Princess Grace Foundation-USA
Encyclopedia
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a national foundation in the United States which is dedicated to identifying and assisting emerging talent in theater, dance, and film by awarding grants in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships. It was named after Princess Grace of Monaco. Currently, John F. Lehman, Jr. is at the helm, Albert II, Prince of Monaco
serves as Vice-Chairman, and Ms. Toby Boshak, who has been with the Foundation for fourteen years, is the Executive Director. The organization's goals are helping emerging artists. The Foundation’s Trustees share Princess Grace’s dedication to supporting the arts and they believe, as She did, that cultivation and training of emerging talent is essential to ensure sustained excellence in the arts.
Over the past 28 years, the Foundation has awarded over $8 million to nearly 500 theater, dance, and film artists nationwide. It continues to fund its inaugural disciplines and has expanded its grants program to include playwriting and choreography grants within the theater and dance categories.
In keeping with the Princess Grace Foundation’s mission to identify and celebrate talented emerging artists, the Arts Advisory Board (AAB) created Special Project Awards to provide Princess Grace Awards winners with funds for project-specific ventures. The AAB funds projects that offer unique, consequential artistic opportunities at a critical juncture in an artist’s career. Since 2003, fifty-nine Special Project Awards have been granted. In 2010, the AAB conferred seven Special Project Awards: three in Theater, one in Dance, and three in Film.
In 2008, the AAB formed a partnership with Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) to provide further support for Princess Grace Awards winners. The Works in Progress Residency provides a cash award of around $25,000 and residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, in support of the multimedia and interdisciplinary artistic pursuits of Princess Grace Awards winners. The Residency enables these artists to explore, experiment, and push the boundaries of their work in an environment that focuses on process over product. In 2010, three artists received BAC Residencies: two in Theater and one in Dance.
In 2009, the AAB formed a partnership with Steppenwolf Theatre Company
to provide further support for its Theater Awards winners. The goal of this alliance is to provide a Princess Grace Theater Awards winner with an opportunity to learn from a more established Awards winner by serving as a Co-Assistant Director on a production scheduled as a part of the Steppenwolf season. The partnership has paired Alex Torra with Anna D. Shapiro on a production of UP! in 2009 and plans to pair another director with Tina Landau on a production of Hot L Baltimore in 2011.
The Foundation hopes to foster a community network for continued support of Awards winners as they progress in their careers.
, Cary Grant
, John Johnson
, William Rogers
, Mary Wells Lawrence
, and Lynn Wyatt
. In 1982, the Board of Trustees, under Robert Hausman, incorporated Princess Grace Foundation-USA as a not-for-profit public charity. In 1984, after the initial fund raising phase was complete, financial grants in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships were awarded to artists associated with schools or companies in the dance and theater disciplines. An arts advisory board composed of distinguished professionals in each of those fields was appointed to choose the most talented applicants as Awards recipients. President Reagan and his wife oversaw the first gala in Washington, D.C.; a tradition now continued annually in the Awards Gala in New York City.
. To date, fifty-one artists have received this award.
(2005), Twyla Tharp
(2006), George Lucas
(2007), Glenn Close
(2008), Mandy Patinkin
(2009) and Denzel Washington
and Pauletta Washington (2010) have received this honor, which includes a grant to the philanthropic organization of their choice.
Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco is the head of the House of Grimaldi and the ruler of the Principality of Monaco. He is the son of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly...
serves as Vice-Chairman, and Ms. Toby Boshak, who has been with the Foundation for fourteen years, is the Executive Director. The organization's goals are helping emerging artists. The Foundation’s Trustees share Princess Grace’s dedication to supporting the arts and they believe, as She did, that cultivation and training of emerging talent is essential to ensure sustained excellence in the arts.
Over the past 28 years, the Foundation has awarded over $8 million to nearly 500 theater, dance, and film artists nationwide. It continues to fund its inaugural disciplines and has expanded its grants program to include playwriting and choreography grants within the theater and dance categories.
In keeping with the Princess Grace Foundation’s mission to identify and celebrate talented emerging artists, the Arts Advisory Board (AAB) created Special Project Awards to provide Princess Grace Awards winners with funds for project-specific ventures. The AAB funds projects that offer unique, consequential artistic opportunities at a critical juncture in an artist’s career. Since 2003, fifty-nine Special Project Awards have been granted. In 2010, the AAB conferred seven Special Project Awards: three in Theater, one in Dance, and three in Film.
In 2008, the AAB formed a partnership with Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) to provide further support for Princess Grace Awards winners. The Works in Progress Residency provides a cash award of around $25,000 and residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, in support of the multimedia and interdisciplinary artistic pursuits of Princess Grace Awards winners. The Residency enables these artists to explore, experiment, and push the boundaries of their work in an environment that focuses on process over product. In 2010, three artists received BAC Residencies: two in Theater and one in Dance.
