BJ Goodwin Memorial Fund
Formed in honor of performer, dancer, and educator BJ Goodwin, this award was created to provide grants to Northampton-based artists, writers, or arts organizations in recognition of exceptional work. It supports the further development of their talents by funding the artist to travel outside our community.
Created in 2003 after BJ Goodwin's passing, this fund has supported valley-based artists to travel, exhibit, learn, and perform worldwide. Since 2004 artists have traveled to Austria, Israel, Scotland, and Sweden to perform theatrical and dance works, record music, and exhibit installations in galleries. The BJ Goodwin fund has supported touring musicians including And The Kids, Sun Parade, and Boy Harsher in their travels across the United States. Closer to home, the fund has assisted in the 2008 Storefront Art project using empty storefronts for artist space.
For over two decades, the BJ Goodwin Fund has provided artists with the support necessary to bring their work out globally. It helps provide affirmation and recognition for them and the Northampton arts community they call home.
Funds are awarded on a reimbursement basis only. Payment requests must be made within twelve months of notification of grant award. In addition, all successful applicants must adequately credit the Northampton Arts Council for providing funds to the project in all press materials, posters, programs, announcements, and paid advertising by putting the Northampton Arts Council logo on the press materials. An example of proper credit would be: "This program is supported in part by a grant from the Northampton Arts Council" and adding our logo to the marketing materials. Failure to do so will result in a loss of funding.
The Northampton Arts Council, Inc, a non-profit 501(c)3, accepts donations from the community to build this new fund. All contributions to this fund are tax-deductible.
If you are interested in applying for this grant, please get in touch with us at admin@northamptonartscouncil.org. The funds are currently exhausted, but we are working to change that.
Recipients:
2004 - Mollye Maxner - Dance - Austria
2006 - Mo Ringey - Art Email Newsletter - Northampton
2008 - C3 - Storefront - Community Art Space - Northampton
2009 - Serious Play - Theatre - Serbia
2010 - Alan Schneider - Music, Vocal Arts - Tel Aviv, Israel
2013 - Spirithaus Records, Sun Parade and Lux Deluxe - Music, Rock - SXSW Austin, TX
2013 - Justin Norris - Murals, Urban Art - Chemnitz, Germany
2014 - And The Kids - Music, Indie Rock - SXSW Austin, TX
2015 - Chris Gonzalez - Theater, Poetry - Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland
2016 - Jake Meginsky - Music, Sound Art - Denmark and Sweden
2016 - Madison Palffy - Dance, Performance - San Francisco, CA
2017 - Boy Harsher - Music, Electronic - USA Tour
2018 - Max Wareham - Music Internship - London, UK
2018 - Serious Play Theatre Ensemble - Theatre - Edinburgh, Scotland
2018 - Zea Mays Printmaking - Printmaking Workshop - Johannesburg, South Africa
2019 - Lucas Solórzano - Bachata Academy of the Dream Project - Cabarete, Dominican Republic
2022 - Olivia Arau McSweeney - Iceland
Donate to the BJ Goodwin Memorial Fund
To donate to the BJ Goodwin Memorial Fund, visit our PayPal Donation Link. Make a note on the check, in the memo line to read "BJ Goodwin Fund," or do the same online in PayPal.
Full Funding History:
2004 - Mollye Maxner - Dance - Austria
Mollye Maxner, the co-founder of the Chimaera Physical Theater, received $1,000 to support her participation in the highly competitive danceWEB-Europe conference and festival in Austria.
2006 - Mo Ringey - Art Email Newsletter - Northampton
Mo Ringey, a publisher of Mo's Better Living Through Art: Arts & Culture Email Newsletter, was awarded $500.
2008 - C3 - Storefront - Community Art Space - Northampton
$2,500 award was made to C3 (Commonwealth Center for Change) and storefront ART to support a residency and exhibition program that uses empty storefronts to provide artists and the community greater access to the studio, exhibition, and gathering space.
2009 - Serious Play - Theater - Serbia
Serious Play! Theater Ensemble received a $1,000 grant to travel as the first American theatre company to perform Milosevic production at the Hague at the 4th International JoakimInterFest in Kragujevac, Serbia.
