The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs has received $2 million from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to benefit the Coconut Grove Playhouse project.
The major gift, announced as part of a new $37 million investment to support the arts and anchor institutions, brings the return of regional theater at the Coconut Grove Playhouse one step closer to reality.
“We are grateful to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for its extraordinary leadership in support of our cultural community and for this generous $2 million grant to Miami-Dade County for the Coconut Grove Playhouse project,” stated Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “Along with the county’s secured funding, this grant ensures that we can build an outstanding regional theater designed to the very highest standards of quality.
“Just as importantly, Knight Foundation support is a strong affirmation that our project is the right one for Coconut Grove, for our arts community and for Miami-Dade County. We remain committed to returning great theater to Coconut Grove and to bringing the Playhouse back to life for generations of our community’s families and kids,” the mayor added.
The Knight Foundation also named Joe Adler, GableStage’s producing artistic director, as one of the 2018 Knight Arts Champions. Each honoree gets $10,000 to be donated to an artist or arts organization of his/her choice. Adler directed the gift to arts education nonprofit Arts for Learning for its robust student programs in the heart of the West Grove community which reach underserved children and families in the area.
GableStage, an award winning local theater company, will manage and operate the new 300-seat state-of-the-art theater, part of the Coconut Grove Playhouse revival project. The new theater facility will be a hub for K-12 educational programs for theater and will be instrumental in supporting the collaboration between GableStage and Florida International University, including the development of a Master of Fine Arts degree program in theater in South Florida.
For more information about the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs’ partnership with Florida International University, GableStage and the Miami Parking Authority for the Coconut Grove Playhouse project, visit www.miamidadearts.org.