In 2009, the AAB formed a partnership with Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...
to provide further support for its Theater Awards winners. The goal of this alliance is to provide a Princess Grace Theater Awards winner with an opportunity to learn from a more established Awards winner by serving as a Co-Assistant Director on a production scheduled as a part of the Steppenwolf season. The partnership has paired Alex Torra with Anna D. Shapiro on a production of UP! in 2009 and plans to pair another director with Tina Landau on a production of Hot L Baltimore in 2011.
The Foundation hopes to foster a community network for continued support of Awards winners as they progress in their careers.
History
Prince Rainier of Monaco established the program to keep helping emerging artists realize their career goals as Princess Grace did during her lifetime. Prince Rainier's children continue to assist in the program in its 28th year. Notable supporters of the Foundation during its inception include Gant Gaither, Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, John Johnson
John Johnson
-Artists and entertainers:*John Johnson , English lutenist and composer*John Johnson , trombonist and percussionist with Simply Red*John Johnson , American television reporter and anchor*J...
, William Rogers
William Rogers
-Politics:*William P. Rogers , U.S. Attorney General under Dwight Eisenhower and Secretary of State under Richard Nixon*Will Rogers, Jr. , congressman from California from 1943 to 1944 and the son of the noted humorist by the same name*Will Rogers , congressman from Oklahoma, 1933–1942*William D...
, Mary Wells Lawrence
Mary Wells Lawrence
Mary Wells Lawrence is a retired American advertising executive. She was the founding president of Wells Rich Greene, an advertising agency known for its creativity and innovative work, and the first woman CEO of a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.In the late 1940s, Mary Wells...
, and Lynn Wyatt
Lynn Wyatt
Lynn Sakowitz Wyatt is the daughter of the late Bernard Sakowitz and Ann Baum as well as the sister of Robert T. Sakowitz. She is a well known Houston socialite, philanthropist and third-generation Texan. Her grandfather started the Sakowitz Department Store chain...
. In 1982, the Board of Trustees, under Robert Hausman, incorporated Princess Grace Foundation-USA as a not-for-profit public charity. In 1984, after the initial fund raising phase was complete, financial grants in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships were awarded to artists associated with schools or companies in the dance and theater disciplines. An arts advisory board composed of distinguished professionals in each of those fields was appointed to choose the most talented applicants as Awards recipients. President Reagan and his wife oversaw the first gala in Washington, D.C.; a tradition now continued annually in the Awards Gala in New York City.
The Princess Grace Statue Award
Past winners of the Awards who distinguish themselves in their artistic disciplines since receiving their initial Princess Grace Awards are eligible to win the Foundation’s highest honor, the Princess Grace Statue Award. In addition to a $25,000 unrestricted cash gift, these awardees are presented with a bronze statuette of Princess Grace created by the Dutch artist Kees VerkadeKees Verkade
Kees Verkade is a Dutch artist and sculptor. He specializes in modeling the human form, with an emphasis on movement and emotion. Most of his sculptures are set in bronze. They depict a variety of people, including children, clowns, athletes, dancers, mothers, and lovers...
. To date, fifty-one artists have received this award.
The Prince Rainier III Award
In 2005, the board of trustees inaugurated the Prince Rainier III Award, in honor of the man who helped begin the Foundation. This Award is presented to eminent artists who have not only been highly successful in their careers, but have made significant humanitarian contributions to their fields. To date, Mikhail BaryshnikovMikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
(2005), Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...
(2006), George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
(2007), Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
(2008), Mandy Patinkin
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
(2009) and Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
and Pauletta Washington (2010) have received this honor, which includes a grant to the philanthropic organization of their choice.
Notable Princess Grace Awards Winners
- Alexandra AnsanelliAlexandra AnsanelliAlexandra Ansanelli was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and at The Royal Ballet, London. She trained at City Ballet's affiliated School of American Ballet before joining NYCB and in 2003 was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch"....
, Dance, 1997 - Yareli ArizmendiYareli ArizmendiYareli Arizmendi is a Cuban-Mexican-American actress, writer, and director.-Biography:“The function of art is to renew our perceptions. The role of the...
, Theater, 1990 (1995 Statue Award) - Christopher AshleyChristopher AshleyChristopher Ashley is a stage director. Since 2007, he has been the artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse.In 1997, he completed The Drama League program for directors....
, Theater, 1989 (1998 Statue Award) - Nancy Bannon, Dance, 1989 (Statue Award 1997)
- Robert BattleRobert BattleRobert Battle is the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, assumed the reins on July 1, 2011, as its third director since the company's 1958 inception.When receiving the position Battle says, "I hope to be worthy of this tremendous responsibility that I've been given, and to...
, Dance, 1993 (2007 Statue Award) - Rose BondRose BondRose Bond is a Canadian-born artist and teacher. She has been honored with numerous fellowships and awards by several prestigious agencies such as the American Film Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Princess Grace Foundation....
