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Individual Artist Fellowships

The following guidelines are designed to assist Maine artists who are applying for the Individual Artist Fellowship program. These grants reward artistic excellence, advance the careers of Maine artists, and promote public awareness regarding the eminence of the creative sector in Maine.

The Individual Artist Fellowship program is highly competitive. Individual Artist Fellowships in the amount of $13,000 will be awarded annually. Artistic excellence is the sole criteria.

Deadline

The postmarked application deadline is June 12, 2009.

E-GRANT will accept applications until 11:59 pm, E.S.T., however; agency staff is only available to answer questions until 5:00 pm, E.S.T. Because of the volume of e-GRANT submissions on the day of any grant deadline, we strongly recommend you give yourself a 24 hour buffer.

The agency is unable to accept late applications under any circumstance.

Who is Eligible to Apply

Any individual Maine artist who:

has a valid Maine address as a full time resident of the state, and
is 18 years of age or older at the time of the application, and
is not enrolled as a full-time student in a field related to the application, and
has resided full-time in Maine for a minimum of two years at the date of application, and
has completed and filed all final reports required for previous Maine Arts Commission grants.

Multi-artist applications must represent a team or group who consistently work together to produce a single body of work. Multi-artist applicants must also own the legal rights to the name being used.

Creators only are eligible to apply. A creator is an artist who consistently produces original work. For example, an artist may apply as a composer, but not as a singer; as a choreographer, but not as a dancer. Applicants must apply with their own original work.

Artists may submit only one application for an Individual Artist Fellowship during a single grant period. Artists who have previously received Individual Artist Fellowships from the Maine Arts Commission may not apply for the next ten grant cycles within that discipline. An artist may be awarded a maximum of three Individual Artist Fellowship awards in a lifetime.

How to Apply

Guidelines are available in large print format by request. All Maine Arts Commission programs are accessible to people with disabilities. All programs founded by the Maine Arts Commission must also be accessible.

Accessible Print Symbol Telephone Typewriter Symbol Sign Language Interpretation Symbol

Defining e-GRANT

Applicants are now required to apply through the Maine Arts Commission e-GRANT system. Forms to accompany e-GRANT applications can be downloaded on your computer, filled out and electronically uploaded to the e-GRANT system. Applicants who have a compelling reason that they are unable to apply through the e-GRANT system must discuss an alternative at this time.

e-GRANT provides the following advantages over the standard application format:

e-GRANT allows applicants who apply for multiple grants to supply contact information only once. Only one copy of the electronic application is required.
e-GRANT guarantees that an application will be received by the deadline. Applicants are notified as soon as the e-GRANT application is downloaded.
e-GRANT will not allow an incomplete application to be submitted, but rather will identify missing materials. Complete applications are guaranteed to be reviewed.
e-GRANT allows an applicant to submit narrative, budget information and resumes, letter of intent, etc. by attaching word processed documents.
e-GRANT applications may require an original signature or artist materials that can not be submitted electronically. These must also be postmarked by the deadline as well.

Please review the following guidelines carefully in preparing your application materials. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in disqualification of your application. Only complete applications will be accepted.

Artist materials submitted by awardees will be retained for the archives unless requested otherwise.

Please submit the following:

e-GRANT Application Forms: Applicant Information and Project Information.
One complete set of properly labeled Artistic Materials. A list describing these samples, including titles, dimensions, length of performance, title of poems, etc., must accompany the application.
Biographical Information.

Please do not submit work in elaborate file folders or packaging. Make copies of all forms and other application materials for your records prior to submitting them to the Maine Arts Commission. If you have questions about your Individual Artist Fellowship application, please contact Donna McNeil, contemporary art & public art associate at 207/287-2726, donna.mcneil@maine.gov or

TTY/NexTalk 877/887-3878 User ID: donna.mcneil.

Review Process

A jury selects Fellows on the sole basis of artistic excellence. Jurors are selected for expertise in a specific field, as well as for a broad-based familiarity with other fields. Every attempt will be made to select nationally renowned jurors. Due to the competitiveness of the Individual Artist Fellowship program and to avoid conflict of interest, all jurors selected for this program reside out of state. Because the sole criterion for selection is artistic excellence, the jury may, at its discretion, make fewer awards.

All applications are reviewed anonymously to ensure equity. Supporting materials, including resumes and statements of intent, are only reviewed at the specific request of a juror. Separate juries are assembled to review visual, literary and performing arts. Therefore, the bulk of the review is based on artistic materials alone. The jury’s recommendations are presented to the Maine Arts Commission who approves the selection process at its next regularly scheduled meeting. Applicants will receive notice following that meeting.

