Moody Fund for the Arts awards $400,000 to 65 Dallas arts organizations

Sixty-five Dallas arts organizations are looking forward to the 2023-2024 season with a little more cash in their bank accounts.

The Moody Fund for the Arts (MFA) announced the distribution of $400,000 to small arts organizations representing several mediums including theatre, music, dance, visual arts, film, and multimedia. The grants range from $3,250 to $12,000. Of the 65 arts organizations, 12 of the recipients are first-time applicants.

Dallas Chamber Symphony Dallas Arts District Moody Performance Hall — Dallas Chamber Symphony is one of the recipients of 2023 Moody Fund for the Arts.

“This groundbreaking fund was established to help support and grow new and small arts organizations, a vital part of the Dallas cultural ecosystem,” said Francie Moody Dahlberg, Chairman and Executive Director of the Moody Foundation. “To see these grants go to a record number of groups certainly speaks to the vibrancy and resiliency of the city’s arts community, especially after such a challenging few years.”

Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.

The Moody Foundation, based in Galveston, created and endowed the $10 million Moody Fund for the Arts in 2017 with the mission of providing support for small and emerging nonprofit arts organizations supported by the City of Dallas Office of Arts & Culture. To recognize the generosity of the Moody Foundation, the City of Dallas changed the name of its 750-seat Dallas City Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District to Moody Performance Hall on May 24, 2017.

DFW CULTURE

Fort Worth Jul 1, 2023

Amon Carter Museum of American Art announces plans for Party on the Porch

Dallas Jun 24, 2023

Thi Le finds her Hero in Shakespeare Dallas' ‘Much Ado About Nothing'

The first grants were distributed in 2018 with 36 arts organizations receiving $150,000. The largest grant was $7,500. In 2022, the MFA distributed $450,000 to 52 arts organizations with a maximum grant of $12,000. Since 2018, MFA has awarded a total of $1,930,000 through 303 unique grants to 92 organizations.

To qualify, an organization’s budget must be less than $1 million. Through an annual competitive process, the $10 million endowment provides flexible grants supporting a range of opportunities, including new works and commissions, general operating and rent support, capacity building, projects taking art into under-served areas, cultural equity programs and more.

The AT&T Performing Arts Center administers the application, review, and grant-making process. Award decisions are made through a two-level review process. The first level, the MFA Advisory Review Panel, is a peer-review judging process. The second level of review is provided by the MFA Executive Committee.

Moody Performance Hall Exterior Night Dallas Arts District — Dallas City Performance Hall was renamed Moody Performance Hall in 2017 when the Moody Fund for the Arts was established.

This year’s MFA Advisory Review Panel included Allyn Carrell, an actress and singer; Brad Spellicy, Arts and Culture Advisory Commission member (Place 8), musician, and Director of Fine Arts at Alcuin School; Ashanti Williams, a nonprofit consultant, dancer, and formerly staff with Texas Ballet Theater; Kevin Wortley, Dallas College Dean of Academic Affairs, actor, dancer, and director; and Joaquin Zihuatanejo, Dallas Poet Laureate (2022-2023), artist, poet, and performer.

The MFA Executive Committee consisted of Gwen Echols, an arts patron, advocate, and philanthropist; Tracey Nash-Huntley, an arts patron, advocate, and philanthropist; and Martine Elyse Phillipe, the Director of City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.

The fund awards flexible grants within five categories. This year, 39 arts organizations received grants for General Program and Operating Cost Support; 13 for New Works, Commissions, and Unique Presentations; eight for Community Focus Performances/Artist-in-Residency Programs; three for Cultural Equity, New Initiatives; and two for Capacity Building.

Verdigris Ensemble SHAMS — Verdigris Ensemble is a recipient of the 2023 Moody Fund for the Arts.

“These arts organizations and their work provide arts and cultural experiences across Dallas, many in historically under-served communities,” said Warren Tranquada, president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. “Since its inception, this fund has provided important support to our vibrant arts community, and we’re thrilled to see so many organizations included this year, especially the twelve new applicants."

THE 2023 MOODY FUND FOR THE ARTS GRANT RECIPIENTS