Emergency Funding for Musicians, Fellowships for Foreign-Born Writers in the US and More!

Greetings everyone....I am still under pressure with deadlines but thought I better give you guys at least a couple opportunities lest ye think I am neglecting you. I hope you are having a great weekend....Cheers,
Mirabee

(COMPOSERS/SOUND ARTISTS) This is a great site for composers: http://www.composersforum.org/opportunities.cfm

(MUSICIANS) Sweet Relief Musicians Fund: Sweet Relief provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians who are facing illness, disability, alcohol or chemical dependency, or age-related problems. Sweet Relief also has a new financial assistance program especially for retired or semi-retired older musicians, which helps pay living expenses. Phone: 1-888-955-7880. Sweet Relief: 4150 Riverside Drive #212, Burbank, CA 91505. Phone: (818) 563-5140. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.sweetrelief.org

The following opportunities are from fundsforwriters.com (thanks Hope!)

(WRITERS) Vilcek Foundation Prize for Creative Promise in Arts and Humanities: $25,000 awarded to a foreign-born writer living in the U.S. who demonstrates outstanding early achievement. Accepts poets, novelists, short fiction writers and short creative nonfiction writers. The mission of the foundation is to recognize extraordinary achievements of immigrants to the US. Must be a naturalized citizen or permanent resident. In addition, four finalists will receive $5,000. Submit up to 30 pages of your best work. Click here for details and guidelines: http://vilcek.org/pdfs/Arts_Guidelines.pdf Deadline July 30, 2010.

(ALL) Millay Colony Fellowships: The Millay Colony for the Arts offers one-month residencies to six visual artists, writers and composers each month between the months of April and November. They have a seven-acre campus with meadows and forest in Austerlitz, New York, adjacent to the former Millay home and gardens and the exquisite Harvey Mountain State Forest. (This residency is completely accessible for disabled artists, by the way).
http://www.millaycolony.org/residencies Deadline October 1, 2010.

(ALL) Elsewhere Residencies: Elsewhere residencies invite artists of all kinds to experiment with context, process, and collaboration within a former thrift store turned living museum. Location Greensboro, NC. Now accepting applications from artists, curators, writers, musicians, designers, gardeners, makers, builders, scholars, producers, etc. across media for residencies in 2010. http://elsewhereelsewhere.org/programs/residencies Deadlines: May 31, July 31 and September 30, 2010.

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Have You Voted for My Blog Yet?

Hey you guys, have you voted for my blog yet? The contest ends soon I think. I have no idea what I win but voting my bring more traffic to my site, who knows. Go here:
http://bloginterviewer.com/music/miras-list-mira-bartok and click the "vote now" button near the top. Thanks y'all!

Cheers,
mirabee

Vermont Studio Center Fellowships Due June 15th!

Hey everyone—I hope you all are well. I will probably just be posting very short messages until I turn all my art at the end of June. But I do want you to be aware that there are many deadlines for grants and residencies in June, particularly around June 15th. I highly suggest you check my right hand side bar in the residency section to search for great residencies around the world. On those sites (transartists.org, resartis.org, etc.) you can do a search for the country of your choice, and narrow the search down even more. Here's just one of many coming up and they offer a fellowship! Happy hunting...mirabee

(ALL) Vermont Studio Center Fellowship: VSC awards a number of Fellowships for 4-week residencies throughout the year. Open to all artists and writers. In addition to VSC Fellowships, a variety of special fellowships are also available for full or partial funding. Please visit their website for more information and to download an application: http://www.vermontstudiocenter.org/fellowships/

Deadline is June 15th, 2010.

ARTIST CALL FOR TIMES SQUARE PUBLIC ART PROJECT!

Hi everyone....things are still crazy around here...trying to get all my art finished for my book by June 23rd. This just came in my box today so I thought I'd pass it on to all your public art peeps:

(ARTISTS) The Times Square Alliance is Seeking Public Art Proposals for Time Square: The Times Square Alliance seeks letters of interest from arts organizations and artists across disciplines to present contemporary art projects and art events in the public spaces in and around Times Square. In a one-page letter, applicants can propose a single project or series for anytime between September 2010 and December 2012. Artists and arts organizations are encouraged to propose projects that address the unique nature and rich history of Times Square.

Projects should be able to have an impact in a space defined by dynamic activity and continuous, competing visual stimuli. Organizations, curators and artists are encouraged to consider how their projects will change or effect the space during the presentation and how the 350,000 people here every day (as well millions of virtual viewers) will interact with the presentation.