, Film, 1989 (2008 Statue Award) - Camille A. BrownCamille A. BrownCamille A. Brown is an American contemporary dancer and choreographer. She received her B.F.A. in Dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and performed with Ronald K. Brown/Evidence from 2001–2007...
, Choreography, 2006 - Candy Buckley, Theater, 1989 (1997 Statue Award)
- Ilya ChaikenIlya ChaikenIlya Chaiken is an American film director and screenwriter. She is best known for her debut feature Margarita Happy Hour, a film about motherhood, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001 and went on to the Los Angeles Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.Chaiken...
, Film, 1994 (2003 Statue Award) - Eric DarnellEric DarnellEric Darnell is an American director, writer, voice actor, songwriter and animator. He is best known for co-directing Antz with Tim Johnson, as well as co-directing Madagascar and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa with Tom McGrath....
, Film, 1989 - Cary Joji FukunagaCary Joji FukunagaCary Joji Fukunaga is an American film director, writer and cinematographer.-Early life:Fukunaga was born in Oakland, California, has lived in various places such as France and Japan, and now he resides in New York City. His father is Japanese and his mother is Swedish...
, Film, 2005 - Michael John Garcés, Theater, 1995 (2007 Statue Award)
- Rashaad Ernesto Green, Film, 2009
- Alec Hammond, Theater, 1995 (2008 Statue Award)
- Oscar IsaacOscar Isaac-Personal life:Isaac was born in Guatemala to a Guatemalan mother, Maria Estrada Nicolle, and a Cuban pulmonologist father, Oscar Gonzalo Hernandez. He was raised in Miami, Florida. While in Miami, he played lead guitar and sang vocals for his band "The Blinking Underdogs"...
, Theater, 2004 - Maria KowroskiMaria KowroskiMaria Kowroski is a principal ballerina at the New York City Ballet.Ms. Kowroski's training in ballet began at the School ofthe Grand Rapids Ballet and subsequently the School of American Ballet in 1992; became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in 1994 and joined the corps de ballet in 1995....
, Dance, 1994 (2006 Statue Award) - Tony KushnerTony KushnerAnthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...
, Theater, 1987 (1994 Statue Award) - Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, Film, 2004
- Amanda McKerrow, Dance, 1986 (1987 Statue Award)
- Andrea MillerAndrea MillerAndrea Miller is the founder and CEO of Tango, a media company focused on romantic love.Miller is a licensed private pilot and a co-head of the New York Chapter of 85 Broads....
, Choreography 2009 - Greg MottolaGreg MottolaGregory J. "Greg" Mottola is an American filmmaker, screenwriter and television director. Mottola wrote and directed the 1996 independent film The Daytrippers, then concentrated for several years on directing in television for series such as Undeclared and Arrested Development...
, Film, 1989 (1998 Statue Award) - Gillian MurphyGillian MurphyGillian Murphy is a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre.Murphy was born in Wimbledon, England and took her first ballet class at the age of three in Belgium while her father was working overseas...
, Dance, 1998 (2009 Statue Award) - A. Rey Pamatmat, Playwriting, 2010
- Adam RappAdam RappAdam Rapp is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, musician and film director. His play Red Light Winter was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006.-Early life:...
, Theater-Playwriting, 1999 (2006 Statue Award) - Edwin SanchezEdwin SánchezEdwin Sánchez is a Salvadoran footballer who currently plays for Isidro Metapán in the Primera División of El Salvador, and for the El Salvador national team.-El Salvador:...
, Theater-Playwriting, 1994 - Alexandra Sichel, Film, 1993
- Anna D. Shapiro, Theater, 1996 (2010 Statue Award)
- Eric SimonsonEric SimonsonEric Simonson is an American writer and director in theatre, film and opera. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 1993 for The Song of Jacob Zulu.- Personal life :...
, Theater, 1994 (2005 Statue Award) - Ethan StiefelEthan StiefelEthan Stiefel is a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre . His fiance is Gillian Murphy, also a principal dancer with ABT.-Biography:...
, Dance, 1991 (1999 Statue Award) - Dominic Walsh, Choreography, 2008
- Kate WeareKate WeareKate Weare American Choreographer and Artistic Director of 21st century-Biography:-Accomplishments:.-Notes and references:* Reviews in Dance Magazine by Allan Ulrich...
, Choreography, 2009 - Michael WilsonMichael Wilson (director)Michael Wilson , currently serving as artistic director at Hartford Stage, is an American stage director working extensively in regional theatre, Broadway, and Off-Broadway....
, Theater, 1992 (2001 Statue Award) - Michele WilesMichele WilesMichele Wiles is an American ballet dancer and a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre .-Biography:Ms. Wiles began studying ballet in Washington, D.C. where, at the age of ten, she received a full scholarship to the Kirov Academy of Ballet...
, Dance, 1999 - Susan Youssef, Film, 2003
External links
- Princess Grace Foundation USA Official website