Miami City Ballet and the Borscht Film Festival have more in common than you might think. Sure, MCB is an internationally praised ballet company known for its artful elegance, while Borscht is an up-and-coming film festival known for making experimental films that piss off pro athletes. But they're both producing culture, they're both located in South Florida, and now, they're both recipients of part of the millions in grant money the Knight Foundation's investing into our city.
The Miami Herald reports that tonight, the Knight Foundation will announce that it plans to give grants totaling $23 million to South Florida cultural institutions, including Miami City Ballet, Wolfsonian-FIU, the Miami Film Festival, New World School of the Arts, and the Borscht Film Festival, among others.
See also:
- Knight Foundation's People's Choice Award Lets Voters Decide Who Gets Its Money
- How to Win a Grant From the Knight Foundation: Tips From the Inside
The funding is the result of Knight's challenge grants, which require an organization to raise its own funds before the foundation will match them. Among the biggest grants are $5 million to Miami City Ballet, intended to support the creation of new works and increase outreach, and another $5 million to the Wolfsonian-FIU, supporting its recent efforts to make its collection available online and to engage its local community.
This means more exciting new arts opportunities in our city. Who knows what new choreography will come out of MCB's new season, or what new programs will pop up at New World School of the Arts?
Hell, the grant's even had a trickle down effect, creating arts opportunities for local barbers. Borscht's Minister of the Interior Lucas Leyva told the Herald, "I found a barber who said he could do the faces of John S. and James L. Knight in my hair."
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