PARIS CRAYTON III
Actor & Writer
The show must go on. Even during Covid. Being a lover of theatre, I had to do something theatre-ish while all the brick and mortars were shut down. I began a ten-minute play series called The Something Sweet Plays. I figured since 2020 gave us all lemons, I’d might as well make something sweet. Each episode has a sweet treat in its name. I haven’t been able to write something sweet since learning about George Floyd.
SOCIAL MEDIA
@ParisCrayton
@Paristheplaywright
@ParisCrayton
N'DIA SABIO
Footwear Designer
In the midst of everything going on, I was still able to celebrate my project with those I love. I’m really excited to announce that my 2020 collection titled “AURAGEN” is complete! Inspired by my studies of metaphysics, this shoe collection features a spectrum of crystals and stones to salute the chakra system & the human aura. I have been working on this project for the past three years, sourcing all of the materials, flying back and forth to Europe, and I am very proud of the process and the finished product. All pieces were hand-beaded in India, crafted in Italy, and will be available for purchase soon via online & in-store!
SOCIAL MEDIA
@ndiasabio
ALAINA KAI CHESTER
Actor, Singer-Lyricist, and Digital Creative
Based in New York City, and born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Alaina Kai is an actor, singer-lyricist, and digital creative.
JIEMIN YANG
Dancer, Choreographer, Graphic Designer & Illustrator
Jiemin Yang, originally from China, is a dancer, choreographer, and graphic designer/illustrator based in Queens. Jiemin holds a MA in Contemporary Dance from London Contemporary Dance School. He is an awardee of CUNY Dance Initiative 2020-2021 and a recipient of 2020 New Works Grant from Queens Council on the Arts. He has performed in multiple cities in Europe, the UK, and the US. He is currently a dancer with Kinesis Project and has performed at Arts on Site, the Riverside Park and Snug Harbor Cultural Center with the company.
SOCIAL MEDIA
@jiemin.art
ADDITIONAL LINKS
ERIN GOODWIN
Online Tutorial
Goodie Goodness presents online tutorials in How To Serenade a Man. A combination of comedy, dating tips, and ukulele. A kind of “girl power”, “ladies can serenade too” type of inspiration. Erin Goodwin, the creator of the tutorials, came up with the idea based on real-life experiences. Poking fun at the idea of “dating advice”, and when it comes down to it, we all want to find the same thing. Love. And the idea that most of the time, we don’t really need dating advice, we already know the answers.
MAT LABOTKA
Comedian
Welcome to Grumble Goat: A comedic grumbling of mundane trivialities.
Mat Labotka and Veronique Hurley grumble through life’s little pet peeves.
Do you hate gum? Have you ever thought about it? You probably hate gum without even realizing it. Follow Mat’s absurd infuriation down the rabbit-hole into frustration, while Veronique’s buoyant optimism keeps us afloat…
of the Grumble Goat.
SOCIAL MEDIA
@theGrumbleGoat
@grumblegoatpodcast
ADDITIONAL LINKS
DAVID LAMARR
Actor
David LaMarr is a member of Actor’s Equity Association & the Manhattan Association of Cabaret Artists.
A performer first and foremost, he misses the sage and performing.
I feel like the stage is a scared space that allows all artists to heal. It’s magical.
He’ll be performing in 2020’s 1st VIRTUAL Cabaret Convention usually held at Lincoln Center. He also performed at Carnegie Hall last year for the Mabel Mercer Foundation.
Pre-Covid, David was starring in Kinky Boots down in Ft Myer’s, Florida on a guest artist contract
Credits include: National Tour—Jersey Boys (2nd National). Regional—Prather Entertainment: Lola in Kinky Boots; Delaware Theatre Company: A Sign of the Times (regional premiere); Baltimore Center Stage: SOUL: The Stax Musical (world premiere); McCoy Rigby Entertainment: Dreamgirls (Ovation Award Nominee); Tuacahn Amphitheatre: Disney’s When You Wish (world premiere), Disney’s The Little Mermaid (US regional premiere), Disney’s Mulan (world premiere); Maltz Jupiter Theatre: The Wiz; Cape Fear Regional Theatre: Ain’t Misbehavin’; Sierra Rep: Hairspray. International—Universal Studios Japan; Carnival Cruise Lines; Princess Cruises; Disney Cruise Lines: Villains Tonight! (world premiere).
