GENE SISKEL FILM CENTER
RECEIVES $20,000 GRANT
FROM THE NATIONAL
ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS (NEA)
TO SUPPORT 2020 BLACK
HARVEST FILM FESTIVAL
Organizations in every
state in the nation
receives federal funding
for arts projects from the NEA
It was announced by National Endowment for the Arts
Chairman Mary Anne Carter that organizations in every state in the nation, as well as the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, will receive federal funding for arts
projects from the National Endowment for the Arts in this round of fiscal year
2020 funding. Overall, 1,187 grants totaling $27.3 million will provide
Americans opportunities for arts participation, and this year include projects
that celebrate the Women's Suffrage Centennial.
The Gene Siskel Film Center, a
public program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, whose parent
organization is The Art Institute of Chicago, received a $20,000 Art
Works-Media Arts grant to support the Black Harvest Film Festival, presented
every August by the Gene Siskel Film Center, and related public programming. Art Works grants support
artistically excellent projects that celebrate creativity and cultural
heritage, invite mutual respect for differing beliefs and values, and enrich
humanity. Cost share/matching grants awarded range from $10,000 to
$100,000.
“The
National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support grants throughout the
entire country that connect people through shared experiences and artistic
expression,” said Arts Endowment Chairman Mary Anne Carter. “These projects
provide access to the arts for people of all abilities and backgrounds in both
urban centers and rural communities.”
We are honored to have our
26th Annual Black Harvest Film Festival—the Midwest’s largest festival of the
Black experience on film—to be among the grantees. This vital and critically
acclaimed annual program continues to celebrate the full range of African American
stories to an inclusive urban audience that continues to grow each year,” said
Jean de St. Aubin, the Gene Siskel Film Center’s Executive Director.
Art
Works grants support artistically excellent projects that celebrate our
creativity and cultural heritage, invite mutual respect for differing beliefs
and values, and enrich humanity. Cost share/matching grants range from $10,000
to $100,000.
Programs coming up that represent the spirit
of the Black Harvest Film Festival are the Chicago premiere runs of CANE RIVER
and GOLDIE. CANE
RIVER (February 14-20) is a rediscovered classic of
Black cinema that is a racially charged love story set in Louisiana’s
Natchitoches Parish. The Wednesday, February 19, 6 pm screening is a Gene
Siskel Film Center Movie Club event with a post-movie discussion facilitated by
Black Harvest Festival Consultant Sergio Mims. GOLDIE (February 21-27) concerns an ambitious 18-year-old Bronx woman
(portrayed by model and Rihanna muse Slick Woods) living in a homeless shelter
as she seeks the break that she imagines will make her a star.
Entering its 26th year in
August 2020, the Black Harvest Film Festival is Midwest’s largest- and longest- running Black film
festival and the Gene Siskel Film Center’s most vibrant annual showcase
featuring provocative films that tell stories, spark lively discussions, and
address issues relating to the experiences from the African diaspora. Black Harvest features Chicago premieres, filmmaker appearances, panel discussions, and special events.
Presented are a combined total of over 50 features, documentaries, and shorts,
including a number connected to Chicago, affirming the city's role as a vital
center for independent filmmaking. Black Harvest supports the Film Center’s ongoing mission to present
inclusive and insightful programming. www.siskelfilmcenter.org/bhff25
* * *
All screenings are at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of
the Art Institute of Chicago, located at 164 N. State St.
Tickets to each screening—unless stated otherwise—are $12/general
admission, $7/students, $6/Film Center members, and $5/Art Institute of Chicago
(AIC) staff and School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) faculty, staff,
and students. Friday matinee tickets are $8 each. All tickets may be purchased
at the Film Center Box Office. Both general admission and Film Center member
tickets are available through the Gene Siskel Film Center’s website www.siskelfilmcenter.org/content/tickets or through the
individual films’ weblinks on www.siskelfilmcenter.org. There is a surcharge of
$1.50 per ticket. The Film Center and its box office are open 5:00 to 9:00 pm,
Monday through Thursday; 1:00 to 9:00 pm, Friday; 2:00 to 9:00 pm, Saturday;
and 2:00 to 6:00 pm, Sunday.
* * *
A Gene Siskel Film Center membership is a year-round ticket to
great movies for only $6 per screening! Memberships are $50 (Individual) and
$80 (Dual). For more information, call 312-846-2600 or visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org/content/membership.
Discounted parking is available for $20 for 24 hours at the
InterPark SELF-PARK at 20 E. Randolph St. A rebate ticket can be obtained from
the Film Center Box Office.
The Film Center is located near CTA trains and buses. Nearest
CTA L stations are Lake (Red line); State/Lake (Brown, Green, Orange, Pink,
Purple lines); and Washington (Blue line). CTA bus lines serving State St.: 2,
6, 10, 29, 36, 62, 144, and 146.
For more information about the Film Center, call 312-846-2800
(24-hour movie hotline) or 312-846-2600 (general information, 9:00 am-5:00
p.m., Monday-Friday), or visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
* * *
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established
by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent
federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to
participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their
creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local
leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts
Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and
diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the
arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.
About the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago
Since 1972, the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago has presented cutting edge cinema to an annual audience
that has grown to over 100,000. The Film Center’s programming includes annual
film festivals that celebrate diverse voices and international cultures,
premieres of trailblazing work by today’s independent filmmakers, restorations
and revivals of essential films from cinema history, and insightful provocative
discussions with filmmakers and media artists. Altogether, the Film Center
hosts over 1,700 screenings and 200 filmmaker appearances every year. The Film
Center was renamed the Gene Siskel Film Center in 2000 after the late,
nationally celebrated film critic, Gene Siskel. Visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org to learn more and find out
what’s playing today.
About the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers,
and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program
ranked number two by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an
interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources,
including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and
state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate, and
post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold
ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and
faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard
Hunt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman. Learn more
at saic.edu.