Letters of Interest are due on July 15, 2010 to [email protected] and should not exceed 500 words. Organization history or artist resume plus five images of relevant past work should be attached, along with an image list of titles and descriptions. Applicants with accepted proposals will be invited to enter a dialogue with the Times Square Alliance. For more info, go to: http://timessquarenyc.org/arts/opencall
Deadline: July 15, 2010.

VOTE FOR MY BLOG and CALLING ALL PERFORMING ARTISTS

Hi Everyone----I'm so sorry I haven't posted. This is a big crunch time for me. All my art for the book has to be done, photographed, etc. by June 23rd so I'm on a roll. Not to mention a million other things connected with this project. I haven't had a chance to do any research this week so I'm just posting this little notice today to make sure you know I still love you!
Also, if you have a second, please go to my sidebar (OR CLICK HERE) and vote for my blog and the interview I did on bloginterviewer.com. I should have posted the link ages ago because the contest runs out at the end of May but I forgot. Anyway, please vote and check out my interview. Thanks! I will have more things to post next week...I'm going out of town this weekend so see you later. Mirabee

(PERFORMING ARTISTS) The Tribeca Performing Arts Center is currently accepting applications for our 2010-11 Artists-in-Residence season! Beginning in Fall 2010, the selected artists will have weekly access to their theaters and the opportunity to present their work during their "Work & Show Festival" in the spring of 2011. They encourage performing artists of all backgrounds and styles to apply! Please visit http://www.tribecapac.org/air.htm for more information about the application process and their current artists. The application deadline is June 21, 2010.

BIG Fellowships & Grants for Writers: Summer Deadlines

Well, I recently got back from NYC after meeting with my editors, the book designer, and a million other great people at Free Press, the imprint of Simon & Schuster that is publishing my book, The Memory Palace. I am in the last leg of the production of this literary creature—I have to finish all the art and do several thousand more little things before it's actually sent off to be printed. I know I told you guys that I would do some posting on the book process, from start to finish, and I will, but it has become clear to me that I will be pretty crazy-busy until about mid-September. But if I can do anything on the subject before then, I will. In the meantime, I will just do my best to keep up with some deadlines. And speaking of writing and publishing books, here are some great opportunities for all you writers out there....Cheers, Mirabee.

(WRITERS) The Astrea Foundation Lesbian Writer's Fund: Two $10,000 grants to emerging lesbian poets and fiction writers. Two $1,500 grants are also given to finalists in each category. Applicants must have published work at least once in a newspaper, magazine, literary journal or anthology. For more information and guidelines, visit the website: http://www.astreafoundation.org. Deadline is July 15th, 2010.

(POETS) Frost Place Resident Poet Award: A prize of $1,000 and a six to eight week residency at Robert Frost's former home in Franconia, New Hampshire, is given each year to a poet, who has published at least one poetry collection. Email: [email protected] or visit the website for more information: www.frostplace.org. Deadline is July 2nd, 2010.

(WRITERS) Fil Prize in Romance Languages: A prize of $150,000 is given annually to honor a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer who writes in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Italian, French, Galician, or Roumanian. The prize is awarded by a consortium of Mexican governmental agencies, universities and banks. Individuals may not apply but cultural or educational institutions, associations or other cultural groups may nominate a candidate. Submit the writer's CV and a letter of support by June 15th. Email: [email protected] or visit the website for more info: www.fil.mx/ingles/i_index.asp.
***In cases like this, it is usually okay to ask someone you know to nominate you, if you think they could write a great letter of support.

(WRITERS & SCHOLARS) The Howard Foundation Fellowships: The Howard Foundation awards a limited number of fellowships each year for independent projects in selected fields. The Foundation targets its support specifically to early mid-career individuals, those who have achieved recognition for at least one major project. Approximately ten fellowships will be awarded in April 2011 for 2011-2012 in the fields of Creative nonfiction, literary translation (into English), Film Studies, and Literary Studies.

Stipends of $25,000 will be awarded to support individuals working on specific writing projects for the academic year 2011-2012. Howard Fellowships may not be used to prepare exhibits or to support institutional programs. There are no residency requirements for individuals who receive awards. The deadline for submission of applications is November 1, 2010. Fellowship recipients will be announced in April 2011. For more information and application guidelines, please write to: [email protected] or visit the Web site: http://www.brown.edu/Howard_Foundation.

(WOMEN WRITERS) Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund: Individual artist grants for women, $500 to $1,500 each are given twice yearly to feminist writers. Women poets and creative nonfiction writers who are US and Canadian citizens can apply. I think the deadline is the end of June. Send an SASE for the entry form and guidelines. (They don't have a website so you must write them snail mail.): Susan Pliner, Executive Director, Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, Individual Artist Grants for Women, P.O. Box 309, Wilton, NH 03086.
***By the way, this organization really got hit hard by the crash. If you are feeling philanthropic this season, you might want to send them a wee donation. They could really use it!

