Grants in Film and Music.

Deadline: September 7, 2012
MacArthur Foundation Announces Open Call for Documentary Film Proposals

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Media, Culture, and Special Initiatives program supports the production and distribution of social-issue documentary films that address important contemporary topics and are intended for a broad audience, particularly in the United States. The program seeks to fund documentary projects that address the significant social challenges of our time or explore important but under-reported topics.

Applicants may request any funding amount, but the typical grant range is between $50,000 and $200,000. In each round of funding, the foundation is able to support eight to twelve projects.
 Link to Complete RFP

Deadline: October 1, 2012 
Grammy Foundation Accepting Letters of Inquiry for 2012-13 Grants in Music Research and Preservation Projects 

Funded by the Recording Academy, the Grammy Foundation's grant program annually provides support for music archiving and preservation efforts and for scientific research projects related to the impact of music on the human condition. The scientific research projects grant program awards funding of up to $20,000 to organizations and individuals working to research the impact of music on the human condition. Examples include the study of the effects of music on mood, cognition, and healing; the medical and occupational well-being of music professionals; and the creative process underlying music. Priority will be given to projects with strong methodological design as well those designed to address an important research question.
 Full RFP here.

Deadline: November 5, 2012
Tribeca Film Institute Announces Guidelines for Documentary Fund

The Tribeca Film Institute Documentary Fund provides grants and guidance to exceptional filmmakers with character-driven nonfiction works-in-progress that sit outside of the social issue landscape. By supporting work that engages in unexplored perspectives, the fund aims to help take audiences into someone else's environment and spotlight the journey of the individual.

Grants of at least $10,000 will be awarded. The program will accept submissions beginning September 5, 2012, and close November 5, 2012.
Visit the TFI Web site for complete program guidelines and submission requirements.


  

Media and Performing Arts Fellowship Deadline, June 8

The deadline for the Individual Artist Fellowship in Media and Performing Arts is June 8, 2012. 

The $13,000 award is a recognition of artistic excellence and all eligible Maine artists are encouraged to apply. Please help spread the word to Maine performing artists who might be interested in this fantastic opportunity.

Eligible applicants must have resided in Maine for a minimum of two years and have a valid Maine address, be 18 years of age or older, not enrolled as a full-time student and have completed all final reports required for any previous Maine Arts Commission grant. 

The fellowship award is designed for performing arts creators. The grant identifies a creator as an artist who produces the majority-share of a creative original work. For example, a composer qualifies but a musician does not; a singer/songwriter qualifies but a singer does not; a choreographer qualifies but a dancer does not. Applicants should apply with their own original work. If the work is created through a collaborative process the applicant should be able to demonstrate how they were the majority contributor of the original work. An application can be made by a team or group if they consistently work together to produce a single body of work. 

More can be found online at:

http://mainearts.maine.gov/grant_individualfellowship.aspx

BLUE POTATO is Seeking Cast and Crew!

The production BLUE POTATO will be in Aroostook County filming from July to September. They are looking to fill some paid and some unpaid positions.

- Experienced production designer/costume designer - Paid (accommodations included)
- Assistant production designer/costume designer - Unpaid (local / no accommodations)
- Hair/makeup - Unpaid (local / no accommodations available)
- Chef - Paid (accommodations included)
- Sous Chef - Paid (local / no accommodations available)
- Housekeeper -Paid - (local / no accommodations available)
- Production assistants (2 positions available) -Unpaid (accommodations included)
- Interns (2 positions available) - Unpaid (local / no accommodations available)
- Grips (2 positions available) - Unpaid (accommodations included)
- Volunteer Drivers - Unpaid (local / no accommodations available)
- Still Photographer - Unpaid
- Volunteers - To help with open casting calls in Maine - Unpaid

Interested people should contact Gita Pullapilly directly at gita@sunnysideupfilms.com

Tentative casting dates (not yet confirmed) are shaping up to be:
Bangor casting call = June 23rd
Portland casting call = June 30th
Houlton casting call = July 6th
Presque Isle casting = call July 7th
Caribou casting call = July 8th

For more information on time and location please contact Gita Pullapilly directly at gita@sunnysideupfilms.com

 

Seventh Annual Camden International Film Festival Starts Today!

