The ARTS Council Receives NEA Grant Funding
The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes (The ARTS Council) is thrilled to announce receiving $20,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to continue its Community Documentation Workshop (CDW) in 2025.
Slated to begin in September 2025, the Community Documentation Workshop (CDW) is a 16-week, 8-session workshop series in partnership with CCLD Makerspace at the Steele Memorial Library, Chemung County Historical Society, Elmira College, and GLOW Traditions. This multi-sector effort equips grassroots organizations in our region with the skills and perspectives necessary to document and present their cultural traditions in ways that center their own voices and authorship, advancing self-determination. Three teams will each produce one 5-7 minute video based on their research and will focus on themes such as cultural resiliency, regional pride, sense of place, the artistry of tradition bearers and local leaders, and intergenerational cultural sustainability.
Workshop participants learn the basics of documentary video production, including conducting interviews, filming with a DSLR camera, and editing on digital editing software. “We’ve found that people really crave these skills. They value the support we’re able to offer them in telling the stories of their own communities,” says T.C. Owens, Project Director and Folk Arts Manager at The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.
Following the completion of the workshop series, each team will showcase their short videos at a public screening in 2026.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity and support from the National Endowment for the Arts,” says Owens. “This is a tremendous chance for community members of all backgrounds to come together, learn how to tell stories of our rich traditions, and bring our unique skills to bear in this collaborative setting.”
The last time this program ran was in 2023. Previous videos projects were produced in collaboration with Ancient Voices Media, the Islamic Association of the Finger Lakes, Mutual Aid Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and United Steelworkers Local 1000. Workshop participants produced videos on Seneca pottery, the many ethnic groups of the Islamic Association of the Finger Lakes, local Black-led environmental justice efforts, and the impact of organized labor in our region. All these videos and more are available at Southern Finger Lakes Traditions: A Cultural Mapping Project. This web-based initiative documents tradition bearers and culturally significant places in our region in a media-rich blog-based format. Building off similar initiatives, including the Points of Inspiration driving tour, this website highlights our region’s cultural diversity by focusing on artistic traditions found in Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, and neighboring counties.
Support for the Community Documentation Workshop is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Written by T.C. Owens, Folk Arts Manager. Images by Victoria Scott, Program Assistant.
