Gitana Productions, Inc. receives $20K in local grants for “Global Education through the Arts” and new internship program
January 20, 2009

ST. LOUIS, MO – The Monsanto Fund and the Arts and Education Council/Boeing Collaborative have awarded $20,000 in grants to Gitana Productions Inc. of St. Louis. The Monsanto Fund grant provides $15,000 and the Boeing Employees Charitable Trust/Arts and Education Council grant provides $5,000.

This is the second consecutive year that Gitana Productions has received the Monsanto Fund grant. The award will continue to fund Gitana’s “Global Education through the Arts,” an after-school program which brings together youth, ages 12 to 17, from diverse cultures within South St. Louis City. The program teaches students to share, accept and celebrate their cultural traits and differences through music, poetry, drama and art. Participants also develop leadership skills aimed at making them competitive in a global economy.

Funding from the Monsanto grant allows Gitana to provide the program at no cost to the parents or youth. “Global Education through the Arts” begins February 28 and continues through the middle of June at St. Louis Public Library’s Carpenter Branch located at 3309 S. Grand.

“The fact that Monsanto has recognized this program two years in a row speaks volumes about their confidence in our mission and the life-changing impact that ‘Global Education through the Arts’ has on the children who participate,” said Cecilia Nadal, Executive Director of Gitana Productions, Inc. “We now serve youth from six different countries, as well as African Americans. It’s rare to see genuine cultural acceptance and understanding between these groups. Arts education at the community level provides a way to encourage involvement between the youth and their parents and the institutions that serve them. We are thankful that the Monsanto Fund recognizes the significance of this program at this time in St. Louis.”

This year, youth participating in the program will have an opportunity to participate in Gitana’s “Faces of Love,” an annual program that focuses on a different culture each year. This year’s focus is on Iran and Afghanistan, and will culminate with an original dramatic production, “My Heart Keeps Shaking: Afghan Women Refugees in St. Louis.” The play will run from May 22 through June 7 at St. Louis University Theatre. Students involved with the “Global Education through the Arts” program will participate in the production and presentation of the play.

The collaborative grant provided by the Boeing Employees Charitable Trust and the Arts and Education Council will fund the new “Cultural Ambassadors Intern Program,” which will provide arts education internships with Gitana Productions to four local minority college students. The interns will shadow Gitana’s arts education leaders and help recruit participants from their individual communities.

“These interns will have an opportunity to understand the power of arts education and how to make it work within a diverse community,” Nadal said. “They also will have a chance to connect with their own communities and neighborhoods in a new way.”

The Monsanto Fund is the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company. Incorporated in 1964, the Fund’s primary objective is to improve the lives of people by bridging the gap between their needs and their resources. The Monsanto Fund is focused on grant-making in four main areas: nutritional well-being through agriculture; science education, primarily on professional development for teachers; the environment, which includes conservation, protection of biodiversity, clean water and restoration of wildlife habitat; and improving the quality of life in communities where Monsanto employees live and work. Visit Monsanto Fund at http://www.monsantofund.org/asp/welcome.asp.

Since 1963, the Arts and Education Council has raised over $100 million in private funding for the arts – an important task that directly affects the quality of life of our region.  With those funds, the Council annually assists approximately 80 non-profit arts and arts education organizations.  Additionally, the Council provides office space, state of the art technology, rehearsal and performance space for 15 arts nonprofit organizations in the Centene Center for Arts and Education, a unique arts incubator located in Grand Center.  Visit www.keeparthappening.org or call 314.289.4000 for more information.

Gitana Productions, Inc. is a not-for-profit arts and education organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural awareness and collaboration by bringing international music, dance and drama to the St. Louis community.  Gitana events present a rarely seen diversity of international and local artists exhibiting an array of traditional and innovative artistic expressions. For more information, visit www.gitana-inc.org or call Gitana Productions at (314) 721-6556.