Businesses in the Community that support the Community
by Nancy Ford
Online Assistance. OutBusinesses.com is an online resource for listing LGBT-owned and -friendly businesses. The site’s founder is James Oxford, who says he is currently focusing on Houston, but will soon be adding cities such as New York, Miami, Denver, and San Francisco, eventually creating a nationwide directory. This new directory is a quick and easy resource that benefits consumers and businesses in cities across the country by allowing them to more quickly find the resources they need when in a new location.
New Venture. Professional event planner, marketer, and equality activist Fiona Dawson has announced the launch of her new firm, dawson+company, whose mission is “fundraising, education, and community development ventures that promote human diversity & inclusion and environmental sustainability.” fionadawson.com.
Park Art Funds. Representatives of the Art Colony Association have announced it has doubled its traditional disbursement of funds to its 17 nonprofit partner organi-zations, due to the unprecedented success of the group’s recent Bayou City Art Festival in Memorial Park. Splitting more than $160,000 in total from the festival proceeds, nonprofit partners receiving donations include: Art League Houston, Bering Omega Community Services, City ArtWorks, Downtown YMCA, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston Center for Photography, Lawndale Art Center, Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts, Memorial Park Conservancy, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Museum of Cultural Arts Houston, Orange Show, Several Dancers Core, Spay & Neuter Assistance Program, SPARK, and Texas Accountants & Lawyers for the Arts. bayoucityartfestival.com.
Da Camera and the NEA. Da Camera of Houston executive director Sarah Loudermilk has announced the performing arts group has received three major grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. In the American Masterpieces category, Da Camera has been awarded $40,000 in support of the organization’s 2010/2011 jazz series and related educational activities. It also has been awarded a grant of $22,500 in the Access to Artistic Excellence category supporting a recording of works by Asian-American composers, as well as $16,000 in a second Access to Artistic Excellence grant supporting three chamber music concerts during the same season. dacamera.com.
Prize Winner. Representatives for Houston Grand Opera have announced that HGO Studio artist Nathaniel Peake won the Zarzuela prize at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition. The weeklong worldwide competition took place at famed Milanese opera house Teatro alla Scala, and Studio alumnus Ryan McKinny won the Birgit Nilsson prize. This competition marked the first time the contest has been hosted in Italy. houstongrandopera.org.
For the Children. Aiming to make the arts more accessible to children of all abilities, spokespersons for The River Performing and Visual Arts Center and Theatre Under the Stars have announced the merger of the two performing arts organizations. The merger creates a unique barrier-free arts education model for nonprofit musical theater and expands TUTS’ education division into the city’s special-needs community. Now in its 14th year, The River has served more than 10,000 children with special needs and their siblings, offering classes, summer camps, and outreach programming. tuts.com.
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