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Sustaining Traditional Arts in the Community

Traditional Arts

Apply for this grant

Sustaining Traditional Arts in the Community is designed to encourage communities to develop innovative ways to sustain traditional arts in their communities. The program provides grants of up to $2,000 to communities to support programs, activities or events which strengthen traditional arts in the community and help ensure the survival of valuable traditional arts. These grants require a 1:1 match. The match can be cash, in-kind, or a combination of cash and in-kind. Proposals to this program do not fit the model of Traditional Arts Apprenticeships, but rather seek new ways to ensure the transmission of culture.

What are traditional arts?

Traditional arts are skills and aesthetic knowledge that are handed down in an informal fashion in the process of day-to-day living. They are arts that emanate from the community and the community’s experience.
Traditional arts are practices passed on within communities (defined by ethnicity, tribe, family, occupation or common history.) The practice of traditional arts reflects a community's shared cultural heritage.
Traditional Arts are usually learned in an informal way, through performance or example rather than formal academic training.
Traditional Arts are arts that are influenced by a traditional view of the world; an aesthetic that is accepted in the community as the way things ought to be done.

Deadline

The application deadline is December 12, 2008 for projects beginning after July 1, 2009.

Applicants may submit applications for preview by staff at least three weeks prior to the deadline listed above.

Completed applications must be electronically submitted using the Maine Arts Commission's e-GRANT format no later than 11:59 p.m. E.S.T. on the on the date listed above. NOTE: e-GRANT applications may require an original signature or artist materials that can not be submitted electronically. These must be postmarked by the deadline as well.

The agency is unable to accept late applications under any circumstance.

Examples

An Ethiopian community wishes to sustain the tradition of coffee ceremonies by planning a series of coffee ceremonies.
A group of traditional craftspersons in a community needs assistance for a temporary space and refurbishing of equipment.
A community with a dance tradition needs support to build appropriate costumes for the dances, or to bring in a master artist to teach.
A group of traditional musicians needs space to hold classes.

Who is Eligible to Apply

Any community organization that is:

a nonprofit organization, legally established in the State of Maine, and
has tax-exempt status 501(c)(3) from the Internal Service, or
is a unit of local, county, state or tribal government, and
has completed and filed all final reports required for previous Maine Arts Commission grants that might have been received.

Applicants must demonstrate a fiscal structure that allows them to legally and responsibly utilize grant funds.

How to Apply

Guidelines are available in large print format by request. All Maine Arts Commission programs are accessible (ADA). All programs funded by the Maine Arts Commission must also be accessible.

Accessible Print Symbol Telephone Typewriter Symbol Sign Language Interpretation Symbol

Please review the following guidelines 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.

Before finalizing the application, the applicant is required to discuss the project with Keith Ludden, community & traditional arts associate, 207/287-2713, keith.ludden@maine.gov or TTY/NexTalk 877/887-3878 User ID: keith.ludden. This is a requirement.

Defining e-GRANT

Applicants are now required to apply through the Maine Arts Commission e-GRANT system. Forms to accompany e-GRANT applications can be downloaded on your computer, filled out and electronically uploaded to the e-GRANT system.

e-GRANT provides the following advantages over the standard application format:

e-GRANT allows applicants who apply for multiple grants to supply contact information only once. Only one copy of the electronic application is required.
e-GRANT guarantees that an application will be received by the deadline. Applicants are notified as soon as the e-GRANT application is downloaded.
e-GRANT will not allow an incomplete application to be submitted, but rather will identify missing materials. Complete applications are guaranteed to be reviewed.
e-GRANT allows an applicant to submit narrative, budget information and resumes, letter of intent, etc. by attaching word processed documents.
e-GRANT applications may require an original signature or artist materials that can not be submitted electronically. These must also be postmarked by the deadline as well.

NOTE: Applicants who have a compelling reason that they are unable to apply through the e-GRANT system must contact Kathy Ann Shaw, senior development associate, 207/287-2750, kathy.shaw@maine.gov or TTY/NexTalk 877/887-3878 User ID: kathy.shaw.

Applicants who have been encouraged to proceed must submit:

One Maine Arts Commission Application Form.
One copy of the Budget Form including evidence of cash, in-kind match or volunteer resources (a cash commitment strengthens the application.)
One State of Maine Vendor Form.
Digital images representing a sampling of previous program activities.
Up to three letters of support from collaborators
Answers to each of the questions requested in the project description below, addressed sequentially and by number. Answers should not exceed five pages.
1. What traditional art will the project address?
2. How is this traditional art tied to the culture of the community?
3. What will take place in the course of the project?
4. What is the timeline for the project?
5. How will the project sustain the traditional art?
6. Why is this traditional art important to the community?
7. What is the hoped-for outcome of the project?

Review Process

The director, the community & traditional associate and other staff or public as needed will review applications. Recommendations for funding will be approved in March, 2007 for projects beginning after July 1, 2007. Funds will be available on July 1, 2007, at the earliest and are dependent on funds received from the National Endowment for the Arts. Please plan accordingly which may mean that grant funds are used to reimburse costs incurred for the project.

Review Criteria

All grant proposals are considered on a competitive basis using the following criteria:

The expertise of the traditional artists involved in the project
Authenticity of artist and tradition.
The extent to which the project will strengthen the traditional art in the community
Membership of the artist and apprentice in the culture or community in question.
Role of the artist and art form in community life.
Degree of endangerment of the art form.

Maine Arts Commission
193 State Street
25 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0025
phone: 207/287-2724
fax: 207/287-2725
tty: 1-877/887-3878
e-mail: MaineArts.info@maine.gov