Arts United announced today the projects selected for the 2024 cycle of Amplify Art, a crowdfunding campaign platform designed to support arts and culture projects in Northeast Indiana. Sponsored by PNC Bank, Amplify Art relies on support from the community through social media advocacy and small contributions from a large number of donors. 

 

“PNC’s longstanding support of Arts United reflects our belief that engagement in the arts enriches lives and builds stronger, more vibrant communities,” said Corinna Ladd, PNC regional president for northern Indiana. “We are proud to see how this campaign helps drive awareness and grassroots support for thriving arts community.”

 

The five projects selected for the 2024 cycle are:

East Allen Community Youth Band

Rachel Kesar, East Allen County Schools

Goal: $5,000

The project is to strengthen a newly established youth band serving East Allen University (EAU) students and the Southeast Fort Wayne community by providing operational funding. This ensemble (EACYB) provides band education to students who otherwise have no opportunity to play in a band after their 8th grade year due to the high school they attend. Donations will provide the band with instruments, materials, new music and will help to advertise on social media. Funding will allow for local instructors, musicians, and clinicians to work with the ensemble to build towards two successful student performances in Spring of 2025.

Free ’05 Arts Classes

Fire & Light Productions 

Goal: $3,000

This summer, Fire & Light Productions will offer kids in the 46805 area a chance to take free arts classes in Improvisation, Broadway Dance, Small Group Singing, Tap Dance and Fight Choreography. These entertaining one-hour classes will take place Friday afternoons, from July 12-August 2, at LifeHouse Clinic, 2100 Kentucky Boulevard, and are taught by seasoned artists and teachers. Donations for this project will assist Fire & Light in compensating class teachers, paying for classroom supplies, and promoting the Free ‘05 Arts classes to households in this area.

Googly: A Sensory Theatre Experience

Kitchen Sink Theatre

Goal: $5,000
Gloria Minnich and Kitchen Sink Theatre are excited to create Googly, a sensory theatre show that embraces the diverse range of ways that humans can connect and communicate with each other. By using the senses of not only sight and sound, but also touch, smell, kinesthetic, and taste, audience participants will go on an immersive and interactive journey exploring the world of the legendary googly eyes. This show is created with the aim of reaching audience members with the most access barriers, including those with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and/or those on the autism spectrum.

Promoting Future Plein Air Artists in Northeast Indiana

Northern Indiana Plein Air Artists Association

Goal: $3,000

The Northern Indiana Plein Air Artists Association brings outdoor painting “in the open air” art events and workshops to communities across Indiana that might not otherwise have access to the arts. Donations will provide the opportunity for the community to learn how to paint and create landscapes on location “in the open air” and showcase competitively in front of, in many cases, large and small festivals.

Modern Day Tintype Portrait Sessions

Relic Emporium
Goal: $3,000

Tintype photography is a lost art form from 1851 that captures a unique look through vintage lenses and equipment. For years, the process was used by many to make a permanent image and to preserve a person’s place in history. Relic Emporium, located in Angola, is pleased to present an opportunity to continue the tradition that dates back to the very beginning of portraits while discovering the methods of early development – right before your very eyes.

 

The fundraising campaign will begin Monday, April 8 and conclude Tuesday, May 7. Community members can support a project by donating online at artsunited.org/ways-to-give/amplify and through social media advocacy. PNC Bank will match every gift made through the campaign dollar for dollar up to $1,000 per project. The crowdfunding campaign will be through Arts United’s platform, Amplify Art, a social media-based program that mobilizes community support and awareness of diverse creative projects happening in Northeast Indiana.

 

Through the Amplify Art program, Arts United proactively increases the community’s access to diverse, innovative, and compelling creative experiences. Arts United provides the fundraising technology and promotional support to help make these projects a reality. Learn more about Amplify Art or donate at artsunited.org/ways-to-give/amplify. 

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PNC Bank

PNC Bank, National Association, is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.

 

About Arts United

Arts United is a private, nonprofit local arts agency that serves Northeast Indiana through arts advocacy and promotion, fundraising and grantmaking, business services support, community and economic development, and Arts Campus Fort Wayne coordination. Arts United’s mission is to mobilize resources to develop, coordinate, and support arts and culture, enhancing the quality of life and the economic vitality of Northeast Indiana.