PGF grants for 2024  promote community dialogue

In October, 2023, the Board of Trustees of the Paul Green Foundation reviewed a strong pool of grant applications for the coming year. Six proposals that best fit the mission of the Foundation were approved by the trustees, taking account of the available resources generated annually by the organization's endowment. The recipients are:

Blair Publishing, in support of a book about Paul Green. Visitors to the Outer Banks of NC still flock to Manteo to see Green’s The Lost Colony, but fewer people remember his activism and contribution to progressive causes in NC and throughout the South. This book, a long overdue retrospective, is aimed at continuing Paul Green’s storied legacy.

Bulldog Ensemble, of Durham, NC, to support the upcoming production of Brittany K. Allen’s play Redwood, which tells the story of a young interracial couple whose happy relationship is upended by a shocking secret from their families’ shared past. This urgent story of the New South suggests how our forebears’ quest for justice resonates in our contemporary lives. 

Chatham Arts Council, in partial support of a residency by playwright and actor Mike Wiley at Bonlee School and Bennett School in Western Chatham County. Wiley will be performing One Noble Journey: A Box Marked Freedom. Includes performances for all grades 3-8, writing workshops with grades 5 and 7 plus teacher development workshop with Wiley and Howard Craft. 

Hidden Voices, of Cedar Grove, NC, to support artistic and collaborative community work with Growing Change and the Scotland County Dept. of Social Services. Community stakeholders will create workshops, presentations, and community conversation circles toward a revisioning of criminal justice in our state and the abolition the death penalty.

Mouths of Babes Theatre Company, in Wilmington, NC, to support ongoing development and production of a new play based on voices from the opioid epidemic. Honoring lives lost to overdose, while raising awareness of this ever-growing crisis. 

Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South, in continuing support for a feature length film about NC quilter and community organizer, Jereann King Johnson.

Vault Theatre Company, to devise a brand new piece of theatre created by young people in Durham, which will eventually tour the area. VT is dedicated to producing stories that are thematically, educationally, and artistically programmed with young audiences at the heart of the decision making. 

Grants from the foundation generally range from $500 to $2500 and are awarded to projects that reflect the life's work and values of Paul Green. These values center on the arts, human rights, and racial equity. The next deadline for applications is October 1, 2024.