The Camden International Film Festival will return for its seventh season on September 29 and run until October 2, 2011. Taking place in Camden, Rockport and Rockland, it is one of the top 25 film festivals in the world for documentary films.

Each year the festival takes over multiple venues throughout towns in the midcoast of Maine. Accompanying the screening of features and shorts are Q&As with directors, informative panels, the Points North Documentary Forum, PANOPTIC new media showcase, musical concerts and an opportunity to connect with eager audiences and industry leaders.

More information about the festival can be found online at the Camden International Film Festival site.

The Camden International Film Festival was supported this year by a Maine Arts Commission Arts Visibility Grant.

Grassroots Media Conference, Sept 9-10

On September 9 and 10 WERU-FM Community Radio and Unity College will host Maine’s first Grassroots Media Conference at the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts. The conference is open to the public; however, participants are encouraged to make a donation to cover costs. You can find out more at http://mainegrassrootsmedia.org.

The event will develop a network of people who use media on the grassroots level, from journalists and artists to educators and organizers. The conference will offer workshop sessions, film screenings and performances. There will also be presentations by Rob Shetterly, artist of the portrait series Americans Who Tell the Truth; Jay Davis, president of the board for the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting; Shenna Bellows, director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union; Ben Fowlie, founder of the Camden International Film Festival; and members of the Beehive Design Collective, a Machias-based arts group focused on social justice.

For information on conference events, menus, places to stay, how to get involved and to pre-register go to www.mainegrassrootsmedia.org or contact Meaghan LaSala, WERU-FM Community Radio, 973-862-7105 meaghan@weru.org

Deadline for Media and Performing Arts Fellowship

The deadline for the Individual Artist Fellowship in Media and Performing Arts is June 10, 2011. The $13,000 award recognizes artistic excellence and all eligible Maine artists are encouraged to apply. Please help spread the word to anyone who might be interested in this fantastic opportunity.

The fellowship award is designed to support performing arts creators, not interpretive artists. A creator is an artist who produces the majority-share of a creative original work. For example, a composer qualifies but a musician does not; a singer/songwriter qualifies but a singer does not; a choreographer qualifies but a dancer does not; a theatre director qualifies but a theatre actor does not, etc.

Applicants should apply with their own original work. If the work is created through a collaborative process the applicant should explain how they were the majority contributor. An application can be made by a team or group if they consistently work together and the resulting artwork is owned by the group. Playwrights and screenwriters may apply if they also have an important part in the production, otherwise they should apply to the Literary Arts Fellowship. There are also fellowships for the visual arts and for the traditional arts.

More information can be found on the Maine Arts Commission website.
http://mainearts.maine.gov/grant_individualfellowship.aspx

YouTube Play and the Guggenheim

YouTube Play is a collaboration between YouTube and the Guggenheim Museum to unearth and showcase the very best creative video from around the world. To have your work considered, simply post it on YouTube, and then submit it at youtube.com/play. A jury of experts will decide which works presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York on October 21, 2010 with simultaneous presentations at the Guggenheim museums in Berlin, Bilbao, and Venice. The videos will be on view to the public from October 22 through 24 in New York and on the YouTube Play channel.

Submissions close July 31, 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/playbiennial

Work of Art

It was just a matter of time before someone took a group of aspiring artists and filmed them for a television season. The Bravo show 'Work of Art: The Next Great Artist' will premier tonight and focus on 14 people in a reality show produced by the same folks who brought us Project Runway and Top Chef. Each episode will give the contestants a challenge of creating in a variety of mediums and at the end of the episode the works will be judged. Whoever is deemed the best artist by the end of the season will get a solo exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum... Yet another way to access the art world.

For more information you can go online:
http://www.bravotv.com/work-of-art

7 Day PSA competition

www.7DayPSA.org

Maine competition Week: May 13th - 22nd.
Portland competition will also introduce an optional radio PSA component.

