If you want to get an idea of just how rich in art and other cultural resources Madison and the surrounding areas are, get a load of these many generous grants, just one round of four for the calendar year, awarded by the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission.

It seems like a really high quality and diverse group of awards to me.

What do you, as audiences or recipients or just citizens and taxpayers, think?

Is there one award you find particularly deserving?

Is there one award you find disappointing or even alarming?

Do you discern trend - positive or negative?

Here the official press release:

The Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission announces the award of 44 project grants totaling $129,410 for community arts, cultural and local history programs serving an estimated 455,000 area residents.

The commission emphasizes private-public partnership in raising and awarding money.

In the Commission's first competition of the year, county dollars combined with funds from the American Girl's Fund for Children, Endres Manufacturing Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Madison Community Foundation's Arts Access Fund, Overture Foundation, and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation will be matched by over $1.1 million from other sources. The grant recipients follow.

Chazen Museum of Art, $3,000, for Ringmaster Exhibition and Circus Day Outreach supporting the centerpiece of an exciting, interactive, family-friendly community event on May 10 associated with a new exhibition featuring Judy Onofrio's art of the circus.

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA), $4,000, supporting TL Solien: Myths and Monsters, a retrospective exhibition featuring large-scale paintings and intimate works on paper by UW-Madison art department faculty member, TL Solien. Fifty works including paintings, prints, collage, mixed media, and drawing encompassing Solien's career will be shown in May through August.

MMoCA, $6,000, to help support "George Segal: Street Scenes." This exhibition will be the first to explore the late Segal's work in relation to the American urban environment. Included will be a survey of figurative plaster sculptures and a bronze cast of the famous Depression Bread Line. The show will run September through December and then travel to several locations around the country.

MMoCA, $2,250, for Art Cart and Art Cart EXTRA!, celebrating the 33rd year of this popular summer arts program in Dane County. In partnership with Madison School Community Recreation, the Art Cart will visit over 100 locations throughout the county, June through August, bringing trained instructors, colorful supplies, arts project instructions, and encouragement to children and families in easily accessible settings.

James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, $2,000, to support Building a Visual Arts Legacy: The Wisconsin Visual Arts Lifetime Achievement Awards, an exhibition featuring the outstanding, varied, work and artistic creativity of an impressive collection of Wisconsin artists. All have been recognized with the lifetime achievement award, beginning in the early 1990s when the program was established up to the present. The show will run May through early June.

James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, $2,400, for "Verisimo/Verita" and "Lake Superior Blues," side-by-side solo exhibitions by Amy Arntson and Bruce Severson, both keen observers of water in the landscape, shown in June and July.

Bayview Community Center, $2,100, supporting Paint Pals-Eco Pals, a pilot project bringing together urban and rural children for shared arts and environmental activities in May through December.

Madison Ballet, $4,000, in support of Behind the Curtains, presenting a dance educational experience for elementary through high school students culminating in a special performance, including glimpses behind the scenes, of "The Nutcracker" at Overture Hall on Dec. 19.

Cycropia Aerial Dance, $1,500, for the 2008 performance featuring low-flying trapeze dance and aerial art in a magical outdoor setting in the evening, as part of the Orton Park Festival on Aug. 22-23.

Kanopy Dance Company, $3,000, in support of "Dark Nights: A Dance Opera in Two Acts," an evening-length work opening the company's season, in the Overture Center's Promenade Hall, Oct. 17-19.

Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, $4,000, supporting eleven chamber music concert events featuring a varied program during 12 days in late August in the intimate rural setting of the Token Creek Festival barn.

Independent Living, $1,250, for Celebrate Independence Concerts, presenting eight concerts with special appeal to senior citizens featuring popular local musicians and ensembles at three different venues, May through December.

con vivo! music with life, $1,000, in support of its M & M's in May concerts presenting chamber music by several British composers in mid-May.

