This program promotes innovative ways to support traditional culture and artists living and working in Maine through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Folk and Traditional Arts Program. The program funds traditional artists’ fees for presentations in a range of community settings including festivals, gatherings, fairs, museums, tours and other community events.

Because one of the primary aims of the Celebrating Traditional Arts Program is to support the work of practicing traditional artists, the review panel will look closely at the amount of compensation traditional artists will receive. (It is recommend that selected artists be paid a minimum of $250 a day, in addition to travel expenses.)

• Deadline: June 21, 2013
• Maximum grant award: $1,500 (with a required 1:1 in-kind and/or cash match).
• Project must take place: between September 13, 2013 and September 12, 2014
• Funding will be made available: after September 13, 2013

• Deadline: October 4, 2013
• Maximum grant award: $1,500 (with a required 1:1 in-kind and/or cash match).
• Project must take place: between December 19, 2013 and December 18, 2014
• Funding will be made available: after December 19, 2013

What are Traditional Arts?

Traditional arts take many forms including vocal and instrumental music, ethnic dance, instrument making, storytelling, as well as occupational traditions like boat building, chainsaw carving and stone carving and crafts such as basketmaking, beadwork, quilting, knitting, knife making and canoe building. Such practices are rooted in a longstanding sense of place, cultural identity and group membership. This membership can be based on kinship, residence, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, religion or occupation.

Because these arts reflect a group’s cultural expression, practicing traditional artists are valued by their respective communities for their artistic skills as well as their specific cultural knowledge. Such expertise is grounded in a group aesthetic rather than an individual vision and is usually acquired over time within a community context, through observation and imitation, rather than through classes, books, or other means of formal instruction. 

Eligibility Requirements

A professional Maine arts organization (preferably one whose main purpose is to present traditional arts) is eligible to apply if it is a nonprofit organization, legally established in the state of Maine, and has tax exempt status 501(c)(3) from the Internal Revenue Service.

All applicants must have completed and filed all final reports required for previous Maine Arts Commission grants. 

An applicant must demonstrate a fiscal structure that allows them to legally and responsibly utilize grant funds. The applicant must provide a minimum of 1:1 cash or in-kind match. This demonstrates the applicant’s ability to take on the project. This match must be documented as part of the application package.The applicant becomes legally accountable for complying with the above eligibility requirements upon submission of this request.

Review Process

Applications are reviewed by a committee of public members who are selected for their expertise in specific artistic fields. The committee will be chaired by a member of the Maine Arts Commission.

Grant recommendations will be presented at the next regularly scheduled meeting of either the Maine Arts Commission or its executive committee. The approval of the review process, making the grant official, takes place at that time.

The review process and delivery of funds may take up to four months. This means that grant funds may be used to reimburse costs incurred for the project after the grant has been approved. Please plan accordingly. 

Review Criteria

Grant proposals are reviewed on a competitive basis using the following criteria:

• Primary focus on cultural conservation, folklife or traditional culture.
• Artistic quality of the traditional artists.
• Significance of the traditional art to the community.
• Evidence of planning to make the program, project, or presentation accessible to persons with disabilities..

Examples of Successful Grants

Farmington Public Library This grant supported the Western Maine Storytelling Festival which featured the traditional verbal arts of the region and provided honoraria for traditional storytellers, Michael Parent and Gaylon "Jeep" Wilcox.

Abbe Museum This grant supported Indians and Rusticators: Legacy of Encampment Era Art at the Abbe Museum, a demonstration series that will brought five Wabanaki artsts to the Museum from June through October of 2012.

Required Application Materials

Please review the following required materials 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. Make copies of all application materials for your records prior to submitting them.

The preferred format for text files is .pdf, but .doc or .rtf files will be allowed. No other format will be accepted. Failure to save a document correctly may limit its ability to be uploaded through eGRANT and jeopardize the application. Instructions for submitting artistic work samples, if required, can be found below. 

1. eGRANT Application  Applicants are required to upload all supporting documents through eGRANT.
2. Application Budget Form (form below)  No substitutions for the budget form are allowed (Organizations must provide evidence of 1:1 cash or in-kind match.).
3. Application Narrative (form below)  Clear, specific responses to each of the questions, addressed sequentially and numbered. Responses can not exceed one page. The project description is the central element of the grant request.
4. A Biographical Sketch  This should feature information about the artist(s) to be featured in the project.
5. Vendor Form (form below)  To be provided by a first time applicant or those who’s contact information has changed. This is information used by the Treasury to generate a check if the grant is awarded. Applicants should be sure to indicate the address the check should be sent to.
6. Assurances Form (form below)  Form must include the original signature of an authorizing official. Please mark with name of applicant.
7. Work Samples  These are meant to demonstrate the artistic quality of the artist(s) to be featured in the project. These can be in the form of jpegs, audio or video files or a URL link to a Youtube or a web site.

Mail or fax (207/287-2725) the assurances and vendor forms (if required) to the Maine Arts Commission, 193 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333-0025.

Stop!

Each Applicant must speak with Kathleen Mundell, traditional arts specialist, 207/236-6741 or mainetraditionalarts@gmail.com, about the project before submitting an application. Failure to do so will disqualify the application.

How to Apply

Applicants are required to apply through the Maine Arts Commission eGRANT system. An eGRANT application will be accepted until 5:00 pm E.S.T. on the date of the application deadline. Because of the volume of eGRANT submissions on the day of any grant deadline, it is strongly recommended that you give yourself a 24-hour buffer.

Applicants who are unable to apply through e-GRANT must contact Kathy Ann Shaw at 207/287-2750, 877/887-3878 TTY/NexTalk User ID: kathy.shaw or kathy.shaw@maine.gov to discuss an alternative prior to applying. Alternative submissions will not be accepted without prior authorization.

The agency will not accept late or incomplete applications under any circumstance.

Grant information is available in large print format by request. All Maine Arts Commission programs are accessible to people with disabilities. All programs funded by the Maine Arts Commission must also be accessible.

Apply Now!