☞ INTRODUCING: Richard Rodgers Grant Winners

The City Parks Foundation and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has announced the winners of the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater performing arts grant, a one-time $25,000 award intended to attract premier arts presenters to produce works at the recently constructed Richard Rodgers Amphitheater at Marcus Garvey Park in historic Harlem.

Thirty grant applications were submitted for consideration and vetted by an esteemed peer panel of arts presenters and community leaders from five Harlem-based institutions: The Apollo Theater; the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance; Harlem School of the Arts; Harlem Stage / Aaron Davis Hall; and the Harlem Community Development Corporation.

Five grant applicants of the pool were selected on the merits of their proposed project and submitted work samples and each finalist will be awarded $5,000 to present works at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater during the summer of 2012 or 2013.  Winners selected for the season include Jazzmobile, the Museum for African Art, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Mafrika Music Festival and The Classical Theatre of Harlem.