M-AAA to award $500,000 to Individual Artists in Central Arkansas

Mid-America Arts Alliance announces the launch of a new program, called Catalyze. Made possible through the support of the Windgate Foundation, the Catalyze program will award $500,000 to fifty central Arkansas individual artists through practice-based grants over two years.

Donor Name: Mid-America Arts Alliance

State: Arkansas

County: Selected Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 02/24/2023

Grant Duration: 12 months

Details:

Objectives

The Catalyze program is designed to ignite the careers of individual artists through money, strategic management, and mentoring.

Money: Artists receive $10,000 awards to advance their artistic career. These practice-based grants allow the individual artists to select how best to use the funding in support of their self-determined goals for success. Funds may be used for any purpose that supports the continued development of their creative practice, including but not limited to equipment, travel, studio space, child care, professional services, research, supplies, and contingency savings.
Strategic Management: Artists participate in professional development programming to develop, refine, and implement strategic plans for their practices. Artists are asked to independently complete approximately two hours of strategic planning exercises prior to the Catalyze Retreat. Utilizing a dynamic small peer group process, artists will engage in learning, application, and receive peer-based support in small groups of five Catalyze Fellows led by an experienced Artist Peer Facilitator. Small group peer support will continue post-retreat with two 90-minute virtual small group sessions held in the following year.
Mentoring: Artists will select from more than fifty experienced M-AAA Peer Artist Facilitators for one-on-one mentoring sessions where they can explore specific practice-related questions and receive support. Artists will have two 50-minute one-on-one sessions in the year following the Catalyze retreat.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply for an Catalyze grant, an artist must:

Be at least 21 years of age by the application due date.
Be a full-time resident of the State of Arkansas and have established a minimum of one-year residency by the application due date in one of the following central Arkansas counties: Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Jefferson, Lonoke, Perry, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Van Buren, White, and Yell.
Create work in any artistic discipline, including but not limited to dance, film, literary, music, theatre, and visual art.
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 canceled 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.
Commit to participating in peer-to-peer strategic planning activities during the grant year, including the Catalyze Retreat at the Capital Hotel in Little Rock, AR, from 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 24, 2023 through 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 25, 2023 (meals and private lodging provided).
Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or have non-resident status and provide a valid Social Security Number if selected for funding.
Be in good standing with Mid-America Arts Alliance, with no delinquent reports and/or grant documents.
Not have received a grant of $1,000 or more through any other M-AAA granting program during its 2023 Fiscal Year (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023).
Not have previously received a Catalyze grant.
Not be a currently enrolled student in an undergraduate or graduate program.

Review Criteria

Review of application materials will focus on:

Artistry
- Successful applicants will demonstrate artistic excellence, broadly defined by the practitioners and norms in their discipline, and show a deep commitment to their work. Selected artists will have an active creative practice for a minimum of three years and show motivation to continue and further evolve.
Program Readiness
- Selected artists will have the desire to advance their career and deepen their practice, engage in an active strategic management process surrounding their practice, as well as an interest in sharing their work and process as part of a network of artists in a peer learning environment.
Impact of Funding on Practice
- Successful applicants will clearly identify the ways in which Catalyze funds will impact their careers and creative practices. These identified impacts should relate to previous challenges and/or desired futures.