SOCIAL MEDIA
@davidlamarr
@davidlamarr
YOUTUBE
DavidLaMarr
KAT LIZ KRAMER
Singer & Songwriter
Hey, ya’ll! My name is Kat Liz Kramer and I’m a singer/songwriter currently living in NYC. My roots are in musical theatre and ballet and that informs my indie folk/rock music. I’ve been writing new songs for several years and performing them in and around the city. With live music venues shut down it became clear that now was the time to make my first full-length album! In these terrible times music is what can bring people together and lift their spirits. It can also help them heal. Music is my therapy! I am currently working with my friend and fellow singer/songwriter Kyle Motsinger on preparing to record the album. He has brought onboard several incredible (unemployed) Broadway musicians and I’m co-writing with composer Mark Oleszko on the project. I suffer from extreme anxiety and my music is a release and a way of working through it. I hope others will be able to relate. The album is a collection of my thoughts and my emotions swirled together in a tornado of glitter and passion. I hope to raise $8,000 to pay the musicians, the engineers, and production staff. This is very affordable for an album but much more than one person can afford on their own in the middle of a global pandemic where survival work is uncertain and bills don’t care about a virus. I am ever so grateful for the opportunity to share my heART.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
iTunes: My Wonderland Special Edition (releasing 11/13)
Fueling Creativity, One Grant at a Time
The Great Performances Artist Fellowship Awards celebrate and support the artistic pursuits of our team members. Each year, we award four $5,000 grants to employees engaged in creative projects across various disciplines, helping them advance their artistic careers while continuing their work in hospitality. The fellowship embodies Great Performances’ long-standing commitment to fostering a community where the arts and hospitality thrive together.
A Legacy of Supporting Artists
The Artist Fellowship Awards were founded by Great Performances’ CEO and founder, Liz Neumark. As an aspiring photographer, Liz built GP to provide flexible work opportunities for women in the arts, allowing them to support themselves while pursuing their creative ambitions. What began as a small initiative in 1986 with two $1,000 grants has grown into a celebrated program that has awarded thousands of dollars to emerging and established artists within the GP family.
Why We Invest in Creativity
Great Performances has always been deeply connected to the arts. From our origins as a catering company designed to support artists to our continued collaborations with New York City’s most prestigious cultural institutions, creativity is at the heart of what we do. The Artist Fellowship Awards were established to reinforce our commitment to the arts by directly investing in the artistic dreams of our team members. We recognize that many of our employees are multi-talented individuals balancing their work with their artistic aspirations, and we want to help them succeed.
How It Works: From Application to Award
Each year, GP invites employees to apply for the Artist Fellowship Awards by submitting proposals detailing their artistic projects and how the grant will help bring them to life. Applications are reviewed by a panel of distinguished judges from the arts and cultural sectors. In 2024, our panel included leaders from Caramoor, The Apollo Theater, and other esteemed organizations. Winners are honored at a special ceremony, and their projects are featured in GP’s ongoing celebration of the arts.
Celebrating Our Artists’ Success
The Artist Fellowship Awards have funded projects spanning film, music production, publishing, visual arts, and more. Our 2024 recipients include a musician creating a tribute album to legendary bassists, a poet and performer exploring themes of resilience, a filmmaker developing an animated drama, and a composer recording an original musical. The awards have been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, underscoring the impact of our commitment to the arts.
We are proud to support our team’s artistic endeavors and look forward to seeing the incredible work that continues to emerge from this program.
Learn More & Get Involved
- About Great Performances
- Join Our Team
PREVIOUS FELLOWSHIP WINNERS AND JUDGES
2024 Artist Fellowship
Winners
- Trifon Dimitriov – For creating an album which will be a tribute to well-known bassists.
- Nastasia Filiaeva – For an exploration of resilience, protest, and reconnection through musical and poetic collaboration
- Tira Adams – For creating an animated drama about a black family of conjurers in Brooklyn
- David Quang Pham – For the production of an album of his original musical which has already had its stage debut.
Judges
- Ed Lewis, President and CEO, Caramoor
- Kamilah Forbes, Executive Producer, The Apollo Theater
- Ryan Hill, Founder and CEO, Apotheosis
- Dr. Meisha Porter, Visiting Senior at the Center for Educational Innovation
- Adam Gwon, Composer and Lyricist
2023 Artist Fellowship
Winners
- Jonathan Lauture – To expand his children’s media company, Johnny’s Way.
- Aubrey Hunt – To collaborate with a professional writer and illustrator for the digital and print publication of his book.
- Iyana Shelby – To cover marketing, art creation, and presentation of “Art You Can Feel” which explores the tapestry of human emotions.
- Amir Windley – To support the creation of his film, “Ties That Choke”, an exploration of the unbreakable bond of childhood friendships.
Judges
- Heather Lubov, Executive Director, City Parks Foundation
- Viviana Bianchi, Executive Director, The Bronx Council of the Arts
- Angela Vallot, Consultant, Entrepreneur
- Klaudio Rodriquez, Executive Director, The Bronx Museum of the Arts
2019 Artist Fellowship
2019
Winners
- Damir Catovic – To purchase equipment for a dark room to support his analog photography that chronicles various aspects of New York City.
