VENTURA : 8 Artists Awarded $10,000 in Grants

The Ventura Arts Council has awarded $10,000 in grants to eight artists for visual and performance projects, officials said.

The projects, which include an original opera, a collage and dance performances, will all be shown in Ventura, said Laura Zucker, executive director of the Ventura Arts Council.

Most of the artists are from Ventura, but residency is not a requirement, Zucker said. “The performances must appear in Ventura between July 1 and June 30, 1993,” she said.

Eighteen applications were submitted to the Ventura Arts Council Artists Fellowship Grant Program, and a panel of judges evaluated the proposals based on the body of work by the applicant, the quality of the proposal and the benefit of the project to Ventura residents, Zucker said.

The largest grant was awarded to Jeff Kaiser of Ventura, who will receive $2,750 to compose, produce and direct an original opera titled, “The Rooster Brings Heresy.”

The other winners are:

* Javier Gomez, who received $2,250 to stage two cultural celebrations, the Day of the Dead and the Dec. 12 Posadas celebration of the Virgin de Guadalupe.

* Kim Loucks, who received $1,100 to create an exhibition of drawings and paintings titled “Voices.”

* Pamela Pilkenton, who received $1,000 to produce an original episodic play spoofing local, cultural, social and political events of the past year.

* Carlos Gonzales, who received $900 to perform two solo concerts and lectures.

John Biggs, who received $900 to compose music for a free concert.

* Yvette Sutton, who received $500 to create a panel depicting the migration and settlement of blacks in Ventura County.

Melissa Fair, Yvonne Konneker, Pamela Pilkenton and Girard Louis Drouillard will share $600 to collaborate on a dance performance.