THE JAMES IRVINE FOUNDATION
Recently Announced a Grant to THE OLD GLOBE of $1,900,000 to Continue Its Valued Support of GLOBE ARTS ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMING

SAN DIEGO (December 7, 2018)—The Old Globe has been granted a second three-year cycle of support from The James Irvine Foundation’s New California Arts Fund (NCAF). The grant of $1.9 million represents an increase of $175,000 from the first cycle of support. The funding will power the Globe’s nationally recognized arts engagement programs, which engage diverse communities throughout the San Diego region, and will also fund the development of long-term strategies to continue and expand this work. The first three-year grant enabled the Globe to create a vibrant arts engagement department that has brought engagement to the core of the institution.

“The generous support of The James Irvine Foundation will help us continue the impactful work of the Globe’s arts engagement programs,” said the Globe’s Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “These programs are changing lives all over San Diego—in homeless shelters, senior centers, military and veterans organizations, correctional facilities, and community organizations that serve to enfranchise populations who’ve traditionally been marginalized.

“NCAF funding has helped us to develop and adopt a new strategic plan focusing on theatre as a public good, and on the creation of public value through our art form. We’ve forged deep, ongoing partnerships with 24 community-based not-for-profits and governmental agencies serving low-income and diverse individuals and families throughout the region. Last year alone, our free, participatory arts engagement programs made theatre matter to over 37,000 people. The Globe is a national leader in this work, and the Irvine Foundation is a fundamental reason why. We are deeply grateful.”

The Globe’s varied and extensive arts engagement programs build social connections among everyday San Diegans through theatre. The signature program, Globe for All, which brings theatre to community venues, recently toured to 17 locations with a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Patricia McGregor. Other programs include theatre making, playwriting, and performing; in-depth looks at Shakespeare and how his works remain relevant to participants’ lives; a technical theatre apprentice program for military veterans and family members; and, with incarcerated populations, writing and performing workshops using Shakespeare as a lens. Programs also include free student matinees; sensory-friendly performances; a month-long summer program for 9th – 12th graders; extensive education programs with  5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from City Heights; and college student internships.

Free, fun, and interactive AXIS events on the Globe’s Copley Plaza reach nearly 18,000 Balboa Park visitors each year with entertainment and celebrations, including presentations by Globe Community Partners. The Globe also hosts quarterly gatherings with Community Partners to explore how to strengthen relationships and improve programs. Humanities programs feature a robust schedule of seminars, lectures, and pre- and post-show discussions; special performances; lobby exhibits; free film screenings; and behind-the-scenes tours to deepen audience engagement and enhance appreciation for the work onstage. Professional development training for the local community of teaching artists, educators, and theatre makers includes opportunities to work with visiting guest artists who support, strengthen, and advance staff skills.

The James Irvine Foundation is a private, nonprofit grantmaking foundation dedicated to expanding opportunity for the people of California. The Foundation’s grantmaking focuses on expanding economic and political opportunity for families and young adults who are working but struggling with poverty. Since 1937 the Foundation has provided more than $1.76 billion in grants to nonprofit organizations throughout California. With about $2.3 billion in assets, the Foundation made grants of $91 million in 2017. Through the New California Arts Fund, the Foundation has made grants totaling $7.4 million to seven grantees. The Old Globe is the sole San Diego organization to receive these funds in 2018.

The Tony Award–winning Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego’s flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Numerous world premieres such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Meteor Shower, Bright Star, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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About The James Irvine Foundation: www.irvine.org/about/newsroom/irvine-board-of-directors-approves-26-million-in-grants-on-october-11-2018

Press Contact for The James Irvine Foundation:
Daniel Silverman, Vice President for Strategic Services
(415) 356-9934, dsilverman@irvine.org