- Justin Rozanski – To realize a novel sonic design installation entitled “The Healing Powers of Cats, A Sonic Exploration” based on the purring of (his) cats that generate therapeutic sound waves.
- Almira Session – To launch Motivating Eleemosynary Juvenescent (MEJ), which will create a safe environment for children living in New York City’s shelter system to learn how to express themselves through dance therapy, counseling and mentorships, while learning about healthy eating, food preparation and budgeting.
- Brigitte Williamson – To write and direct “Sweetie Pie”, a comedic microfilm about one woman’s pursuit of the perfect pie.
Judges
- Howard Axel, CEO of Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island
- Christina Karahalios, Senior Director of Operations for international art gallery Hauser & Wirth
- Cheryl Milstein, arts philanthropist whose foundation contributed to the likes of The Public Theater, New York Philharmonic and the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation
- Cyndi Stivers, Director of the TED Residency
2016 Artist Fellowship
2016
Winners
- Evan Edwards – To produce a CD to promote his new musical to the backers, developers and festivals whose creative and financial support were necessary for him to realize its full-scale production.
- Lucy Gram – To produce a three-day workshop of “In the Belly,” a new play about family, legacy and how we shape ourselves into independent adults despite our parents’ mistakes.
- Adam Miller – To produce a documentary called “BUCKETS” about Larry Wright, the creator of bucket drumming.
- Kristin Yancy – To orchestrate a workshop of “The Hunt,” an original approach to the quickly growing subset of the dramatic arts – immersive theater.
Judges
- Diana Roesch DiMenna, philanthropist
- Jean Hanff Korelitz, author
- Jeffrey Haydon, CEO, Caramoor Center for Performing Arts
- Heather Hitchens, Executive Director, American Wing Theatre
2015 Artist Fellowship
2015
Winners
- John Jacob Lee – To publish a mission-driven zine exploring themes of gender, race, and class through a variety of artistic mediums
- Hayet Moufti – To produce “My Empire of Solitude,” a 25-minute dance piece that will be a community-oriented work of art.
- Chris Corporandy – To complete certification by the Knight-Thompson Speech Work organization as an accent, dialect, and speech teacher for actors
Judges
- Scott Berrie, Emmy Award-winning Producer and CEO/Founder of Impulse Creative Productions
- Tangie Murray, Executive Director at Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation
- Richard Zinman, Managing Director at Credit Suisse
- Kerry Steib, Director of Social Impact at Spotify
- Susan Henshaw Jones, Director of the Museum of the City of New York
2013 Artist Fellowship
2013
Winners
- Daniel Perez Gomez – To work with animal shelters to take high-quality photographs of dogs in order to increase their chances of adoption.
- Kathryn Anible – To publish “The Leafy Greens Cookbook” containing 100 recipes that featured a variety of greens.
- Anthony Wills – To write a screenplay “Pride from the Door,” which deals with race, addiction and loss.
Judges
- Lisa Dennison, Sotheby’s, Chairman, North and South America
- Hughlyn Fierce, Retired Jazz at Lincoln Center CEO and active not-for-profits board member
- Susan Freedman, President, Public Art Fund
- Brian Munn, Actor, starred in Wicked, and a former GP staff member
- Bronson van Wyck, Founder & Event Producer, Van Wyck & Van Wyck
2011 Artist Fellowship
2011
Winners
- Tim Marback – To produce his play “Mend” under the direction of Olympia Dukakis.
- Michael Menger – To produce his own work, “The Really Big Pirate Show”.
- Charles Wulster – To complete production on his film, “The Defenders of Belfast”.
Judges
- Gail Beltrone, Vice President, Frederick P Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center
- Marsha Firestone, President and Founder, Women Presidents’ Organization
- Timur Galen, Global Head of Corporate Services and Real Estate, Goldman Sachs
- Brian Halweil, Editor/Publisher, Edible Magazines
- Jonelle Procope, President and CEO, Apollo Theater Foundation
2006 Artist Fellowship
2006
Winner
- Garry Novikoff – To complete the final mixing, mastering, and production of his self-produced CD “Dog on the Moon.”
2000 Artist Fellowship
2000
Winners
- Trayce Gardner – To found the Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Center, which promotes “literacy, leadership, social skills, intergenerational exchange, and job training” to under-privileged NYC youth through film studies and film-making.
- Joe Clancy – To start The Drilling CompaNY, which develops and produces new dramatic works by emerging American playwrights.
EASTER TIPS & RECIPES FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS
