Category Archives: Levitt AMP Bridge Grants

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From left to right, top to bottom. Ann Brusky, Nancy Halverson, Meaghan Singletary and Sharon Yazowski participate in the “Expanding Place Through Adaptive Programming” panel at the Walk/Bike/Places conference.

During last month’s Walk/Bike/Places conference, Levitt Foundation Executive Director Sharon Yazowski moderated an engaging virtual panel with Levitt grantees from Sioux Falls, S.D., Trenton, N.J. and Sheboygan, Wisc., titled “Expanding Place Through Adaptive Programming.” The conversation focused on how these nonprofits continued to build community through the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how their experiences and lessons learned have influenced their programming in 2021 and beyond, expanding their thinking around place, access and the arts. 

“This past year was focused on adaptive programming to continue to connect people with each other to offer comfort, healing, and a sense of togetherness, even while needing to be apart,” Yazowski said. ”Through rethinking their programming these three nonprofits created a sense of place and opportunity for social connection beyond their traditional sites.”

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Part of our series on the impact of Levitt AMP Bridge Grants

banner-2With most concerts postponed or canceled due to COVID-19, 2020 was a historically devastating year for live music and the creative ecosystems built around the industry. Despite these circumstances, each of our Levitt AMP grantees found innovative ways to keep their communities engaged through music, sparking joy and connection while providing paid performance opportunities for musicians. In addition to participating in the program-wide 2020 Levitt AMP Virtual Music Series, several grantees used funds from Levitt AMP Bridge Grants to bring free, live concerts to their communities in unconventional ways, both virtually and in-person. In today’s entry in our series on the impact of Bridge Grants, we’re honing in on how three Levitt AMP Communities — Sheboygan, Wis., Fort Smith, Ark., and Whitesburg, Ky. — creatively presented mobile, pop-up and drive-in shows in 2020.

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Part of our new series on the impact of Levitt AMP Bridge Grants nationwide

Today, as the second installment in our series showcasing the impact of the 2020 Levitt AMP Bridge Grants across the country, we’re turning our attention to three projects that engaged their communities through visual art: a vibrant mural in Middlesboro, Kentucky; a one-day sidewalk chalk festival in Trenton, New Jersey; and a community-made art installation in Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia.  

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Part of our new series on the impact of Levitt AMP Bridge Grants nationwide

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Last spring, when Levitt AMP grantees postponed their in-person concert series due to COVID-19, the Levitt Foundation created the Levitt AMP Bridge Grant, a mini-grant of up to $5k to support community-building projects and foster connections during this time of crisis and uncertainty. We were inspired by the creativity and innovative thinking of Levitt AMP grantees, creating projects ranging from free food giveaways, to mobile concerts, to beautiful new public art installations.

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be sharing stories about individual Bridge Grant projects, and the impact they had on the community, here on our blog. To launch the series, and in honor of Black History Month, we’re highlighting two projects with a specific focus on Black History: an educational guide to a mural celebrating local Black history in Ocala, Florida, which is now being used as a teaching tool in the city’s public schools, and a Black History Month virtual concert in Merced, California, streaming live from the historic Merced Theatre this Saturday.

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