Lula and Erwin Washington married in 1970 and founded Lula Washington Dance Theatre in 1980. They vow to keep on, “even if it’s just the two of us.”
The company will hire four entry-level arts administrators: a development assistant to manage relationships with donors; a booking assistant to help secure performances across the state, nationwide and abroad; a bookkeeper to help with accounting and financial management; and a marketing assistant to help with web development, the company’s social media presence and publicity.
The grant also will help with the inevitable transition of leadership to the couple’s daughter, Tamica Washington-Miller, a choreographer and the company’s associate director. “It fully acknowledges that in many cases, achieving financial strength and stability, while is a top concern for most nonprofits, continues to be out of reach for many organizations, especially those that are led by or serving people of color,” Kang said.examining inequity in U.S. arts funding found that only 2% of cultural institutions receive close to 60% of all contributed revenue, including foundation and individual giving.
“I don’t want to name any of the foundations,” Erwin said. “But when they would find out, for instance, that our dancers aren’t on year-round contracts, then that basically made us unfundable. And when they find out that our staff is so small, we don’t have a full staff, we became less competitive for those national grants.”Mellon partnered with the International Assn. of Blacks in Dance, a network created in 1988 to connect Black dancemakers, administrators and performers.
They robbed the liquor store?