2017-022-E Arts - Chinese School at Chapel Hill - Fall 2016 Arts Grant Agreement

Browse Search

DocuSign Envelope ID:909E237B-463D-4B50-982B-EC089340083F Arts Program Grant—Narrative Page 1 of 3 Applicant:The Chinese School at Chapel Hill ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE The Chinese School at Chapel Hill (CSCH) is a nonprofit educational organization. It was founded in 1993, with the mission to promote Chinese language literacy and cultural exchange to enrich cultural diversity in the local community. CSCH rents facilities from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District and rotates between four middle schools in the district. It is open on Saturday afternoon from 2:00 - 6:00 pm. There are currently approximately 300 enrolled students and 60 teachers and administration staff. The gender ratio of boys to girls is 1.2 : 1; the ethnic mix is approximately 95% Asian, 4% White and 1% African American. The age range is 3-16 years old for youth classes, and 25-56 years old for adult classes. Most students are from the Chapel Hill area. CURRENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES CSCH offers the following programs and services: • Chinese language classes at different levels for Chinese-heritage and Non-heritage students; • Activity classes, such as Drawing for Beginners, Sketch, Cartoon Sketch, Chinese Letter, Chinese Folk Dance, Song and Dance for Toddlers, Go, Chess, Adult Pilates and Zumba; • Academic enrichment classes such as math, English, and computer programming classes available at multiple levels. There are currently 19 language classes and 24 activity classes, including nine weekly classes in different fields of arts offered throughout the school year. PROPOSED USES OF GRANT FUNDS We propose to use the grant to support the inaugural 2017 Chapel Hill LIGHTUP Lantern Festival (LIGHTUP) and its lantern art program. About LIGHTUP: The LIGHTUP Festival is an inclusive, community-wide celebration of the Chinese New Year and cultural diversity via a rich variety of cultural and arts programs. It is organized by CSCH with the support of the Town of Chapel Hill and the seed funding from the Chapel Hill and Orange County Visitors Bureau. This is the first year of what will potentially become an annual event in Chapel Hill. LIGHTUP will take place at University Place on Saturday, January 28-h, 2017 from 11am to 6pm. This date is the actual Chinese New Year date. The indoor mall space of University Place will be transformed into a festive Chinese street, filled with cultural exhibits, art activities, performances, food stands, workshops and games. CSCH art teachers, Qingguo Ren, Yi Sun and Sandie Castle, will lead the arts programs. LIGHTUP is designed as a community project with the following theme: Lighting up blessing lanterns and warmth in every heart. It is our objective to bring different parts of the community together to participate in a shared celebration. Lighting blessing lanterns is a Chinese New Year tradition symbolizing wishes for peace and blessings. While similar concepts of light and illumination may be found in different cultures, we intend to use lanterns as symbols of blessings and to create a visual representation of this emotional connection throughout the entire community.