(NONFICTION WRITERS) Richard J. Margolis Award: A stipend of $5,000 and a month-long residency at the Blue Mountain Center, an artists colony in Blue Mountain Lake, NY, is given annually to a nonfiction writer (including creative nonfiction but unfortunately, not memoir). Deadline is July 1st. Visit the website for details: www.margolis.com/award.

Fellowship and Grant Deadlines for Artists, Writers & Graduating Seniors

(ARTISTS) The Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant: The Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) is proud to announce The Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant, a new source of funding for mature American painters. This marks the first year that these grants are made available to the public.

Grants will be offered to American painters aged 45 or older who demonstrate financial need. The primary emphasis is to promote public awareness and a commitment to American art, as well as encouraging interest in artists who lack adequate recognition. Grants will range from $5,000 to $10,000. Applications are available online at www.paam.org or by calling 508.487.1750. Completed applications must be postmarked by August 16, 2010.

(ALL) The Bush Foundation Fellowships: The Bush Artist Program creates opportunities for artists who live in Minnesota and North and South Dakota to advance their work, stimulate dialogue and contribute to deeper community engagement by providing them financial and professional development support. Applicants must be from Minnesota, North Dakota
or South Dakota, and U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Each year, up to 15 artists receive unrestricted grants of $48,000. In addition, fellows receive up to $2,000 to plan and implement an individual communications strategy. For more information, please visit the Bush Foundation website: http://www.bushfellows.org/artist.

(GRADUATING STUDENTS) Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellowship Program: The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program is designed to give exceptional graduates from fifty participating colleges the freedom to engage in a year of independent study and travel abroad. The fellowship provides a grant of $25,000 to each recipient; fellows whose spouse or dependent child(ren) will accompany them may be eligible for a grant of $35,000.

The Program supplies, in addition to the stipend, an amount equal to twelve months' payment of outstanding federally guaranteed student loans (based on 120 months of repayment), to ease the financial burden of fellows during their fellowship year, and to provide encouragement for students to apply for fellowships. Graduating seniors at participating institutions are eligible for nomination by their institution. Write or see web site for additional information, including list of participating institutions, and application procedures. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.watsonfellowship.org. Deadline is November 4th, 2010.

(WRITERS or SCHOLARS) The Princeton University Hodder Fellowships: Two fellowships, $62,000 each, are given annually to writers and/or scholars with "much more than ordinary intellectual and literary gifts," for the pursuit of independent work in the humanities. The selected fellows are usually from outside academia, and in the early stages of their careers. Fellows spend an academic year in residence at Princeton. Ph.D. candidates are not eligible. For further information, see web site or write to Hodder Fellowship at above address. Email: [email protected]. Deadline is November 1, 2010.

(ALL) John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships: are given annually to advanced professionals with a significant record of publication for research in any field of knowledge or creative work in any of the arts. Candidates should already have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. The awards are given for a minimum of six months and a maximum of one year. The average fellowship grant is approximately $43,200. Write or consult the web site for additional information and application. Email: [email protected], Website: www.gf.org. Deadline is September 15th, 2010.

(ARTISTS) Eben Demarest Trust: The Eben Demarest Fund makes one annual grant (never given for scholarship aid) of approximately $15,000 to a mature artist or archaeologist who wishes to concentrate for a time on a chosen field without having to depend entirely on the sale of work or outside employment. The beneficiary is chosen by the Eben Demarest Council. Unsolicited applications from individuals will not be accepted, but applications from organizations or institutions for unusually gifted people will be considered. Write to above address for more details and application. Eben Demarest Council, 650 Smighfiled, Street #240, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Email: [email protected]. Deadline to be announced. ***(Note from Mirabee: here is a case where you could ask an organization that you have a professional relationship with to submit an application for you.)

(WRITERS) The Bard Fiction Prize: annually recognizes a promising young fiction writer under the age of 39; it consists of a monetary award and appointment as writer-in-residence at Bard College for one semester. The recipient gives at least one public lecture and meets informally with students.

To apply, candidates should write a cover letter explaining the project they plan to work on while at Bard and submit a C.V., along with three copies of the published book they feel best represents their work. No manuscripts will be accepted. Write or see the web site for more details. Email: [email protected], Website: www.bard.edu. Deadline is July 15th, 2010.

The Nuts and Bolts of Grant Writing

Happy Sunday! I hope you got a chance to read composer/pianist Steven Schoenberg's interview from this past week but if you haven't, please check it out! And if you are in NYC this coming weekend, I highly suggest that you do what I intend to do, which is go hear Steven perform at the Rubin Museum of Art on Friday, May 7th, at 7 pm.