2010 - Alan Schneider - Music, Vocal Arts - Tel Aviv, Israel
The 5th BJ Goodwin Memorial Fund Award was granted to Alan Schneider of Leeds, MA, for the unique opportunity to sing the operatic title role in Mozart's Idomeneo at the prestigious International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel $900
2013 - Spirithaus Records - Music - SXSW Austin, TX
Spirithaus Records local bands Sun Parade and Lux Deluxe were awarded $500 to attend the annual South by Southwest music festival in Austin, TX.
2013 - Justin Norris - Chemnitz, Germany
Hampshire College student and self-taught urban muralist Justin Norris received $650 to participate in an artist-in-residence program in Chemnitz, Germany.
2014 - And The Kids - Music, Indie Rock - SXSW Austin, TX
Emerging Northampton, MA rock trio And The Kids received $550 to attend the annual South by Southwest music festival in Austin, TX. Since then, the band has appeared on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, released two full-length albums, and continues to tour Europe, Canada, and the U.S.
2015 - Chris Gonzalez - Theater, Poetry - Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland
Local poet, actor, and performer Chris Gonzalez received $650 for travel to the world-class theater festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Chris saw thirty-one shows in two weeks and spoke with world-class theater companies and theater-makers.
2016 - Jake Meginsky - Music, Sound Art - Denmark & Sweden
Northampton, MA Electronic Musician, Percussionist, and Composer Jake Meginsky received $750 for travel to Europe. Meginsky was a featured soloist at Denmark's prestigious Click Festival and an artist-in-residence at EMS Elektromusikstudion in Stockholm, Sweden.
2016 - Madison Palffy - Dance, Performance - FRESH Festival, San Francisco
Madison Palffy is a dancer, performer, performance-maker, visual artist, and founding member of the LOCULUS collective in Northampton, MA. Madison received $550 to attend the FRESH Festival in San Francisco, CA. FRESH Festival celebrates and showcases an abundance of embodied art, action, innovation, and inclusion in the Bay Area with three immersive weeks of cutting-edge performances, intensive practices, and interactive exchanges.
2017 - Boy Harsher - Music, Electronic - USA Tour
Jae Matthews & Augustus Muller received $750 to support Boy Harsher's 2017 Winter Tour, thirty shows in thirty-five days, and over eight thousand miles. The grant allowed the duo to bring their unique sound to new audiences while connecting with and raising money for marginalized LGBTQ communities & alternative safe spaces.
2018 - Max Wareham - Music, Folk - The Cecil Sharp House, London, England
Northampton Musician Max Wareham got the opportunity to travel to the United Kingdom, where he performed and studied at the world-class folk art center, The Cecil Sharp House.
2018 - Serious Play Theatre Ensemble - Theatre - Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, Scotland
Throughout August 2018, Serious Play Theatre Ensemble presented local musician/songwriter John Sheldon and his original blend of story-telling and music, THE RED GUITAR, at the pace Edinburgh Scotland, Venue 9 just off the Royal Mile. The ensemble also attended and researched performances and scripts, which it intends to bring to Northampton audiences through its Performance Exchange Program shortly.
2018 - Liz Chalfin - Printmaking - Artist Proof Studio, Johannesburg, South Africa
Zea Mays Printmaker Liz Chalfin received $750 to teach a community workshop on green printmaking practices and print work with APS master printer William Kentridge. Prints from the trip were displayed at The Augusta Savage Gallery at UMass Amherst and Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence, MA.
2019 - Lucas Solórzano - Music, Bachata - Dream Project in Cabarete, Dominican Republic
Local musician Lucas Solórzano volunteered as a music teacher in the Bachata Academy of the Dream Project in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. He was invited to assist the director Martires De Leon, one of the most prominent arrangers and guitarists in the Dominican Republic.
2022 - Olivia Arau McSweeney - Iceland
Supported residency and exhibit at SÍM in Reykjavik, Iceland, took place in August of 2022.