Twice a year RISCA awards grants in a number of categories. Over the course of a few months, we will be profiling the amazing artists and organizations that received grants at our April 1, 2017 deadline, two at a time.
Project Grants for Individuals
Artist: Luis Rodriguez
Project: The Music Program IDLC plans to enable kids and young people in dangerous part of the city of Providence, to develop and interest and learn to play a musical instrument. The potential benefits to kids who participate in extracurricular activities are nearly as limitless as the list of activities open to them to try.
The Music Program IDLC emerged as a new alternative to help solve the problem of many of our children and young people, who after coming home from school, do not find healthy activities to perform or get involved. This need brings as a consequence the promotion of idleness and therefore possible motivation in their curiosity get involved in activities that are harmful to the mind and the heart, and can even be harmful for other people.
The music IDLC program , offers classes from 4:00-8:00 pm Friday and Saturday from 10:00 am-1:00 pm, to provide the opportunity to the parents to bring their kids and allow them to be part of the development of the arts through music, when they are out of school.
The mission is to provide qualified teachers, who are equipped to teach different ages according to the vision of the music program, providing a small class environment and providing opportunities where students can display their talents, including public concerts.
The music program has 3 years serving more than 300 young youth and kids. They have been inspired to develop their skills in the art of music, putting it into practice in front of family members, schools, concerts, and other institutions of the community. The 
program has develop several concerts.
Artist Bio: I am a musician for more than 40 years, I am been involve teaching music to kids, young people and adults, in Dominican Republic and here in USA. I teach piano, guitar, and bassguitar. It has been my passion to help the community and specially the young people to express their feelings and get new opportunities through music and other expressions of art. I also work with other young people that has been part of the music program in the past who now help me teaching music to the kids.
Project Grants in Education
Applicant Organization: UPP Arts
Participating Artists: Dan Butterworth, Sarah Cappelli, Anna Snyder, and Holly Ewald
Project: UPP Arts will facilitate a series of professional development workshops for teachers from 3 high schools–Central High School and Alvarez High School in Providence, and the Greene School in North Kingstown–to exchange ideas with teaching artists, community-based arts and environmental groups, and each other on how to build effective curricula using the lessons of Mashapaug Pond (MP) and/or place-based education across disciplines, including art.
These 3 schools all of which serve students from Providence and/or the surrounding urban area, have a history of engaging in project-based learning using MP resources gathered by UPP Arts over the last 10 years and an interest in continuing to utilize these resources. UPP Arts has worked with Central and Alvarez to fund and coordinate teaching artist workshop series in the past, but now UPP Arts is stepping back to focus on creating an archive and collaborative book to share its approach with others. As UPP thoughtfully transitions, these workshops will provide a practical way for teachers to continue to strengthen their place-based teaching through cross-fertilization of ideas and best practices between their respective schools, laying the groundwork for ongoing educational exchange and interdisciplinary curricular support over the coming years.
UPP Arts will hold a series of paid professional development workshops for teachers and teaching artists from July 2017 through June 2018. Two half-day workshops will take 
place in July at Alvarez High School. Currently, UPP’s Urban Pond Procession serves as the primary platform for students to bring their learning to the wider community. However, since UPP will not be hosting the procession in 2018, teachers and teaching artists can decide to celebrate student learning with the public in a new and different way. In November and February, they will check in, share, and plan the public event. In May, student work will be shared at the event. June will focus on evaluation
About the Organization: UPP Arts mission is to engage artists and communities in public art-making for the purpose of celebrating and building stewardship of our shared environment. UPP Arts will be successful when public art-making is a catalyst for creating healthy places and communities throughout Rhode Island.
