ARTS
2010 ‘idea grants’
Idea Capital, an Atlanta grassroots group with the mission of supporting “risky and challenging work that might not otherwise receive funding,” has announced seven grants totaling $6,400. Paid for by contributions by 46 individuals, many of them artists and arts administrators, the grants will support projects including Michi Meko’s crane-style vending machine that distributes cotton (a commentary on slavery) instead of toy prizes ($1,500); Klimchak’s guerilla percussion performances ($1,000); and a series of letters, studio visits and meals with young artists to encourage them to remain in Atlanta by recent Hudgens Prize winner Gyun Hur ($500). HOWARD POUSNER

MUSIC
The gift of opera
The Atlanta Opera is offering gift certificates to the “Porgy and Bess” or “Cosi fan tutte”[CQ] aficionado on your holiday list. When you buy a $100 gift certificate, the opera will add $20 for free. Information: 404-881-8885. HOWARD POUSNER

THEATER
Georgians’ play No. 1
New York Times chief theater critic Ben Brantley has picked “Gatz,” directed by Vidalia native John Collins and starring Scott Shepherd from Marietta, No. 1 on his New York theater season top 10 list. “The most remarkable achievement in theater not only of this year but also of this decade,” Brantley wrote. “The Elevator Repair Service’s word-for-word presentation of F. Scott Fitzherald’s “Great Gatsby” captured — in inventively theatrical terms — the unmatchable, heady rush of falling in love with a book.” Shepherd, he added, gave “the year’s most heroic performance.” HOWARD POUSNER