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MOJA Arts Festival Plans to Expand Literary Program, Other Initiatives
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The MOJA Arts Festival is expanding its 2024 literary program to continue educating the community on Black culture and history.
On Tuesday, the Ways and Means Committee voted to approve a grant request to help fund MOJA Festival’s upcoming initiatives. The committee approved the Office of Cultural Affairs’ request to accept a $20,000 grant.
The Office of Cultural Affairs is excited for the renewal of its MOJA literary program, the 4th Grade Readout, which aims to supply a thousand hard copies of recent titles to fourth graders. The chosen books will highlight Black culture and teach Black history.
Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of Charleston, Scott Watson, shared how this program aims to improve students’ reading abilities.
“We want to make sure that kids who may not have the same access to kind of reading coaches to an at-home reading that everybody has new opportunity to engage with a title that’s age appropriate and kind of pushes them a little bit,” Watson said.
The $20,000 grant is from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read award to support MOJA’s literary program.
The city must match this grant, which will be sourced from corporate sponsors, admissions revenue, and private donations.Council Member for the City of Charleston, Keith Waring, expressed his enthusiasm for MOJA’s future.
“MOJA is very well positioned to kind of go to the next level. MOJA was incepted underneath the city and now in the in the process it’s not finished. It’s only 501(c)(3) that will have its own power board in my opinion, which would have Fortune 500 people on that board,” Waring said.
The committee also approved several other grants and initiatives for MOJA.
“We’ve tried to work throughout the year now with not just the grants that are coming in approved this evening at Council. We’ll be launching some programs in the fall that will stretch right on through into the winter and spring for next year,” Watson said.
Source: MOJA Arts Festival plans to expand literary program, other initiatives
About MOJA Arts Festival
The MOJA Arts Festival is a multi-disciplinary festival produced annually and directed by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the MOJA Planning Committee, an all-volunteer community arts and cultural group.
Additional assistance and guidance is provided by the less formal networks of the MOJA Advisory Board, a group of civic leaders who assist with fundraising and advocacy, and the Friends of MOJA patron circle, representing individual and corporate donors.
Continue reading about the Festival and learn more about the History of the Festival.
