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For nearly 25 years, COCA has championed local arts and culture, ensuring that they are woven into Tallahassee's infrastructure. COCA works to find innovative and enduring ways to make the arts and culture a part of this community, bringing inspiration to our citizens and visitors. As local arts agency designated by the city, the county, and the state, we are uniquely qualified to unite both public and private resources to ensure that arts and culture are available to everyone. COCA functions as a community partner and a catalyst for artists and organizations. We offer professional development opportunities and technical advice, collect and disseminate arts information, and act as the region's foremost arts advocate. COCA encourages widespread participation in the arts, helps build strong cultural organizations and individual artists, promotes awareness of the value of the arts, and directly supports cultural programs for children and the community. COCA is committed to promoting arts and culture in all its forms, including visual, performing, literary, and media arts, museums, and arts education. Our fifteen-member board and professional staff have expertise in the arts, creative industries, education, community development, state and local government, and the non-profit and for-profit sectors.
Artspace Projects, Inc., based in Minneapolis, is the nation's leading non-profit real estate developer for the arts, with more than twenty completed projects from coast to coast, and another dozen or so in development. Their mission is to create, foster and preserve affordable space for artists and arts organizations. Experienced project managers creatively finance and coordinate the construction of projects throughout the USA. From Maryland to Texas to Washington to Florida, as well as back home in Minnesota, Artspace develops a mix of affordable live/work units, retail space, and office and performance space for arts organizations. In order to fulfill its mission, Artspace keeps its buildings affordable for artists. Their asset managers insure the financial stability of finished projects, an often overlooked prerequisite to artist security.
The motto of the Boys’ Choir of Tallahassee is “No Excuses.” This outreach program for boys ages 8 to 18 is experiencing tremendous success in musical performance, but isn’t just making beautiful music—it’s saving boys from a dangerous life on the streets. The award-winning choir has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and was invited to sing for the Pope in Italy. The choir has been recognized by President of the United States, the U.S. Congress, multiple governors of the State of Florida, the Florida Legislature, plus the states of Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and California. A very small sample of their many achievements and recognitions:
Of all the boys' impressive accomplishments, Director Earle Lee is most proud of the fact that since the first graduating class in 1998, every graduate of the program has gone on to college. The Boys’ Choir needs and deserves a permanent home in order to continue its vital and excellent work. The Arts Exchange will provide that home.
Since 1972, The Tallahassee Ballet has contributed to the local arts community with its diverse repertoire of classical and contemporary works. Featuring a talented troupe of regional dancers and professional guest artists representing major ballet companies from across North America, the Ballet has a proud tradition of entertaining audiences of all ages. The Ballet provides a professional training ground for young dancers and emerging professionals from across the Big Bend region. The Ballet is composed of 50-55 dancers ranging from ages 9–22. In addition to the Ballet’s major annual concerts, the company exposes area children to the arts through mini-performances, lecture demonstrations at elementary and middle schools, and special school performances of major productions. DanceChance, the Ballet's community outreach program, has for the last ten years provided tuition-free instruction, dancewear, and supplies to economically disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to receive classical ballet training. All the operations of the Tallahassee Ballet are constricted by the lack of space in their current building, which contains a single rehearsal hall, two small offices, and an inadequate costume shop and storage facility. As an anchor tenant of the Arts Exchange, the Ballet will be able to expand its programs to meet the growing need in the community.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities where the Knight Brothers owned newspapers. Knight is committed to strengthening the vitality of these communities, in which list Tallahassee is fortunate to be included. Knight has invested more than $639 million across those communities since 1950. The private, independent Knight Foundation is committed to the drive to transform, with dedication to the discovery of ideas, and the belief that vision, courage, tenacity and know-how are essential. The Knight Foundation is generously supporting the Arts Exchange with a grant of $375,000 for pre-development.
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