The 7DAYPSA is a week long competition, where teams (called "Agencies") beat the clock to produce three broadcast quality versions (20, 30 & 60 seconds) of a single public service announcement for the deserving local not-for-profit organization (called "Clients") that the Agency teams have randomly drawn at the start of the competition. Multiple "Clients" will have PSA's produced and several "Agency" teams will be producing for the same "Client" organization. Each "Agency" will have seven days to go from concept to completion.

For the Agency teams, this will be a writing challenge, a shooting challenge, and an editing challenge. The object is to get as many completed professional broadcast quality public service announcements for the clients to choose from as possible. The seven day period allows for this, as well as for the opportunity for media and marketing classes to use the competition as a teaching tool during the school week.

Winners of each "Local Best 7DAYPSA" will compete for a "National Best 7DAYPSA" award.

Winning PSA's will be eligible, after broadcast, for submission by the 7DAYPSA for nomination for regional Emmy Awards, Telly Awards and other industry awards.

Mailing Address:
7DAYPSA
c/o FLICKERS
PO Box 162
Newport, RI 02940

Office Address:
83 Park Street (Veterans Memorial Auditorium)
Providence, RI 02903
Office Phone:401-861-4445
Fax: 401-490-6735

Portland competition
Site:www.MaineFilms
Coordinator: Krystal Kenville (207)899-6153

Jane Morrison Film Fund Scholarship

• Deadline = January 14, 2010
• Grant amount = Up to $2,000

In partnership with the Maine Community Foundation and the Jane Morrison Film Fund, The Maine Arts Commission is proud to offer the Jane Morrison Memorial Film Fund Scholarship. The grant supports educational opportunities for filmmakers in the early stages of their career development. The Fund is designed to help filmmakers attain instructional guidance and skills. Applicants should identify specific opportunities for educational benefit and be prepared to explain why the experience would help them.

Jane Morrison was an Augusta-area native who died suddenly while on location shooting a film in Africa. Jane's career in filmmaking began when she was an English teacher at Cony High School in Augusta and participated in that school's first Maine Arts Commission-supported Artist-In-Residence Film Program. She received special training in filmmaking, continued to develop the film program at Cony, and then went on to a full-time career in filmmaking. Among her titles are Sarah Orne Jewett's The White Heron, Master Smart Woman, and The Two Worlds of Angelita.

In the past funds have been used to support attendance at the Summer Film Institute in New York and the Sundance Institute in Utah. The funds can also be applied to film classes at educational institutions, film workshops, seminars and apprenticeships. The committee prefers applications that cover tuition costs rather than living expenses. Preference is given (but not restricted) to those residing in Maine. Click here to download application guidelines. For the application narrative questions click here to download.

To apply for this grant, you will need the documents that can be downloaded individually by clicking their names on the list below. Please note that this is a temporary solution until the launch of the new Maine Arts Commission website. You will be required to create a free account with Scribd to download these documents.

Guidelines
Narrative Form
Apply using eGrant

For more information, or if you have questions, please contact Kathy Ann Shaw, Senior Development Associate and Accessibility Coordinator, 207/287-2750 or kathy.shaw@maine.gov. NexTalk user ID: kathy.shaw.

New Grant Offering!

Innovative Production Grant - $2000 - Deadline January 08, 2010

The Maine Arts Commission is pleased to announce that it will soon be accepting applications for its new Innovative Production Grant. Due to redesign efforts taking place on the agency's Website, the materials are not yet posted. However, you can see what it is all about by going to the application guidelines and narrative questions links and reading the requirements. These materials will be online by mid-September, and you will be able to officially apply after that.

The Innovative Production Grant is available to both individual artists and arts organizations. It has been created to support artistic innovation in the production and presentation of media and/or performance work. The proposed production should have public presence or community impact. It should also be compelling and demonstrate excellence and innovation. Applications can address any or all segments in the continuum of the creative (production) process from beginning to end and from artist to audience.

To apply for this grant, you will need the documents that can be downloaded individually by clicking their names on the list below. Please note that this is a temporary solution until the launch of the new Maine Arts Commission website. You will be required to create a free account with Scribd to download these documents.

