and Found Project, $900

What helps, what hurts, and what heals? The Lost & Found Project is a photojournalism endeavor that examines the intersection of self-esteem, body image, and personal narrative, and the roles of familial and cultural influences, and social media. Through photography and long format interviews, we seek to tell the stories of how messaging has impacted feelings of worthiness, and self-efficacy, as well as the chain reaction of this narrative, and what it means for next generations, community members, and society. Moreover, how do we navigate these feelings with a computer at our fingertips? Hosted at Follow Your Art Community Studios.

Melrose High School Band Pops Concert, $900

This festive concert kicks off Memorial Day Weekend in Melrose! Featuring the MHS Jazz Band, Melrose Youth Band, and MHS Concert Band, this public concert is the culmination of the academic year’s learning. Hosted at Memorial Hall makes the evening extra special for the students by providing the opportunity to perform in our own special historic concert venue.

Melrose Symphony Orchestra, $800

The MSO closes out their “Return to the Stage” Season with a Pops concert highlighting the community, including 20-year MSO principal trumpet player and band director, Randy O’Keefe. Also included in the program is Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, a work for narrator and orchestra featuring a special local (surprise) narrator.

Melrose Together, Art on Essex, $700

Melrose Together will mount a visual and experiential public art piece on Essex Street during construction of the new Essex Street building development. Local historian Jim Bennett will work with local artist Bo Tsang DiMatteo on creative designs based on the historical significance of the site – Charlie Sing’s Chinese laundry, Melrose’s first minority owned business. Melrose Together will also create a participatory art activity on site. This project supports diversity, engages multiple community partners, employs local artists, and mitigates the impact to our downtown during construction. At the end of the project, panels can be removed and displayed elsewhere or auctioned to fund future creative installations.

Green Man Celebration, $700

A celebration of nature and the spring season with story, music and revelry. The Green Man Community Mosaic, which incorporates the work of 36 artists and was installed in Bowdoin Park in 2021, is the inspiration. Green Man is a mythical figure and archetype of human kinship with the natural world. The community is invited to dance and maypole, and fanciful attire and costumes are encouraged.

Alastair Moock at Franklin Early Childhood Center, $500

In this lively, upbeat performance full of participatory singing and dancing, Alastair introduces ECC students to a diverse group of American folk musicians who have used folk music to teach lessons, chronicle history, champion causes, celebrate victories and simply make people happy. Students will “meet” Woody Guthrie, Mississippi John Hurt, Pete Seeger, and other heroes of American folk, as well as learn how Dr. Martin Luther King and others used American song tradition to inspire change during the Civil Rights movement.

Follow Your Art Community Studios student art show, $500

FYACS will host a student art show in April 2022 featuring works by their students and coinciding with the City of Melrose’s annual Celebrate the Arts festival.

Melrose Human Rights Commission MLK Day of Service, $500

The MLK Day of Service and Community Celebration provides Melrose residents of all ages an opportunity to give back to the city by volunteering with local community organizations.

Music with Helder, YMCA, $500

The Melrose YMCA Academy provides high quality early learning for approximately 100 children in preschool and Kindergarten. Students enjoy weekly music instruction with Music Director Helder Tsinine. Children learn and sing age appropriate songs and sample clean musical instruments. This program is one of the highlights of the YMCA Academy, and caregivers appreciate the value of music instruction in their children’s weekly schedule.

Cool Classics with the Nissitissit String Quartet, $500

The Nissitissit String Quartet presents a safe, fun and engaging outdoor multi-generational concert in the MHS courtyard featuring movie themes we all know and love, timeless standards and excerpts from classical masterpieces.

Roosevelt Elementary PTO Musical, $450

Roosevelt Elementary musicals are a treasured and highly-anticipated tradition, an opportunity for artistic expression, and a collaborative activity for students. These shows provide a wide range of opportunities for creativity such as singing, dancing, acting, prop-building, set design, costume design, lighting design and stage management. The resulting performances are enjoyed by students, families and the Melrose community.

July 4th Concert at Mount Hood, $400

At this free annual public concert, Melrose community families celebrate our national holiday with the music of the Middlesex Concert Band among the ambiance and rustic setting of Mount Hood Park. The concert concludes with a “Parade of Children” flag march while the band plays ‘Stars and Stripes” Forever.”

Hip Hop Dance Chair Exercise for Seniors, $400

In partnership with Melrose Council on Aging, Melrose seniors will travel on the “Soul Train” and dance from their chairs to “clean” versions of hip hop and R&B songs. Fun props such as drums and maracas make this soul train journey come to life, and leave our seniors feeling limber and rejuvenated. All aboard the Hip Hop Soul Train Exercise Express!

Tom Knight’s Musical Puppet Show, $300

North Suburban Child & Family Resource Network, in collaboration with the City of Melrose Recreation Department, hosts an outdoor music education puppet show at Ell Pond. Songs like “Library Boogie,” “Garbage Monster,” and “Solar System” celebrate reading, the environment and science with hand-made puppets, funny stories, song, and audience participation. Tom Knight’s original, interactive, musical puppet show will leave audiences awestruck and belly laughing.

MCC grantees meet criteria laid out by the MA Cultural Council, as well as local criteria established by a 2021 Melrose community survey. The next grant cycle opens in the fall of 2022.

The Melrose Cultural Council is the local affiliate (LCC) of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, part of a statewide network in cities and towns funded by the legislature. The Melrose Cultural Council (MCC) supports programs with public benefit that promote excellence, education, cultural diversity, inclusion, and racial equity to foster a rich and vibrant cultural life in Melrose. Programs are funded across a wide array of disciplines, including visual arts, music, drama, dance, writing, culture, history, and humanities. Grants are given to Melrose organizations and MA individuals, artists and presenters in partnership with local organizations.