$90,000 Awarded to 19 O.C. Arts Programs

Educational efforts by local schools, museums and performance groups are being awarded most of the $90,000 in grants announced Monday by Arts Orange County.

The countywide arts council is dividing the money among 19 organizations. The four largest grants, accounting for half the total, are: $14,000 to the Pacific Symphony for its Class Act program for elementary schoolchildren; $11,000 to the Friends of the Children’s Museum at La Habra for “Creature Feature,” an art exhibition designed to reach out to low-income Latino families; $10,000 to the Art Institute of Southern California to fund summer courses for high school students and art teachers, and $10,000 to the Philharmonic Society of Orange County for “Cruzando Fronteras: Crossing Borders,” a series of concerts celebrating Mexican culture.

Grants of $4,500 to $6,000 went to the UC Irvine School of the Arts, the Orange County Museum of Art, Pacific Chorale, the Aman Folk Ensemble, and the Laguna Playhouse.

All-American Boys Chorus, Brea Civic and Cultural Center Gallery, Four Seasons Youth Orchestra, Koos Art Cafe, Mozart Classical Orchestra, Nouveau Chamber Ballet, Huntington Beach Art Center, Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Opera Pacific and South Coast Dance Arts Alliance received smaller amounts.

During its three years, the grants program has funneled $280,000 to Orange County arts groups. This year’s funding comes from the Margaret E. Oser Foundation and Boeing.