Barr and Branca Awarded $25,000 Artist Grants

Guitarists Mick Barr and Glenn Branca have each been awarded an unrestricted grant of $25,000 by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts as part of its 2009 Grants to Artists program. A total of twelve grants totaling $300,000 were awarded to artists working in the areas of dance, music/sound, theater/performance art, poetry, and the visual arts. The awardees were selected by a panel made up of directors from the foundation and members of the arts community (which this year included composer and Bang on a Can co-founder David Lang) from a pool of confidential nominations. The cash awards “are intended to provide recipients with the financial means to engage in whatever artistic endeavors they wish to pursue, to research and develop ideas, embark on projects and complete projects already underway.” A bright spot in a time of tumultuous economic news, indeed.