The Georgia Council for the Arts, a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), today announced the recipients of its Bridge, Project, and Arts Education grants as part of its initial disbursement of grants for fiscal year 2022. A total of 266 grants were awarded that will provide more than $2 million in funding towards arts initiatives throughout the state. 

“We are beyond grateful that the City and WSAV will continue their lead partnerships to deliver the 40th Savannah Jazz Festival, poised to reach our biggest audience ever,” says Paula Fogarty, Interim Executive Director. Last year’s festival was live streamed from Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum reaching 175,000 people around the world and all shows will be streamed again this year in front of the largest live audiences.

Business owners and entertainment professionals from Columbus and beyond attended the Film Columbus GA virtual event on Wednesday, June 23rd. The event, usually held live, connects entertainment professionals, artists and local businesses.

Bennett Thrasher, one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing certified public accounting and consulting firms, is one of six firms in the country approved by the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) to conduct new mandatory film tax credit audits for production companies.

TDJREV continues to be focused on change and intentional about how and where it invests to ensure that its development vision helps break down barriers to success, supports the social and financial impact goals within communities to help the economy better perform and fuel advancement for all citizens.

“We are beyond grateful that the City and WSAV will continue their lead partnerships to deliver the 40th Savannah Jazz Festival, poised to reach our biggest audience ever,” says Paula Fogarty, Interim Executive Director. Last year’s festival was live streamed from Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum reaching 175,000 people around the world.  

In addition to producing the film, Bradford helped write the screenplay and played the lead character. Other actors hired locally were for roles as extras and six of the baseball players used in “Undefiled” were former collegiate players from Macon.

As the union behind entertainment, we know that funding for the arts directly impacts job growth and work for our skilled craftspeople. Federal arts agencies – like the National Endowment for the Arts – support working families, bolster local economies, and ensure all Americans have access to the arts and entertainment. 

By launching the program, KSU has joined a growing number of institutions nationwide participating in intercollegiate Esports. According to the National Association of Collegiate Esports, of which Kennesaw State is now a member, there were just seven varsity Esports programs at colleges and universities in July 2016.

“We are very excited about our next quarterly Film Columbus GA event. These two speakers bring a very rounded approach to what’s happening in Georgia and the Columbus region, ” stated Joel Slocumb, Columbus Film Commissioner.