Madison Symphony Orchestra, $3,500, for MSO's Fall Youth Concerts that provide opportunities for several thousand young people to see and hear soloist winners of the Fall Youth Concerto Competition perform with the orchestra in a program featuring "The Planets" by Gustav Holst in late November.

Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association, $4,250, supporting the Gander Dancer Festival in cooperation with the Mid-Continental Railway Museum offering a full day of free concerts showcasing bluegrass and other traditional American music, free train rides, railroad heritage displays, and local history exhibits in a family-friendly venue at the new Promenade park area in Mazomanie on July 20.

North/Eastside Senior Coalition, $2,000, in support of the 15th season of Summer Concert Series at Warner Park presenting favorite local bands at six, free, evening concerts during June and July.

Madison Blues Society, $900, to help support their 6th Annual Blues Picnic presenting local and regional musicians along with a national headliner act, interactive activities for young people, ethnic food, and celebration at Warner Park on June 21.

Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, $3,000, supporting a side-by-side concert providing Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra members with the opportunity to interact and perform with musicians from the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center on May 17.

Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, $5,000, in support of Sound the Trumpet-Concerts on the Square 25! on July 9 presenting virtuoso trumpeter Ryan Anthony playing a trio of trumpet classics along with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

Capitol City Band Association, $2,000, to support Capitol City Band Concerts in their 40th season presenting twelve, varied outdoor concerts at Rennebohm Park.

Wisconsin Union Theater, $2,000, supporting the Isthmus Jazz Festival, a four-day outdoor musical extravaganza offering free performances highlighting talented local jazz musicians June 5-8 at the Memorial Union Terrace.

Madison Symphony Orchestra, $3,000, in support of concerts featuring two outstanding young women artists, violinist Sarah Chang and Estonian conductor Anu Tali, November 7-9th in Overture Hall.

Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, $4,000, to support Same Carriage Fresh Horses: Chamber Music Festival including works of three living composers and several local premiere, outreach activities and concerts for young people and seniors, in varied venues June 11-29.

Jazz at Five, $4,500, for the 15th season of the free, popular, outdoor concert series in downtown Madison in August and September.

Madison Folk Music Society, $2,250, supporting Folk on State, an informal summer outdoor concert series featuring local and regional folk groups on State Street in Madison every Saturday afternoon throughout the summer.

Dane Dances!, $3,500, for Dane Dances!, supporting outdoor, community-building events showcasing live local and regional bands playing danceable music on the Monona Terrace rooftop or Memorial Union Terrace every Friday evening in August.

Madison Youth Choirs, Inc., $1,000, in support of School Outreach Tour, a special opportunity for the nine MYC choirs to present free concerts in schools countywide in the spirit of sharing choral music with peers.

Common Arts on behalf of American Players Theatre, $3,000, supporting American Players Theatre Actor Workshop Series, offering in-classroom workshops and performances by APT actors for elementary to high school students countywide, featuring the works of Shakespeare, September through November.

Lincoln and Mendota Elementary Schools/Madison, $2,000, to help support the artist residency of award-winning young African American artist and illustrator, Kadir Nelson, October 16-17th, in partnership with the Wisconsin Book Festival.

Opera for the Young, $2,610, to help support public outreach activities directed especially to senior citizens and families featuring both professional singers and young people performing The Magic Flute in October and November.

Madison Children's Museum, $3,000, supporting 2008 Summer Guest Artist Series, presenting four weeks of summer programs dedicated to exploring the arts through hands-on interactive activities led by local artists and museum staff.

African Association of Madison, $4,000, for Africa Fest 2008, celebrating and showcasing the experiences of people of African descent and the effects of the African Diaspora on American music, arts and culture - the 10th anniversary of this local festival held at Warner Park on Aug. 16.

Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, $6,000, in support of bringing the "Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1930-1945" exhibit from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to Madison with special programs targeting middle and high school students and freely accessible to the public in the UW-Madison Memorial Library, October through December.

