MDC Koubek Center Recommended for NEA’s Our Town Grant
Miami, May 9, 2018 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center is recommended for a two-year grant of $50,000 for ¡Baila Little Havana! through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town program, which just announced 60 awards totaling more than $4 million supporting projects across the nation.
“The Koubek Center is continually deepening its bond with the community,” said Koubek Center’s General Manager, Jessica Gloria. “This initiative is one more great offering for the neighborhood, and aligns perfectly with our stellar programming and underlying mission.”
¡Baila Little Havana! is an initiative to provide culturally-rooted, family-friendly opportunities that promote dance and play as a way to address concerns around physical fitness in neighborhood residents. In partnership with the City of Miami’s Live Healthy Little Havana program, the Koubek aims to get the community active through it’s signature series, Little Havana Social Club and Playtime, as well as through on-going dance and movement classes.
Little Havana Social Club will invite community members to engage in social dance to live music of different genres from Latin America, while the free, bi-lingual family program Playtime will feature dance classes, performances and other activities to get kids moving. Mental and physical health will be uplifted by the benefits of exercise, music and connection to familiar culture, and by forging relationships and mutual support between neighbors.
“The variety and quality of these Our Town projects speaks to the wealth of creativity and diversity in our country,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Through the work of organizations such as Miami Dade College’s Koubek in Little Havana, NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are.”
For the latest information on the Koubek Center, visit Koubekcenter.org and stay up to date by signing up for the newsletter and following on social media.
About The Koubek Center
The Koubek Center is an intellectual, cultural, and community hub in the heart of Little Havana. A historic landmark in South Florida, the revitalized mansion remains true to its pioneering heritage—celebrating its multicultural community with workshops, art exhibitions, theater performances, literary readings, concerts and more. In addition to the mansion, the iconic space includes glorious gardens, the Koubek theater, the ArtSpace gallery, classrooms, and mini performance spaces.
The programs of Koubek Center are made possible with the generous support of: Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council; the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissionaires; the State of Florida, Department of State , Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Southern Exposure: Performing Arts of Latin America, a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
MDC Live Arts Contact: please contact Alexa Burneikis, 305-237-7733, aburneik@mdc.edu