Guidelines
Organization Budget Form (only for organizations)
Organization Assurances Form (only for organizations)
Narrative Form
Vendor Form
Apply using eGrant

For more information, please contact Kathy Ann Shaw, Senior Development Associate and Accessibility Coordinator, 207/287-2750 or kathy.shaw@maine.gov. NexTalk user ID: kathy.shaw.

Film Festival Celebrates Public Art

The Maine International Film Festival (MIFF) is off to a great start. The opening night film, The Rivals, was very well attended, as was the public art lecture by Patricia Phillips on Sunday. Her talk centered around public artists who use their work to comment on how consumerism and commercialism affect personal and cultural identity. This was followed by the Harrod Blank film Automorphosis which examined people who build art-cars and the identity that creates. The panel discussion after the film welcomed Ester Partegas, a Barcelona born artist working in New York who is currently in Maine as a resident artist faculty member at the Skowhegan School of Art.

Patricia Phillips 07-12-2009

This was all part of the July 12 Celebrate Public Art day at the festival. Waterville is becoming a public art hotspot in Maine. In the fall public artist Tim Gaudreau will be working with Waterville Main Street and Waterville Arts Council on a public art community engagement project (partially funded through a NEFA program). In January, artist Randy Regier will be bringing his public installation A Toy Store for Spaceship Earth to the downtown (a project funded through the generosity of the Harry Faust Art Fund).

In addition to helping with the Celebrate Public Art day, the Maine Arts Commission is proud to support MIFF by being a day sponsor for Making it in Maine Day on Saturday, July 18. This day will include the Maine Student Film and Video Festival, the Maine Shorts film presentation, and the showing of Language of America, Dead Buffalo and The Kings.

Maine International Film Festival

The Maine International Film Festival (July 10-19) is just around the corner. If you are not aware of this event you should check it out at their website http://www.miff.org/. If you do know about it, you know how great it is. The Maine Arts Commission is supporting the event this year by being a day sponsor for Making it in Maine Day, Saturday July 18. This day will include the Maine Student Film and Video Festival in the morning, the Maine Shorts film presentation in the afternoon, and in the evening there will be the showing of Language of America, Directed and Produced by Maine artist Ben Levine, and the showing of Dead Buffalo, by Maine resident Georg Koszulinski. At 9:15pm Railroad Square will present The Kings, a film about Waterville by Alec Helm, a young Waterville filmmaker.

On July 19 Georg Koszulinski will be giving a No-Budget Film making Workshop in the morning.

July 18 is also the day of the 40th Annual Waterville Intown Arts Festival 9am-4pm (Rain date: Sunday, July 19).

The Maine Arts Commission is also supporting the July 12 Celebration of Public Art event. The event starts at 5pm with “Things, Goods and Other Public Transactions" Art talk by Patricia Phillips, art critic, editor, curator and Chair of the Art Department at Cornell University. Followed by a cocktail party reception and then a 6:30 screening of Automorphosis at Railroad Square.

Following the film, Harrod Blank (Automorphosis director) , Ester Partegas (Skowhegan School of Art instructor) and Patricia Phillips, will have a panel discussion moderated by Kerstin Gilg, of the Maine Arts Commission, on the various forms and impacts of public art.

Web 2.0 Marketing Workshop for Artists

In January, Five Rivers Arts Alliance, supported by Women, Work & Community, invited Darrell Bulmer and Kerstin Gilg of the Maine Arts Commission to present an internet marketing workshop for artists.

This workshop, at Frontier Café in Brunswick, was attended by at least 90 artists and marked the successful launch of the 2009 series of Five Rivers Arts Alliance Meetings.

For the staff of the Maine Arts Commission it was another chance to interact with the field and to demonstrate the agency's commitment to providing support and expertise wherever it is needed.

The Maine Arts Commission has conducted many state wide workshops over the last four years and has since decided that it would now be best to only present information and workshops when communities request them.

This new approach will make the workshops tailored for particular audiences and relieve the marketing pressures from agency staff and allow them to work closer with communities.

If you wish to download a copy of PowerPoint that was presented, click on this link:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/10165266/Frontier-Sunday