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Greenville Business Magazine

TATT Announces Finalists For 2018 Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Grants

Oct 24, 2018 11:09AM ● By Kathleen Maris
Ten at the Top (TATT), an organization created to foster collaboration, partnerships, and strategic planning across the Upstate, has announced the finalists for the 2018 Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants.

The five finalists were chosen from a total of 26 applications submitted for the two grants available in 2018. Hughes Investments is contributing at least $10,000 per year to the program with two recipients each year receiving $5,000 to support a new vibrancy initiative in the Upstate. The program began in 2013 in conjunction with a series of Community Vibrancy Workshops hosted by Ten at the Top. Since the inception of the grants program, Hughes Investments has contributed a total of $67,000 to community vibrancy initiatives across the Upstate.

During the Ten at the Top Celebrating Successes Brunch on November 14th, the five finalists will each provide a brief overview of their initiative before the 2018 recipients are selected and announced. The cost to attend the brunch is $35; prior registration is required. The event will be held from 11:30 am -1:30 pm at the Greenville Marriott. To register, go to www.tenatthetop.org.

Below are the five finalists (project name, applying organization, and brief summary):

1st Annual Charles Townes Arts & Technology Experiment – Spontaneous Productions
The 1st Annual Charles Townes Art & Technology Experiment intends to generate awareness and gratitude for Charles Townes, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, who was a Greenville native and graduate of Furman University. The project also aims to be a catalyst for the acceptance and encouragement of experimentation and curiosity—in technology as well as the arts—reflecting some of Townes’ ethics.

Centuries of Gaffney: A Walking Tour – City of Gaffney
The City of Gaffney, in an effort to create walkability and interaction downtown, proposes to place Revolutionary War shields along sidewalks that will celebrate local champions from 1780 and 1781, much like the “Hollywood Stars.” The unveiling of each shield will be done by descendants of each Revolutionary War hero.

Environmental Arts Festival – Piedmont Physic Garden
The Piedmont Physic Garden (PPG), a botanical garden in the historic center of Union, South Carolina, seeks funding to start an Environmental Art Festival (EAF) along with the Union County Arts Council (UCAC), the University of South Carolina–Union (USC–U), and the Union County Tourism Commission (UCTC). All four entities are located within three blocks of each other, which will allow convenient access to various exhibits and vendors. The first EAF will take place in April of 2020. Over the two-day weekend, people from across the Piedmont and beyond will be drawn to downtown Union to enjoy the arts as well as the outdoors. The $5,000 grant will be used for logo/branding design, artist prospectus development, banners, billboard rentals, and advanced media promotion.

IDEAS Festival – The Arts Center of Clemson, City of Clemson Arts & Culture Commission, Neighborhood Associations
The City of Clemson Arts & Culture Commission, in partnership with the Arts Center of Clemson and Clemson neighborhood associations, seeks to create and deliver a high-impact arts and culture festival in spring 2019 that will increase engagement and participation of Clemson citizenry in city-wide arts and culture initiatives, while also creating a new social justice opportunity. The IDEAS Festival will bring residents from the City and Clemson together to celebrate local artists as well as to gather citizen input for long-term planning for art in public places.

Movie Night at the Park – Ninety Six Mill Village Association
The Ninety Six Mill Village Association (MVNA), in collaboration with the Town of Ninety Six and local residents, is seeking to build a sense of pride in the community by offering a series of free outdoor events to showcase the community park. MVNA is requesting assistance to help fund the purchase of equipment and supplies to host a regular Movie Night at the Park, which stands on the site of a former textile mill.