San Diego Foundation announces Creative Catalyst artists for 2018

The artistic leader of San Diego’s LBGT-focused Diversionary Theatre and a prominent local Filipino American playwright are among the 2018 recipients of the San Diego Foundation’s Creative Catalyst grants.

The nonprofit foundation is awarding a total of $100,000 to the five local artists and projects chosen for this year’s round of funding.

The recipients include Matt M. Morrow, Diversionary’s executive artistic director, and Thelma Virata de Castro, founder of San Diego Playwrights; plus the filmmaker and media artist Evan Apodaca; the dancer-choreographer and producer Erica Buechner; and the mural designer and educator Maxx Moses.

Each of the grant winners is sponsored by a local nonprofit organization.

“Art serves as a powerful tool that allows communities to explore new ideas and engage with one another through a multitude of creative mediums,” Katie Rast, director of community impact at the San Diego Foundation, said in the organization’s announcement.

“Our investment in art sparks conversation, promotes civic engagement and celebrates our region’s unique diversity, strengthening our economy, our community and our culture.”

To date, the Creative Catalyst Program has partnered with more than 30 arts and culture nonprofits and 45 artist fellows.

The latest projects will be developed through the summer and fall of 2018, with the final works expected to be shared in late 2018 and early 2019.

More details on the five artists and projects (descriptions were provided by the foundation):

Artist: Evan Apodaca

Nonprofit sponsor: So Say We All

Project: Apodaca and So Say We All will develop a video series exploring military culture in San Diego and its role in the development of the region. Apodaca will utilize So Say We All’s storytelling outreach channels, including its Veterans’ Writers Division, to create an historically accurate work through a collection of oral histories that bring local stories to a wider, regional audience and strengthen the connection between the community and San Diego history.

Artist: Erica Buechner

Nonprofit sponsor: Art Produce

Project: Buechner will bring together members of the professional dance community with non-dancers, including individuals from local refugee communities and older adults in the City Heights and North Park areas, through creative workshops and a final performance that blends arts, movement-based learning and story sharing. Dancers of all ages and abilities will explore the theme of “underneath” — what is hidden, secret or surprising in participants’ lives.

Artist: Matt Morrow

Nonprofit sponsor: La Jolla Playhouse

Project: Morrow will work with local cast, musicians, stage managers and students at the Art Institute of San Diego and/or the University of California San Diego Game Development Studio to create a theater production that blends technology and art. Using technology as a powerful vehicle of storytelling, Morrow will engage new audiences, specifically young adults and professional technophiles, to experience and appreciate live theater.

Artist: Maxx Moses

Nonprofit sponsor: The Urban Collaborative Project

Project: Working with the Urban Collaborative Project, which brings together residents and artists to beautify areas in southeastern San Diego, Moses will help transform a vacant lot along the Imperial Avenue Corridor by creating a functional art installation that will serve as a centerpiece for a community engagement space. Throughout the process, Moses will host workshops to teach hands-on mural making to youth in the southeastern San Diego-Encanto area.

Artist: Thelma Virata de Castro

Nonprofit sponsor: Asian Story Theater

Project: Virata de Castro will work with Asian Story Theater to perform workshops across the region and create a theatrical piece that broadens multicultural awareness around domestic violence. She will work directly with those closest to the topic, including survivors, family members, law enforcement and legal advocates. Through the project, de Castro will give a voice to the voiceless and connect the audience to the issue of domestic violence in a safe, intimate setting. All performances will include panel discussions and be open to the public.

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @jimhebert