On another note, this past week I was on a panel in Boston, talking about grants, fellowships and residencies for the Artist's Professional Toolbox Program, a career development program for artists in Massachusetts. Also participating on the panel were Mary Sherman, Executive Director of Transcultural Exchange and Alex Roger Pittman, freelance grantwriter. I was thrilled to see that about two thirds of the group attending were Mira's List fans! And I got to meet a couple of them after the event. For those of you attending, my apologies for being a little slap-happy sometimes and for periodically biting the microphone. I was pretty beat that day! But it seemed like the event was pretty successful despite my quirky ramblings and microphone issues.

Today I thought that I would post the hand-out that I sent everyone home with at the event. It's a condensed version of my article, "Finding Money for Your Dreams" (click on the title if you'd like to read the article in its entirety). It is also posted on the Massachusetts Cultural Council website, Artsake, earlier this year. You might find some of the points below on grantwriting helpful to you if you are in the middle of that process right now.

Cheers,

Mirabee

THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF GRANT WRITING

What is the secret formula to getting a grant? Here is what you need to do:

1. Work really hard at what you do. You can’t get a grant if you have nothing to show.

2. Get your work out there. Except for rare situations, you won’t get funding if you don’t have a track record. Grant givers want to know that art is your passion, not your hobby.

3. Do your homework. First, figure out what kind of grant you need. Here are just a few kinds available to you: emergency grants, travel and research grants, residency fellowships, emerging artist grants, collaborative grants, production grants and more. Next, learn how to search for grants and discern which ones are right for you. If you’ve never published a story before or have never had a one person show, you are not going to apply for a Guggenheim. Read the eligibility requirements. Are you emerging or mid-career? You can be an artist in your fifties, but still be considered emerging if you haven’t had many shows.

4. Know where to look. The Internet is now the best source for your grant search so make friends with technology. There are dozens of websites that post grants and other opportunities. If you are a visual artist, visit the College Art Association and the New York Foundation for the Arts, if you are a writer, check out the listings on Pen-American and Poets & Writers. There are hundreds more so please check my blog for more links.

5. Put yourself out there. Cultivate professional relationships by attending conferences, residencies, workshops, retreats, etc. Check out blogs, list-serves and forums and connect with other artists on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites.

6. Have your ammunition ready. Before applying for a grant, you should have these things at your fingertips: if you are an artist, have a great artist statement. Keep it to around 250 words. Talk about your artistic approach and who your influences were, what your accomplishments have been, what your personal vision is. You also need a good paragraph-long bio. The same goes for writers. Have a professional looking CV and published reviews about your work if you have them. You will need recommendation letters from professionals in your field, so ask for these weeks in advance. Last but not least, you need a good solid work sample for each application. Have you revised that story so it is absolutely polished? Have you double-checked to see if your jpegs are overexposed? Strive for perfection. Your work sample should be the best example of what you do.

7. Start local but dream global. If you’ve never applied for a grant before try your hand at a local arts council grant first. Ask for enough money to attend a writing conference or an artist residency in another state. Most local grants are between $500-1000. That will buy you a plane ticket and more.

8. Ask only for what you need and show that you are resourceful. You have a better chance of getting a grant if you ask for less than what is offered. Also, let the foundation know that you are trying to find funding from other sources, but not for the exact same thing. You can apply to the first organization for travel expenses and another for art supplies or something else.

9. Be clear about what you want. The same rules apply for grants as they do for good writing. Your application should be focused and concise. Use direct verbs and don’t be redundant or vague. Let them know why your work stands out from the others. What you specifically will do with the money. Where else you are looking for funding. Why this opportunity is important at this time in your career. How it will impact your community and the art world at large. Serve the project, not yourself.

10. Pay attention to what the foundation asks for. If you have to write a proposal, note the order of things you are asked to discuss and follow that order. As for page length, if they ask for up to five-pages, don’t submit ten. But by all means, use all five pages if you need them. After you have filled everything out check for mistakes and make sure you send the application on time.

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Grants beget grants, so do residencies, fellowships and any kind of award. When foundations see them listed on your resume, they’ll assume you have resourcefulness and drive. This ripple effect also affects others. Honor those who have helped you, send thank you cards; encourage others to apply for things. And never ever throw in the towel, even if you have a year of rejections. Don’t put stones in your pockets and walk into the river if you don’t get NEA. Go to the river and toss a stone in instead. See the ripple effect of your own making. Grants beget grants beget grants, which inspires others to apply, which in turn begets change and courage and brings forth art and stories that do not destroy but heal. We need your poems and paintings, your songs and films to keep us going. You need money, time and a place to create. So toss a pebble in the stream, open your journal, your studio door or violin case and begin.