MAP’s 2022 grant cycle will provide grants of $30,000 to 85 new, live performance projects across all regions of the United States.
Project funds ($25,000) may be used for creation, dependent care, personnel, practice, production, rehearsal, research, rest, residency, travel, and workshop costs. General operating funds ($5,000) are unrestricted.
Open and supported application: Anyone may apply on behalf of an eligible new, live performance project that connects with
The person(s) who create the application (“primary contact” in ) may be an individual artist, ensemble representative, producer, manager, agent, or presenting representative. We expect that all artists have consented to their presence in the proposal, and that the primary contact will share all subsequent communications with the artist(s). MAP aims to make the application process as supported as possible, offering phone call, email, and project description support.Three-step selection process to mitigate bias: In Step 1, a cohort of 60+ artists and arts workers serving as representatives of the applicant community will complete independent assessments of each proposal. They will cast anonymous votes to advance projects into the next step. In Step 2, an Excel function will randomly draw 85 projects. In Step 3, MAP’s Board of Directors approves the selected projects. MAP staff will send notifications via email.
Granting process foregrounding artists’ agency: Each grantee will receive a $25,000 grant for the creation of a new, live performance project and a $5,000 unrestricted general operating grant. The artist(s) will choose the
best suited to their project’s needs, and must agree to how and when the funds will be distributed. We will move the funds quickly upon completed paperwork.Applicants may begin requesting support.
Form opens for artists and arts workers to serve as a 2022 Reviewer
Submittable application live
April 28, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Deadline to request project description assistance (up to 300 slots)
May 13, 2022
MAP staff return all project description assistance
May 27, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Deadline to apply for funding or to be a reviewer MAP’s 2022 grant cycle. MAP does not accept late proposals.
June 10, 2022
Applicant experience survey closes
June-September 2022
Selection process takes place
October 2022
Grant cycle results emailed
Contracts and payout processes begin for new grantees
All applicants will complete a short eligibility form in Submittable to ensure that the proposal meets these minimum criteria:
– Applicants intend to spend the grant down beginning November 2022 towards the creation, development, or production of a , by .
– Artists must consent to their presence in the proposal and understand that they will be responsible for choosing the in the event of an award.
– Artists on the project team do not need to be US citizens, but the project must take place in the and the grant custodian must be US-based.
In addition to the form, MAP staff scan project proposals prior to the review process. Proposals that fall into any of the following categories are deemed
:– Restaging of work that was originally created by other artists, has already premiered, and/or is considered a “classic” within any cultural context.
– Requests to support a , , touring, or documentation of a prior, completed work.
Eligible applications move into the selection process.
Step 1
MAP will hire 60+ artist and arts worker voting representatives (“reviewers”). Working independently, their primary task is to look for projects that demonstrate extraordinary potential to exemplify and/or expand upon
– Choice and treatment of content that could advance critical conversations, perceptions, and/or policies;
– Commitment to treating all project collaborators with care, respect, and awareness of power dynamics;
– Investigation of and/or experimentation with performance forms.
Projects can demonstrate potential in a multitude of ways. Rather than impose rigid parameters on what the artistic work must be like–which can in no way serve as an appropriate requirement for every project, nor encourage the variety of exploration that MAP champions–we invite reviewers to consider each applicant’s own standards, definitions, and goals for artistic expression and the presence of disruption in their work.
Taking in that breadth across the applicant pool, reviewers draw upon their own knowledge, expertise, and commitment to MAP’s values to complete the following questions:
1) Have you experienced the work of any artists listed on this application?
– I haven’t experienced any of their work.
– I’ve experienced some of their work.
– I’ve experienced most or all of their work.
2) Do you know any of the artists listed on the application?
– I didn’t know any of the artists prior to this proposal.
– I know of one or more artists, but don’t have a relationship with them.
– I’ve worked with one or more of the artists.
– I have a close personal and/or professional relationship with one or more artists.
Selections to #1 and 2 have no bearing on whether or not an applicant moves forward. The data helps us assess the degree of familiarity reviewers have with the applicant pool. As reviewers cast votes, we ask them to notice if they tend to recommend that “familiar artists” move forward more often than unfamiliar artists. It could be an indicator of unconscious bias.
3) Do you need to declare a conflict of interest?
– Yes
– No
A reviewer is considered to have a “conflict of interest” if they have a relationship with the artistic team as:
– An employee;
– A fundraiser or public relations person;
– An independent contractor who has received fees or payments in the past 12 months;
– Has had and/or is having a relationship of an intimate nature with the grant applicant;
– Will benefit directly or indirectly from the grant applicant’s funding from MAP Fund.
In the event of a conflict of interest with an applicant, the reviewer will not participate in any aspect of the decision-making process in connection with any matter that involves the applicant directly or indirectly. Proposals are not adversely affected by the declaration of a conflict of interest. In those instances, the proposal will receive one automatic FOR vote.
4) Based on my understanding of the proposal, this project’s intentions:
– exemplify and/or expand upon MAP’s funding focus
– satisfy MAP’s funding focus
– are for artistic expression outside of MAP’s funding focus
– were not clear enough for me to make an assessment
5) Please select one of the following:
– I vote FOR this proposal to move forward to Step 2 (random selection).
– I’m unsure but inclined to vote FOR.
– I’m unsure but inclined to vote AGAINST.
– I vote AGAINST this proposal moving forward to Step 2 (random selection).
Step 2
Projects with the highest degree of consensus will move into this step. An Excel function will randomly draw 85 projects. Our experience shows that grant review panels tend to favor more resourced artists. This selection method eliminates subjective arbitration, risk aversion, and groupthink that can surface in human decision-making processes.
Step 3
MAP’s Board of Directors approves the selected projects. Upon notification of the grant, artists will be asked to:
– Identify and provide contact information for a grant custodian with a Social Security Number (SSN), Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or 501(c)(3), LLC, or S-Corp organization that will receive and distribute the funds;
– Share financial projections for the project;
– Approve or generate materials for a press release, including high-resolution images to represent the project;
– Report demographic information for 1-4 individual artists with overall project responsibility;
– Complete a brief final report by October 31, 2024 (format for this grantee cohort is TBD).
Grant custodians will be asked to:
– Ensure that artists are aware of any administrative fees, and how and when funds will be distributed
– Execute digital contracts and choose payment method (electronic transfer or physical check)
PROJECT INFORMATION
WORK SAMPLE
ARTISTS
DEMOGRAPHICS
Banner: 2021 grantee Jean Appolon Expressions. Photo by Olivia Moon Photography through Boston Center for the Arts Dancemakers Residency.