Apply Now for Maine Arts Commission Funding

The New Year will bring with it new opportunities and new challenges for Maine’s artists and organizations. If you are seeking funding then now is the time to take a look at our grant programs; there is a lot on offer in January.

If you need help with marketing then January 7 is the date you need to get your application in for the Arts Visibility grant. There are many ways that this grant can be used. Successful applicants have updated Websites, created iPhone apps, created promotional videos, posters, postcards, or even paid for various forms of advertising. Whatever your marketing needs are, this is the grant for you. It provides up to $1,500 and offers a relatively simple application process.
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The Innovative Production grant supports artistic innovation in the production and presentation of media and/or performance work of artists and organizations; the deadline is January 13.
Innovation can be in the form of materials used, production methods, project concepts, technology integration, and/or location use. Innovation can also come in the form of timing, placement of work, means of distribution or the manner that it is presented. This grant offers funding up to $2,000.

The Jane Morrison Film Scholarship provides funds to support educational opportunities for filmmakers in the early stages of their career development; the grant offers support of up to $2,000 and the deadline is January 13.

There are grant programs within the Maine Arts Commission that operate on revolving deadlines: the Good Idea grant, the Community Arts and Humanities grant, and the Celebrating Traditional Arts grant.

The Good Idea grant fosters the growth of Maine’s artists. It supports the creation of new work or professional development. Awards of up to $1,500 are available.

The Community Arts and Humanities grant offers support of up to $1,000 to assist organizations in Maine as they investigate and present stories and cultural expressions of the state.

The Celebrating Traditional Arts grant offers up to $1,500 to fund traditional artists’ fees for presentations in a range of community settings including festivals, gatherings, fairs, museums or tours and other community events.

Applications for these revolving deadline grants should be submitted before February 25 in order to ensure early receipt of funds in the New Year.

The Maine Arts Commission offers many other grants to Maine artists and organizations. Be sure to visit our grant pages on MaineArts.com.

Percent for Art at Hampden Academy Offers $43,500

The commissioning of public art brings a community together in a unique way. The selection process for the artwork fosters discussions that explore the collective visions of what a given community represents. Often, when in a school setting, this vision remains in the form of permanent artwork that becomes the focal point of discussions for students who interact with it throughout their time at any given school.

With this in mind, the Maine Arts Commission is making a call to all artists living in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York, with a preference for Maine artists, to submit proposals to design, create and install artwork at the new Hampden Academy, a 9-12 high school located in Hampden, Maine. The total project budget is $43,500 and the submission deadline is January 19, 2011.

Hampden Academy will be moving into its new facility in the fall of 2012. The existing National Historic Landmark building, the original Academy built in 1843, will be preserved for future use. Hampden, Winterport, and Newburgh, the three towns that comprise the school district, have been enormously supportive of the new school project. They have generously supported a referendum to provide $6.2 million in local funds for a state of the art performing arts center and a larger gymnasium. Citizens are also raising private funds to commission a life-size bronze sculpture of the school mascot, "the Bronco," by sculptor Forest Hart.
There are several areas that have been identified as potential sites for artwork. All areas of the main lobby and dining room floors may be addressed. The plans for this area are to have ceramic tile, but artists would be able to incorporate flush tile or other material elements into the existing plans. Other internal areas include the library skylight, exterior windows, grand stairs and wall spaces.

Exterior spaces include the 3-story brick wall facing the sports field, to the left of the windows of the multi-purpose room; the metal wall facing the sports field end of the fly tower, and two stair towers on the southern elevation.

The full prospectus, including all images and floor plans, can be found on the Maine Arts Commission’s Website, MaineArts.com.

Governor's Portrait Unveiled

Governor John Baldacci gathered with well wishers and family to witness the unveiling of his official portrait at the State House on Saturday.

The portrait, oil-on-linen canvas, was painted by Cape Elizabeth artist Jean Pilk. Jean was at the unveiling with her family and friends and spoke of how she enjoyed painting a man who had such a prominent bone structure. Jean is well known for her portrait artistry. She has painted many famous people including former Defense Secretary Colin Powell and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Her latest portrait, representing the 141st permanent work of art to be housed in Maine's State Capitol, will hang where the portrait of Governor Angus King had been placed; portraits of former governors will now move one place over.

