• 7 Stages
• Atlanta Lyric Theatre
• Hammonds House Museum
• IMAGE Film and Video
• Michael O'Neal Singers
• William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum

Click here for a listing of recipients from other years.

7 STAGES
7 Stages engages artists and theatre audiences by focusing on the social, political and spiritual values of contemporary culture. 7 Stages emphasizes international work and the support and development of new plays, new playwrights and new methods of collaboration. Based in Little Five Points, it nurtures the development of other small theatre organizations through its main stage and black box theatre. 7 Stages is experiencing an increase in ticket sales but seeks to increase its corporate and foundation contributions and explore new grant opportunities for the organization to partner with foreign embassies on international projects. A new, dedicated staff member can research and acquire new contributed income creating immediate and long-lasting financial support currently not available to the organization due to lack of staff resources. $150,000 from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will create a full-time director of grants and strategies staff position for three years. (Link)

^ Back To Listing ^

Atlanta Lyric Theatre
Atlanta Lyric Theatre (the Lyric) dedicates its work to the development and production of the best of musical theatre while encouraging new works and exploring lesser-known musical theatre pieces. Fostering a wider awareness of this repertoire among the public, the Lyric supports artistic excellence with a growing focus on diversity among its performers, staff and audience. It takes pride in hiring Atlanta-area talent and technicians, performing in The Byers Studio at the Lyric and The Ferst Center at Georgia Tech. In 2007, the Lyric’s longtime artistic director and its managing director both retired from the company. In the transition, the company ran a deficit for the first time in several years. Now with a new general manager and strong board support, the Lyric has emerged from the transition, keeping all of its donors. The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will grant Atlanta Lyric Theatre $50,000 for debt reduction. (Link)

^ Back To Listing ^

Hammonds House Museum
Hammonds House Museum preserves, exhibits and raises public awareness about the contributions that artists of African descent make to world culture. Hammonds House is the former home of Dr. O. T. Hammonds, a physician and art collector. Upon Dr. Hammonds’ death Fulton County purchased the 1870-era house in Atlanta’s West End and his 250-piece collection to launch a museum for artists of color to present their work. Hammonds House maintains a permanent collection and mounts five to six exhibitions annually. The museum seeks to actively engage new and diverse visitors to the museum to encourage them to become members and participate more deeply in the museum’s programs. To accomplish this, Hammonds House needs a staff position to focus on cultivating this audience. $90,000 from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will create a part-time membership and volunteer manager staff position and provide training and support over three years. (Link)

^ Back To Listing ^

IMAGE Film and Video (Atlanta Film Festival)
IMAGE (Independent Media Artists of Georgia, Etc.), founded in 1977 by a small group of Atlanta media producers and artists, is one of the most respected nonprofit media arts centers in the country. IMAGE’s mission is to build and support a strong independent media arts community in Atlanta and the Southeast by promoting the production, exhibition and public awareness of film and video as artistic forms of individual expression. Its primary program is the Atlanta Film Festival, a diverse program of over 150 international, independent and documentary films. IMAGE is embarking on a period of evaluation and strategic planning, addressing the fact that its staff is overextended and engaging in too many projects to execute all of them well, yet still needs to maintain cash flow to remain financially stable. The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will provide $145,000 over three years to fund the anticipated loss in earned revenue during IMAGE’s program and strategic business reorganization. (Link)

^ Back To Listing ^

Michael O'Neal Singers
The Michael O’Neal Singers enriches the quality of life in our community through performance of choral repertoire that engages the audience and challenges the singers. Since its inception in 1989, The Michael O’Neal Singers organization has established itself as one of the premier symphonic choruses in the Southeast. Dr. Michael O’Neal, formerly the choral leader at Mercer University-Atlanta, formed The Michael O’Neal Singers, which is based in Roswell and performs at the acoustically superb Roswell United Methodist Church. The organization’s annual season of performances starts in October and must begin related promotion and publicity long before ticket revenue is realized. Through a financial reserve, the organization can create efficiencies by producing marketing materials, purchasing more advertising earlier and covering expenses during the summer before earned income is received. The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will provide $30,000 to create a permanent working capital reserve. (Link)

^ Back To Listing ^

William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum
Through the arts, the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum (The Breman) celebrates Jewish culture and life in Georgia and engages broad audiences by exploring universal themes of respect for difference, ethical and responsible citizenship, and vigilant protection of human and civil rights. The Breman opened in 1996 as a project of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta with space for permanent and special exhibitions, a resource library and extensive archives. In 2002, The Breman became an independent nonprofit organization and seeks accreditation from the Association of American Museums (AAM). Accreditation will qualify the organization for more national funding, loans of objects and a credibility boost. The rigorous AAM accreditation process will demonstrate that the museum has achieved best practices in all areas of operations. A $35,000 grant from the Arts Fund will fund a part-time specialist position to prepare the organization for Association of American Museum accreditation. (Link)

^ Back To Listing ^