Loridans Foundation gives $444,500 to 15 metro arts groups
The Charles Loridans Foundation has given early Christmas presents to metro Atlanta arts organizations, awarding $444,500 in grants to 15 groups, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.
The largest recipients in the announcement to be made Wednesday by the Atlanta-based foundation are the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia ($107,500), Georgia State University's Rialto Center for the Arts ($100,000) and the Museum of Design Atlanta ($50,000).
The new funding to small and mid-size arts institutions is on top of grants totaling $147,130 that Loridans bestowed earlier this year, bringing the foundation's 2010 giving total to nearly $600,000.
That's a large amount given that the foundation's net worth has declined from $11 million to $7 million in recent years due to market reductions, Atlanta attorney Robert Edge, chairman of the Loridans trustees, said in an exclusive interview with the AJC.
"We're giving probably beyond our means because the need is there," he said of Atlanta's cultural infrastructure. "Everybody is struggling. Discretionary giving from foundations is down, individuals are tighter with their money, public funding is not there. And so much about smaller organizations' budgets is tied to staff and salaries, so that what's cut is programs, and that's a great pity."
Since Loridans turned its giving focus from educational to cultural institutions a decade ago, it has been a strong supporter of Atlanta theater troupes, a tradition that continues with the current grants. Theatrical Outfit received $27,000, with five others getting $25,000 each: Actors Express, Georgia Shakespeare, Horizon Theatre, Seven Stages and Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern. The Alliance Theatre received $10,000.
Grants also were awarded to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra ($10,000), the Atlanta Opera and Il Brasso Magnifico ($5,000 each), and Jazz Orchestra Atlanta and the Atlanta Chamber Players ($2,500 each).
The funds generally are given with no strings attached.
"We decided in the beginning that they know what their needs are more than we do," Edge said, "and we trust them."
The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia's $107,500 grant will fund a fourth round of its Working Artist Project, in which three artists yearly are supported as they create new work for a solo exhibit (accompanied by a catalog), with a stipend and studio assistant.
The Rialto will use its $100,000 to support an initiative in collaboration with other Atlanta dance presenters and performing companies that will bring top American dance troupes to the city for concerts, open rehearsals and master classes.
The $50,000 grant to the Museum of Design Atlanta will help support its move from downtown to Midtown, where it will open across Peachtree Street from the High Museum of Art in February.