The Maine Arts Commission was responsible for the organizing the submissions for this work.

The news featured in many of Maine's news outlets in recent days. You can read more in the Bangor Daily News, the Morning Sentinel or within Maineinsights.

Photos courtesy of Ramona du Houx

NEFA Seeks Proposals for Impact Study

NEFA seeks research proposals for the next economic and community impact study of New England arts and culture nonprofits to be published during summer 2011. Deadline for submitting proposals is January 31, 2011.

Using the 2005 Update methodology and CultureCount’s comprehensive data store as primary resources, the proposed nonprofit study should:
• Use publicly available data and a transparent and replicable methodology (NEFA will provide digitized IRS Form 990 data)
• Provide analysis of the financial data of the cultural nonprofit sector by state and discipline
• Provide economic impact estimates for state-level arts advocacy of each New England state
• Compare recent financial data with that of the prior three years
• Make meaning of the data with narrative descriptions

All research proposals should include:
1. Research question/objectives
2. Study design and methodology
3. Qualification of investigators and collaborators
4. Budget request (appropriate for work anticipated, additional data acquisition fees, time, and rationale included)

Please direct questions to NEFA’s research manager, Dee Schneidman, at 617-951-0010 x530, The PDF of instructions for this project can be found here. Proposals will be reviewed by NEFA staff in early February. Report activities should transpire during the spring in order for the study to be designed and ready to be published on NEFA’s website June/July 2011.

Maine Stae Music Theatre new hire

The Maine Arts Commission would like to welcome Amy Mussman to Maine. Amy has joined the staff at Maine State Music Theatre as they expand their costume and props rental business. Amy was formerly the Costume Coordinator for the Washington National Opera in D.C. She is the author of The Prop Master and is a contributing writer for Stage Directions magazine.

It is encouraging to see one of the top arts organizations in Maine hiring and bringing such good people into the state. It is a good example of how the arts contribute to jobs growth and economic profitability as well as bringing cultural vitality to an area. Welcome.

Congratulations Jeremy Frey, ($50,000 grant)

Jeremy Frey received a $50,000 grant from United States Artists (USA) at New York's Lincoln Center on December 7, and was recognized as one of America’s finest artists.

Frey is a celebrated Maine Indian basket maker from Indian Township and a member of the Passamaquoddy community. He was the only artist from Maine to be one of the 50 recipients of 2010. Frey learned the traditional techniques of weaving brown ash and sweetgrass into baskets from his mother and now introduces new styles and techniques such as unique shapes and very fine weaves. Frey currently serves on the board of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. and is dedicated to strengthening the time-honored Native tradition of hand-weaving utility and decorative baskets.

Chosen for the caliber and impact of their work, the USA Fellows for 2010 were chosen from 18 states and Puerto Rico and represent some of the most innovative and diverse creative talents in the country. Artists include cutting-edge experimenters and traditional practitioners from the fields of architecture and design, crafts and traditional arts, dance, literature, film and media, music, theater arts and visual arts.

Bon à Tirer, ME-NB printmaking/ film project

Bon à Tirer is a documentary about an artist exchange of printmakers and master printers from the U.S. and Canada. The gathering aligns with the Maine/New Brunswick Cultural Initiative and included artists: Hermenegilde Chiasson (New Brunswick); Charlie Hewitt (Maine); Christian Le Poul (Quebec); David Umholtz (New Brunswick); David Wolfe (Maine). A second exchange is being planned for 2011.

Bon à Tirer from Hemmings House Pictures on Vimeo.