Madison Opera, Inc., $4,000, for Opera in the Park 2008, a free, summertime concert under the stars featuring popular hits and Broadway favorites sung by world-class soloists and accompanied by local musicians on July 26.

Arts Wisconsin, $3,800, supporting ROARrrr-Ole Two-Feet's Great Discovery, a musical folktale celebrating the creativity of local African American actors, its playwright, and composer, presented on an Overture Center stage in early fall.

Madison Repertory Theatre, $4,000, for presentation of "The Greeks," an adaptation of Greek dramas: "Iphigenia in Aulis" and "The Trojan Women" by Euripides and Achilles from Homer, in collaboration with UW-Madison's Department of Theatre and Drama, in the Overture Center's Playhouse during the month of November.

Four Seasons Theatre, $5,000, supporting the local theatre premiere of highly acclaimed Broadway show, "Thoroughly Modern Millie," with full musical score featuring 1920s tunes and dazzling dance at the Memorial Union Theater in August.

Inkslingers (playwrights group), $1,000, for Inkslingers Short Plays, presenting a full show of original, new short plays by local playwrights at TAPIT/New Works and Oak Park Place in June.

Madison Savoyards, $2,500, for production of "The Mikado," including six performances of this favorite Gilbert and Sullivan light opera, in UW-Madison's Music Hall during July.

Oregon Straw Hat Players, $2,800, in support of Broadway classic, "Finian's Rainbow," a community theater production involving participants of all ages, for six performances in the Oregon School District Performing Arts Center in August.

University Theatre, $1,800, for 2008 Wisconsin Wrights New Play Project, a university and community collaboration in its 2nd year fostering and showcasing the development of new works by Wisconsin playwrights, with primary readings in UW-Madison's Hemsley Theatre in Vilas Hall, during late May and early June.

Encore Studio for the Performing Arts, $2,500, supporting "Lost Track" and "Found Money," two new, full-scale original plays performed by the only Wisconsin professional theater company dedicated to people with disabilities, in the Bartell Theatre in May.

East Side History Club/Goodman Atwood Community Center, $2,000, supporting publication of "East Side Album: Stories, Photos, and Recipes"¦,." a collection highlighting the personal, community, and industrial history of Madison's east side neighborhoods, to be unveiled and distributed in the fall.

Sharon Kilfoy, $2,000, in support of "The History of Willy Street in the 1970s---Changing the World Through Art," a project that documents and commemorates the artistic activity composing part of Williamson Street's and the greater community's heritage. Collected oral histories eventually will be presented in a vibrant outdoor community mural.

In addition, the Commission approved eight capital grants totaling $20,834 for equipment purchases and building improvements. Capital grants awarded to small arts organizations with funds provided to the Commission by the Overture Foundation are matched dollar-for-dollar by the recipients with dollars from other local sources.

Recipients follow:

Mount Horeb Landmarks Foundation, $4,165, for restoration of District #1 school house.

Verona Area Community Theater, $2,123, for purchase of theatrical set storage equipment.

Four Season Theatre, $4,000, for purchase of wireless microphones and related sound equipment.

VSA Arts of Wisconsin, $2,376, for purchase of art-making, storage, display and sound equipment.

Madison Youth Choirs, Inc., $2,500, for purchase of new boychoir blazers.

Madison Blues Society, $670, for purchase of festival tents and platform trucks.

Madison Children's Museum, $2,000, for purchase of new tools and equipment for exhibits workshop.

Gerald Bartell Community Theatre Foundation, $3,000, for installation of a new bar and concessions counter for theatre lobby.

In 2008, the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission will award $455,000 in public-private funds to nonprofit groups, schools, individuals, and municipalities for arts, cultural, and local history programs.

Application deadlines are Feb. 1, June 1 and Sept. 1.

For more information, contact Karen Crossley, Cultural Affairs office, City-County Building, Madison, 608-266-5915, or see www.culturalaffairscommission.com.