Boston, MA (12/20/2023) —Guerilla Opera is pleased to announce that they are among the inaugural recipients of the new Creative Vitality grant program from The Barr Foundation and will receive $150,000 over three years. The foundation’s new Creative Vitality grant program builds on its racial equity work to date and its commitment to centering BIPOC artists, organizations, and communities in their program strategies. Creative Vitality is an opportunity to expand their understanding and support of the BIPOC arts ecosystem more broadly by supporting this first round of 24 arts organizations. A second round of up to 26 organizations will be announced in 2024.

“The final year of this grant will be our 20th Anniversary, so this is huge and comes to us at a strategic time. This transformative grant gives us new energy. We feel truly appreciated and uplifted,” said Guerilla Executive Director Aliana de la Guardia.

The company has several works in development, and yet, approaching Guerilla Opera’s 20th anniversary, its focus is inward.

“This grant allows me to attend the Fundraising Certificate by Philanthropy Massachusetts on behalf of the company, as part of a three-year strategic plan to research, engage in professional development, and grow our infrastructure.”

Guerilla Opera’s current season includes several monthly workshops that explore how opera interacts with other art forms. These workshops explore Guerilla Opera’s groundbreaking productions and include fascinating guest speakers pushing the boundaries of opera.

Their artistic journey includes exciting performances from diverse collaborators that explore the boundaries of opera with Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible, a pioneering new work that harmoniously blends music, dance, and visual spectacle written by Elisabet Curbelo. Collaborators from the Urban Jazz Dance Company, led by Antoine Hunter, lead us through a unique narrative experience delivered through the intricate languages of American Sign Language, expressive movement, and cutting-edge motion-sensing technology. The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage explores the enthralling exploits of historical tech pioneers Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage in Houghton, Michigan in a riveting steampunk adventure crafted with music by Elena Ruehr's, libretto by Royce Vavrek, and inspired by Sydney Padua's acclaimed graphic novel.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news. For more information on Guerilla Opera visit guerillaopera.org.

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WHO WE ARE

Guerilla Opera is a BIPOC and feminist organization, Boston's only experimental chamber opera ensemble, and one of only a few in the world with a mission to exclusively present new works of opera theater. Founded in 2007, the ensemble has accumulated a repertoire of over 40 new works by 30 composers. One of Boston’s most exciting companies, they have garnered a national reputation for innovative contemporary opera and daring performances with Opera News raving that “Guerilla Opera redefines the opera experience.”

The works commissioned by this artist-led ensemble are custom-tailored to their artists, who confront, examine, and question traditional conceptions of what is “operatic” by championing cutting-edge music and immersing audiences in profound experiences. Their vision is to bring new music to new audiences through a unique body of work that ferociously confronts the status quo, eschews antiquated and stereotypical traditions of the art form of opera, and examines stories by and for the people of today through contemporary lenses. They model creative authenticity and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (IDEA) to inspire and influence emerging generations of artists and creators. (guerillaopera.org)