Review Criterion

All grant proposals are reviewed on a competitive basis using the following criterion:

Highest level of artistic excellence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Artistic Materials

Artists applying to the Individual Artist Fellowship program must submit materials in the format described on the following pages. Because of the competitiveness of the Individual Artist Fellowship program, the format for submitting artistic materials is more exacting than other programs. Digital, audio, video or manuscript clarity is the most important aspect of your presentation to the jury. It is essential that materials are of the professional quality necessary to represent your artwork well.

Formats

Please use the following instructions to insure your eligibility. All applications must include one set of artistic materials (applicants in literature must send four complete copies of the manuscript and if a synopsis is included please also include four copies as well ,) and a description list.

CD ROM for Visual Submissions

The application package must include one set of ten images, depicting individual pieces, installations, designs models or products. Detail shots may be included.
Preferred image format is a digital/scanned image saved as a .jpeg. The images need to be at least 5X7 inches (no larger than 8X10 inches) and saved at a resolution of no less than 300 dpi. Color images are preferred, so that they may be used on the web site (in color) or in printed publications (in color or black and white).
When you save your image, use the following guidelines to name your file:
Title of image_year of work.jpg
For example: Untitled_2004.jpg
Use no spacing in the name, instead use an underscore.
Work samples must be accompanied by a list that includes the artist's name, titles of works, dimensions, materials and date of completion for each image submitted.
Represented work must be current, which means preferably within the past three years, except in the case of large-scale installations.
NOTE: Slide or .TIF format are no longer accepted for application to this program.

CD ROM and DVD for Audio and Video Submissions

The application package must include four identical quality recording(s) in CD ROM or DVD format.
Preferred formats are:
Windows audio or video files (.avi or .wav),
MP3 (.mp3 or .m3u),
Moving Picture Experts Group (.mpeg, .mpg, .m1v, .mp2, .mpa, .mpe, .mp2v or .mpv2).
Selection(s) should be no more than of 15 minutes in length, but may include the performance of more than one piece. Submissions may include a single selection that may be used to represent the artist’s main body of work, or an artist(s) may submit a compilation of excerpts from several different pieces. If an artist is submitting a commercially produced CD or DVD then they must clearly indicate selected tracks or portions of tracks. These submissions should allow for jurors to hear/watch selected segments of larger works without viewing the entire piece.
DVDs and CDs should contain enough space between selections to alert the jurors that they are beginning a new work.
Work samples must be accompanied by a separate sheet listing for the application review with the artist’s name, title(s) of work(s), chapter number, minute and second that each excerpt falls within the DVD, date(s) of completion, and additional production credits. Additionally, please leave at least 30 seconds of black space/sound if submitting a menu-less DVD.
Represented work should be current, which means preferably within the past three years.
NOTE: Audio cassette or VCR format is no longer accepted for application to this program.

MANUSCRIPT Submissions

The application package must include four identical manuscript copies with up to five poems (not to exceed 20 pages total), or works of prose (up to 20 pages). Script and playwriting applicants should include one act or scene only up to 20 pages.
All materials must be legible in 12-point or larger type, double spaced on 8 ½” x 11” paper and properly collated. The name of the author should not appear on any manuscript material.
Selections from a longer script or work of prose must be accompanied by a synopsis of the complete work. Four copies of the synopsis are required as well.
The manuscript must not include evidence of publication. Copied, published material that is not in original manuscript format will not be accepted. Authors who illustrate their own work may send in unpublished renderings.
Represented work must be current; which means preferably within the past three years.

Biographical Information

Please include a resume, curriculum vita, or biographical sketch that speaks to your experience as a practicing artist. The jury will not favor one format over another, but please send only one version. For instance, an academic record may be of importance to one artist, an exhibition record to another and documentation of the passing of a cultural tradition to another. However, in the case of the Individual Artist Fellowship program, this material is referenced only if requested by a juror. Staff also uses these materials to promote the fellows once they are selected.

Although artistic materials are always the most important factor, a neat and well-designed resume, vita or sketch speak to your professionalism. Please do not send letters of support, newspaper articles and other promotional materials.

Maine Arts Commission
193 State Street
25 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0025
phone: 207/287-2724
fax: 207/287-2725
tty: 1-877/887-3878
e-mail: MaineArts.info@maine.gov