LB Opera & Khmer Arts Academy To Receive Grants For $50k Each

LBPOST
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by Ryan ZumMallen
Long Beach News

By Ricklyn Hukriede

Congresswoman Laura Richardson announced today that the National Endowment of Khmer Arts Academy and the Long Beach Opera will be awarded grants in the amount of $50,000 each from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The organization will use the funding to preserve jobs that have been threatened by the current economic downturn.

Since 1979, the Long Beach Opera has been presenting new and rare works with the ultimate goal of instilling an appreciation of opera in youth. The Long Beach Opera is the oldest operatic producing company in the Los Angeles area. Its success and the subsequent founding of other opera companies in the Los Angeles area have made Southern California one of the major operatic centers in the country.

“My father was a musician and so I understand the benefits of being surrounded by various forms of art during adolescences. There are so many professions that can come out of the arts. It truly is an important aspect of every child’s development,” said Congresswoman Richardson.

Congresswoman Richardson also expressed her support for the preservation of Khmer art and Cambodian culture. The Khmer Arts Academy offers the youth of the Greater Long Beach Cambodian area and others an opportunity to achieve through year-round classical dance training. The free workshops serves fifty apprentice dancers at its two Cambodian town studios. The Khmer Arts Academy has been servicing the community for the past 10 years, hosting annual events such as cultural shows, the Cambodian New Year Festival and New Year Parade. For more info on this program checkout khmerarts.org.

“We know that when children are participating in the arts, they have more balance and are more likely to succeed academically,” Congresswoman Richardson noted in the press release today. “Therefore, it is important to help these outstanding organizations preserve jobs during these tough economic times so that they can continue to engage our youth and play a positive role in their academic and social maturity.”

Ricklyn Hukriede is a contributing reporter and current journalism student at Long Beach City College.