The Maine/New Brunswick Creative Residency Fund reflects the mandate of the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Maine and New Brunswick to increase cultural exchanges between the two regions.
The agreement establishes an annual exchange program providing professional artists with opportunities for creation and professional development residencies in both Maine and New Brunswick. Participants in this program enjoy complete autonomy and define the objectives of their period of residence. Artists elaborate the parameters and conditions governing its realization in collaboration with an arts or community organization in the area where the period of residence is to take place.
- Deadline: April 1, 2012
- Maximum grant award: $10,000
- Project must take place between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013.
- Funding will be available after June 15, 2012.
The Maine Arts Commission and the New Brunswick Arts Board are working together on a cross-border artist residency program. Artists from Maine can apply for up to $10,000 to cover a one-to-three month residency for a creation-based or professional development project in New Brunswick, Canada.
The grant provided by the Maine Arts Commission under this program is $3,000 maximum for one month, $6,000 maximum for two months and $9,000 maximum for three months. It is intended to cover the following expenses: the artist's personal insurance, accommodation and living expenses. It will also cover the costs of purchasing, transporting and insuring the materials required to carry out the project. Applicants may also request up to an additional $1000 to cover their travel expenses to and from their place of residency. One Creative Residency grant will be granted per year.
An applicant may apply once during any fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) regardless of whether an award is made or not.
Among the program's aims are the following:
- Encourage artists to develop their skills by giving them access to a stimulating new cultural environment;
- Promote the exchange of artistic views and contribute to the establishment of lasting ties between artists in Maine and New Brunswick;
- Strengthen ties between creators and communities;
- Identify new artistic creation, production and presentation networks.
Separate juries set up by both the Maine Arts Commission and Arts New Brunswick will evaluate applications within their state or province under the program.
The committee reviewing Maine applications will be comprised 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.
Recommendations will be presented to the executive committee, or the full Maine Arts Commission, at its next regularly scheduled meeting for approval of the selection process.
Grant proposals are reviewed on a competitive basis using the following criteria:
- Quality of the artistic work
- Artist's contribution to their discipline and their work's level of recognition in the art world
- Information concerning the exchange's relevance and objectives
- Proposal relevancy and feasibility
Please do not submit work in elaborate file folders or packaging. Make copies of all application materials for your records prior to submitting them.
Preparing your documents for submission - All word documents must be saved as .doc or .rtf files and adhere to the following naming convention: lastname_firstname_TitleOfDocument.rtf (example: shaw_kathy_resume.doc or shaw_kathy_narrative.rtf).
- eGRANT Application
Applicants are required to upload all supporting documents (with the exception of video, audio and images) through eGRANT.
- Resume(s).
For the applicant and any other artists to be employed by the project.
- Letter of Intent (use letter of support field in eGRANT)
At the time of registration applicants must submit a letter of intent from the host organization in which the latter undertakes to offer professional support during the period of residence. This letter should specify the nature of the collaboration that the organization intends to establish with the artist/applicant in conjunction with the project.
- Letters of Support
Emerging artists and first time applicants must submit two letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should be provided by fellow practitioners in the same artistic field who exhibit experience and expertise in said artistic field.
- Vendor Form (form below)
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. You are required to mail your signed vendor form to our office. Faxed copies are not accepted.
- Application narrative (form below)
Provide a clear description of your residency project in less than 250 words.
- Artistic Work Samples
Artist Work Sample Submission Guidelines
There are up to ten opportunities to submit work samples with your application, although not every application will ask for ten samples. Work samples are a crucial aspect of your application and it is essential that they are of professional quality and appropriate representations of your current abilities.
Naming of all files should use the following convention: last name_title_year of work (Eg: Doe_Untitled_2010.jpg). There is a maximum of 72 characters file name limit and the name should NOT contain spaces or characters other than letters, numbers, underscores and hyphens.
A Description of Work Samples must be included with the work samples to provide an additional reference for the submissions. Information on this document should list the work and include artist name, title, medium, size (if applicable), year of creation, and any other (brief) information that will better inform the reviewers about the artwork.
Represented work must be current; preferably within the past three years.
FORMAT REQUIREMENTS FOR WORK SAMPLES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Literary
Preferred format .pdf but .doc or .rtf documents will also be accepted.
Literary samples should be examples of an artists literary creation(s), submitted in the way that corresponds to the application. Manuscripts should include works of prose or up to five poems. Script and playwriting applicants should include one act or scene. Manuscripts in all genres must not exceed 20 pages. Selections from a longer script or work of prose may be accompanied by a synopsis of the complete work. All materials must be legible in 12-point or larger type and double spaced.
Images
Preferred format .jpeg, but .pdf images will also be accepted.
Optimal image size is 1920 pixels on the longest side (to accommodate HD viewing) at a resolution of 96 dpi and a file size under 5mb. Images can be a digital photograph or a digital scan.
Audio
Preferred format .mp3, but .wav or .aiff files will also be accepted.
Optimal audio submissions should be an audio file under five minutes in length in a file size under 10mb. If the audio file is longer than five minutes listening points should be indicated on an accompanying document about how to listen to the work sample(s). Links to audio files that are housed online can count as audio submissions.
Video
Preferred Format MPEG-4, but .mov and .avi files will be accepted.
It is preferred that time-based works submit at least one video work sample. Optimal video submissions should be a video or video clip under five minutes in length in a file size under 20mb. If the video file is longer than five minutes viewing points should be indicated on an accompanying document. Links to a video URL that is housed on a hosting site such as Youtube, Vimeo, or the artist’s website can count as a video submission.
If you are unable to upload your materials or you wish to submit files that are copy-protected you may submit the work samples on a CD or DVD. If you do this you must send six copies of the material. Please write the appropriate information to identify the application on the disc itself (not on the case).
Web
Website URL address in a .pdf document, but .doc or .rtf documents will also be accepted.
If the artist has their materials in an online resume or some other networked means of exhibition they can direct reviewers to the material by providing a URL. The URL should link to a specific page containing the work sample. An applicant should not assume the reviewers will navigate into the site if directed to the home page. The applicant may suggest preferred web browsers for optimal viewing of submitted materials in an explanatory document.
The Maine Arts Commission reserves the right to use submitted materials in the promotion of the artist and/or Maine Arts Commission programs. The material will be used in a promotional manner only and will not be used for commercial purposes.
We recommend that contributors consider licensing their media files under a Creative Commons Attribution/Non-Commercial/Share-Alike license.
Mail or fax (207/287-2725) the assurances form and vendor form (if required) to the Maine Arts Commission, 193 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333-0025.
Potential applicants should take some time to familiarize themselves with some of the issues regarding international travel before submitting their applications. Issues relating to
border crossings and
artist visas can be found on
MaineArts.com.
Applicants are required to apply through the Maine Arts Commission eGRANT system. An eGRANT application will be accepted until 11:59 pm, on the date of the application deadline, however; agency staff is only available to answer questions until 5:00 pm. Because of the volume of eGRANT submissions on the day of any grant deadline, we strongly recommend you give yourself a 24-hour buffer.
Applicants who are unable to apply through eGRANT must contact Kathy Ann Shaw at 207/287-2750 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.