NEFA Awarded $130K from Robert Sterling Clark Foundation for Cultural Diplomacy Program

(Boston, MA) The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) announced a $130,000 award from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation in support of season two of Center StageSM, a cultural exchange initiative of the U.S. Department of State that will bring seven ensembles from Morocco, Pakistan, and Vietnam to the U.S. in 2014.

Center Stage uses the performing arts to build cultural understanding between American and international communities. Through performances, workshops, artist-to-artists exchanges, and community-level interactions, the program takes participants beyond the headlines to engage artists, audiences, and community members alike as citizen diplomats. Participating artists experience the U.S. first hand and cultivate lasting relationships. Ensembles, bringing contemporary dance and music from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Casablanca, Agadir, Peshawar, and Lahore, will embark on independent month-long tours across the U.S. between June and December 2014. Visit centerstageUS.org to learn more about the participating ensembles.

“The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation was an early partner in Center Stage, and we are delighted to have their extended support for the second season of this groundbreaking initiative,” said NEFA program manager Adrienne Petrillo.

“We are very proud to support the second round of Center Stage, produced by NEFA in collaboration with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the State Department,” said Roslyn Black, Director of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation’s International Arts Program. “Our public-private partnerships with the State Department and other entities enhance the Foundation’s ability to address the need for international cultural engagement through important initiatives such as Center Stage. Recognizing that we live in a global society, the Foundation supports programs that offer U.S. audiences the opportunity to discover and appreciate important international artists, as exemplified by this program.”

Center Stage is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administered by NEFA in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations. Additional funding is provided by the Asian Cultural Council. General management provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc.

About the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation
The RSCF supports nonprofit organizations conducting work in three program areas: Promoting International Arts Engagement, Protecting Reproductive Rights, and Improving the Performance of Public Institutions in New York. For the arts program, the Foundation offers grants to strengthen U.S.-based arts organizations artistically and financially by enabling international touring and collaborations, and to expose U.S. artists and audiences to diverse and esteemed international artists, particularly those from regions that are often underrepresented. Supported activities include performances, exhibitions, residencies, creation of new work, new technologies to disseminate programs worldwide, publications, and special forums. www.rsclark.org.

About the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) promotes international mutual understanding through a wide range of academic, cultural, private-sector, professional, and sports exchange programs. ECA exchanges engage youth, students, educators, artists, athletes, and emerging leaders in many fields in the United States and in more than 160 countries. Alumni of ECA exchanges comprise over one million people around the world, including more than 50 Nobel Laureates and more than 300 current or former heads of state and government

About NEFA
NEFA builds connections among artists, arts organizations, and funders, powering the arts to energize communities in New England, the nation, and the world. NEFA is a 501(c)(3) that operates in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England state arts agencies, and with additional funding from corporations, foundations, and individuals.

NEFA currently administers grantmaking programs of regional, national, and international scope that support the performing arts, public art, and Native American artists. NEFA also leads projects and initiatives that range from the analysis of the impact of the creative economy to the creation of online tools which link and advance the cultural community. For more information on NEFA’s grant programs and services, please visit www.nefa.org or call 617.951.0010.