MAP Chat Transcript 10/1/2012

Moira: Hello Folks. Welcome to the MAP Chat! Feel free to fire away with your

Zevluvxx: the next phase for my project involves a residency for 4 weeks
We don't need an enormous budget for this and do not want to allocate huge amounts of funds yet is the minimum $10,000 or can we apply for less money?
Zevluvxx: if the minimum is $10,000 then we have to raise about $32,0000
Moira: You can request less than 10K, but you should provide the budget for the entire project -- not just the residency part of it.

Eye@aol.com: I have a question. Is a work in Progress considered a premiere for a project? I just had a short run of the WIP I want considered for the MAP. It was 40 minutes. Eligible?
Moira: WIP is not considered a premiere.

Eye@aol.com: Great. So this would be fine. Yes?
Moira: As long as you intend to continue working on the project and the funding you receive from MAP will not be used retroactively.
zevluvxx: Not sure what that means, retroactively
Moira: It means that if you receive funds from MAP in this round, you must spend that money on project development that happens between July 2013 and August 2015. You can't pay for work in the project that has already happened (i.e. those prior works in progress).

bizce: Hi. If we applied in 2012 already but did not receive the MAP are we allowed to apply again during this same year?
Moira: Yes you can reapply. It will be a new set of evaluators and panelists.


julie@mail.com: I have two questions that hopefully relate. How "new" is "too new" with a project? We have a collaborative project with a group in Uganda but it is in the very beginning stages. How far does a project need to be along? Also, do how much do work samples factor in? Because the work is a lot of research based now, we don't have quite as much video documentation. Only older works samples from other projects. Still good or not so much?

Moira: It's more a question of how well you are yet able to articulate the project and its appropriateness for MAP. We will consider works at any stage of development, but ... it's often hard to get really clear about a project when it's very early in development, and that lack of articulation can hamper a proposal.
julie@mail.com: Okay, great. That is helpful. Simply to know there is not a timeline specificity to be considered.
Moira: As far as work samples go: from the proposed work -- the work for which you are seeking funding -- are not as important as the quality of work samples from prior completed works. It's assumed that the work you are developing now would not have particularly "finished" looking samples.
julie@mail.com: "Unfinished" work samples from this project coupled with more pro related work sounds like a good way to go?
Moira: Exactly~ just be sure to show the unfinished (work in progress) samples to someone to be sure they are acceptable. Sometimes it can defeat your purpose to show something that's too ragged.
Zevluvxx: Regarding the budgets, is there a place on the online form to lay out the entire budget and then a separate line for the amount one is asking for this round?
Moira: We don't require a full budget until the full proposal phase. The LOI just asks for the total budget, and the amount of funds raised to date.

Moira: Any other questions?
julie@mail.com: It's a new panel, yes? We can apply for a project we have applied before?
Moira: Yes. The readers, evaluators and panelists change every year.
Moira: My only recommendation around that is if you are declined two years in a row, sometimes a good idea to come back with a new project.
julie@mail.com: Great. That's it for me. Thanks Moira!
Eye@aol.com: Are the total funds raised to date funds that have been raised and still available or can they be funds that were raised and spent for the WIP?
Moira: As long as the figure you submit for the full project budget includes costs of the WIP, then it's fine to tell us about the money you raised and spent thus far. There should be a relationship between the total project budget and funds raised to date.
Zevluvx: I'm sorry what does WIP stand for
Moira: Work in progress
Eye@aol.com: So, if I say 50k total and 15k was already raised but spent is that okay? And can I include 11K that was in Kind?
Which brings it to 20k or so?
Moira: Yes. All you'll have to say is the project cost is 50K and you've raised 15K so far. We don't really care if it's been spent yet or not. We care that you are raising as much as you are spending over the life of the project. In-kind donations would be more relevant in the full budget, which is not required for the LOI.
Moira: But yes, if you are invited to the second round, you will point out what amount of the budget is in-kind and what's in cash, etc.
sure.

Moira: Hello! Please feel free to ask away. It's a pretty quiet chat just now, but don't be shy.
o@hotmail.com: Ok. Thanks. I am wondering about the public component. Is there a time frame where the public component (show) must take place?
Moira: Good question. And the answer is essentially no. MAP doesn't have requirements about when the work premieres, as long as it's some time AFTER July 2013.
o@hotmail.com: I went to an orientation once for New York Foundation for the Arts and they mentioned that an artist usually does not get funding until they apply a few times. Would you say that this is also the case with MAP fund?
Moira: The issue at MAP is that an artist is required to submit work samples from previously completed works in order to apply (at the full proposal stage, anyway). And usually, those completed works were funded in part by grants. So...it just kind of works out that for a national grant, and a highly competitive grant like MAP, it's rare to get it on the first time out.
o@hotmail.com: That makes sense. I see. Thanks.
o@hotmail.com: For the LOI phase, do I need to know where the show will take place?
Moira: No. That's not required info. Obviously, the more info you can provide, the stronger the proposal will be. But many projects seek funding from MAP before they have a venue established.

o@hotmail.com: I see. right. ok.. great. I read that it is important to try and be very clear regarding the artist statement and not very heavy on philosophy. Is that right?
Moira: It's important to be really clear and down to earth in the project description. In general, philosophizing there isn't that helpful.
Moira: The artist statement isn't something you will need to provide until the second round of the application, and actually there it's fine to be a little more loose about the emotional/philosophical underpinnings of the work.
o@hotmail.com: How much funding should I already have in place in order to receive funding?
Moira: There's no strict requirement around that. But it's kind of like the venue thing -- the more the project appears to be solid and on its way, the more the panel will feel good about getting behind it. That said, we've funded plenty of projects that had not raised any funds to date...
o@hotmail.com: Gotcha. So if for example I have a residency for space to rehearse, then that would be helpful to share in the application. Right?
Moira: Absolutely!
o@hotmail.com: Ok. Wonderful.. Thank you so much for all the information.

Moira: My pleasure! We are going to sign off now. Thank you for coming. The transcript will be posted tomorrow. And feel free to call the office if other questions come up.