Maine Communities Receive $50,000 Creative Community Development Grants

The Maine Arts Commission has announced the names of the two communities who will receive grants of $50,000 in order to effect community revitalization in their region.
The grants, designed to support dialogue and partnership between municipalities, business and the cultural sector regarding economic development, are the first to be awarded through the Maine Arts Commission’s new Creative Communities = Economic Development Grant (CCED). The grants have been delivered to consortia of arts organizations in Biddeford and Eastport.
The City Theater, Engine, Heart of Biddeford, and University of New England will use the CCED funding for the promotion of economic development centered on the arts in downtown Biddeford. Specific goals include property development for artist live/work areas, establishment of an arts district, promotion of artists as creative economy workers, historic preservation with the projected outcomes of arts related programming and web presence, an increase in overall livability, growth in arts and tourism, an increased tax base, local economic development and a significant amount of collaboration with city government.
The collaborating parties charged with implementing economic revitalization in the Eastport region include Tides Institute and Museum of Art, the City of Eastport, Eastport Historic Review Board, Eastport Downtown Committee, Sunrise County Economic Council, Shead High School, Peavey Library, Waponahki Museum committee, Eastport Arts Center, Border Historical Society, and Eastport Area Chamber of Commerce.

As these municipal and cultural partners strengthen their inter-connectedness they will use the grant funding to focus on many issues that include cross border work with Canada, the establishment of a cultural council, the creation of a brand for Eastport, the expansion of public art in the town, and the promotion of an art boat and creative workspaces.

The CCED grant provides the cultural sector with significant funds to contribute to mutually agreed upon plans and initiatives that stimulate the local economy, provide jobs, strengthen the role of arts and culture, and enhance a community’s quality of place.

Two grants are awarded annually and delivered to two or more nonprofit cultural organizations within a geographic community or region. Applications are sought from communities/regions with a strong commitment to cross-sector collaboration that seeks to strengthen the cultural assets of their community. Full details of the CCED grant and other grant programs and services that serve Maine’s communities can be found on the web pages of MaineArts.com.

Maine - New Brunswick Memorandum of Understanding Phase One Report

The task-force assigned to study cross-border cultural exchange between Maine and New Brunswick submitted their report today. Task-force Members Donna McNeil, Hugh French and Kerstin Gilg presented findings that cite jobs growth and increased economic vitality between the two regions as the most significant outcomes of future regional collaborations.

The report, presented jointly to Governor Baldacci of Maine and Premier David Alward of New Brunswick, is the first of two called for by a Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year between leaders of both regions in order to enhance the mutual benefits of cultural relations.

Some encouraging information within the report includes
- Over 32,240 Maine jobs are supported through Canada/U.S. trade.
- Canadians made over 885,400 visits to Maine in 2008, spending an estimated $266 million.
- Visitors to Maine museums alone create an annual sales impact of $148 million with a contribution to state and local taxes of over $7.5 million.
- Cultural and heritage travelers contribute $192.3 billion to the U.S. economy annually and their average spending is $994 (compared to $611 for other leisure travelers).
- Three of the top five vacation activities of 2011 are projected be cultural; these include visits to festivals, visits to art museums and touring historic sites.

The full report can be found at the Maine arts Commission website

Percent for Art Competition at Chelsea Elementary School Offers $43,500

Public Art has an incredible impact within a community and none more so than within a school setting; here it becomes a part of the educational experience of every student who interacts with it daily throughout their time at any given school.

With this in mind, the Maine Arts Commission is making a call to all artists living in New England, with a preference for Maine artists, to submit proposals to design, create and install artwork at the Chelsea Elementary School Percent for Art site in Chelsea, Maine. The total project budget is $43,500 and the submission deadline is January 10, 2011.

The Town of Chelsea is located in central Maine near the state capital of Augusta. It is a rural community steeped in a history of farming and agriculture with a traditional Maine ambiance centered on its natural surroundings. The new school is envisioned as a central point of its aspirations for the future. As well as being an elementary school, it will also serve as a community center and gathering place to serve the region as a multi-purpose facility.

There are several areas within the school that artists may address in their proposals. The interior offers the front hallway/entrance/atrium, the cafeteria, the Second floor entrance over the gymnasium, or the library's central soffit along the ceiling, side soffits and windows.

Proposals for the exterior could include three grassy areas near the front entrance, the library side area, or the cafeteria area in front of the exterior windows.
There is approximately $43,500 in Percent for Art funds available for this project. These funds will be used to commission work(s) from a single artist more than one or an artist team. An artist budget proposal must cover all design, fabrication, transportation, documentation and installation expenses, including any building or site modifications associated with the artwork.

The full prospectus, including all images and floor plans, can be found on the Maine Arts Commission's website, MaineArts.com.