The Artistic Innovations Grant Program encourages the spirit of experimentation and exploration, exclusively engaging in-region artists in the creation of new, original works for audiences in the M-AAA region.
Donor Name: Mid-America Arts Alliance
States: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 02/16/2022
Size of the Grant: $15,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The objective of the Artistic Innovations Grant Program is to support the creation of new, original works of art by eligible in-region artists and organizations.
This grant program offers up to $15,000 in support of expenses incurred in the art-making process and premiere of these endeavors. Through generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, M-AAA supports individual artists and arts-based nonprofit 501c3 organizations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The works of art culminate in at least two public-facing events: one, the premiere feature presentation and the second, an educational outreach event that occurs in M-AAA’s six-state region between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.
M-AAA intends to make awards that encourage the spirit of experimentation and exploration and benefit a broad constituency. We encourage applications from a variety of eligible applicants including:
- Artists and organizations that embody and/or serve populations that are underserved, such as those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by external forces such as cultural representation/relevance and accessibility,
- Artists and organizations from rural to urban communities, and
- Artists and organizations that may be applying to M-AAA for a grant for the first time.
Eligible projects must:
- be new and original work that culminates in at least two accessible, public-facing events: one, the premiere feature presentation and the second, an educational outreach event. These events must occur in M-AAA’s six-state region between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. Public-facing events include but are not limited to performance, publication, lecture/demonstration, exhibition, master class and/or workshop;
- exclusively draw upon the talent of artists who reside in the M-AAA region at the time of application and throughout the grant period; and
- have an anticipated project budget that reflects a 1:1 dollar-for-dollar match for the grant amount requested. Grant requests are limited to $15,000. Organizational applicants must show evidence of a cash match. Individual artist applicants may meet the 1:1 match requirement through both cash and in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions and all other funding procured or pending for any project should be included in the budget. Federal and other M-AAA grant funding cannot be used to meet the 1:1 match requirement for any applicant.
Financial support is limited to most direct expenses incurred in the art-making process and the public-facing events. Allowed expenditures include, but are not limited to commissioning fees, artists’ fees, rehearsal or studio expenses, production or exhibition materials, as well as promotion and audience development for all public-facing engagements related to the project. Indirect costs and expenses associated with the project’s opening or closing (e.g., receptions) are not allowed.
Eligibility Criteria
Individual Artist Applicants must:
- not be an Artistic Innovations grant recipient or the featured artist/ensemble in another Artistic Innovations project in fiscal year 2022
- be at least 21 years of age by the application due date
- provide a valid Social Security Number if selected for funding
- have a résumé that demonstrates at least three years of engagement in a creative practice prior to the application due date. The creative practice is not required to have taken place during consecutive years. If the applicant’s creative practice was affected or suspended due to COVID-19, the application may reference 2020 or 2021 activities that were cancelled or reimagined due to the pandemic. Virtual activities are considered creative practice. The applicant may also choose to list creative practice from a year other than 2020 or 2021. For the purposes of defining eligibility, “three-years of engagement” refers to when the applicant began their creative practice independent of activities required in pursuit of an academic degree or other certification
- apply directly on their own behalf. Applications through a fiscal sponsor/agent are not allowed
- have lived in the Mid-America Arts Alliance region full-time for at least three years prior to the application due date and if awarded remain a resident during the entire grant period of activity
- be in good standing with Mid-America Arts Alliance and all other federal agencies, with no delinquent reports and/or grant documents.
Applicant Organizations must:
- not be an Artistic Innovations grant recipient or a featured artist/ensemble or partnering organization in another Artistic Innovations project in fiscal year 2022
- be a nonprofit, 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, a unit of state or local government, or a federally recognized tribal community
- be a nonprofit organization that has its own Board of Directors with its own established bylaws, and manages its own budget independent of a parent organization
- be incorporated in and currently conducting business in one or more states in the M-AAA region, which includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas
- have at least a three-year history of arts programming prior to the application due date. Programming is not required to have taken place during consecutive years. If the applicant’s programming was affected or suspended due to COVID-19, the application may reference 2020 or 2021 programming that was cancelled or reimagined due to the pandemic. Virtual programming, planning, and COVID-19 recovery activities are considered to be programming. You may also choose to list arts programming from a recent year other than 2020 or 2021. For the purposes of defining eligibility, “three-year history” refers to when an organization began its arts programming and not when it incorporated or received nonprofit, tax-exempt status)
- have arts and culture explicitly stated as central to the organization’s mission. An organization that include arts and culture as a primary and major focus of a larger mission may apply if their larger mission is centered in serving a specific cultural group
- compensate all professional artists or supporting professional personnel at no less than the prevailing minimum compensation in accordance with Part 505 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
- apply directly on its own behalf. Applications through a fiscal sponsor/agent are not allowed
- have and provide a valid EIN which will be verified using the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search Tool
- have a valid Data Universal Numbering System ID (DUNS #) or UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) created in the System for Award Management
- be in good standing with M-AAA and all other federal agencies, with no delinquent reports and/or grant documents.
Those that are not eligible to apply include:
- For-profit organizations
- Organizations whose primary focus, programming, and mission is not specifically arts related
- State Arts Agencies
- Fiscal sponsors
- Public television and other public media organizations
For more information, visit Artistic Innovations.
