MAP is excited to announce a new collaboration providing SPA services to Walder Foundation’s Platform Awardees.
About Walder Foundation and Their Platform Awards Program
Walder Foundation champions Chicago and invests in science innovation, environmental sustainability, the performing arts, migration and immigrant communities, and Jewish life to uplift local communities and elevate the region’s contributions to the world. Their Platform Awards program was designed to support and recognize accomplished Chicagoland mid-career music, theater, dance, and interdisciplinary performance artists who enrich the city’s creative and civic landscape through a commitment to honing their craft and meaningful community engagement. In 2024, Walder Foundation awarded unrestricted grants of $200,000 each to 12 mid-career, Chicago-based performing artists.
About SPA’s Collaboration with the Platform Awards Program
SPA’s innovative and artist-centered coaching program will provide support and stability to the cohort of Platform Awardees. Read more about the collaboration in an article from Walder Foundation.
Platform Awardees will have the opportunity to be paired with an experienced coach from MAP Fund’s SPA coaching ensemble for up to seven, one-on-one coaching sessions over a 10-month period. The coaching process is highly personalized, addressing the unique needs of each artist. Coaching sessions will be complemented by three facilitated gatherings spread over the course of their time in SPA. The gatherings will seed groupwide connections, resource-sharing, and peer coaching.
Past SPA Participation and Experiences
SPA is free for artists and serves all disciplines including choreographers, directors, playwrights, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and visual and multimedia artists. We routinely hear from artists about how essential SPA is in supporting their vision and the quotidian tasks necessary for maintaining an artistic career.
Reflecting on her coaching experience, past SPA participant Kendra J. Ross shared, “I am so grateful for the SPA coaching sessions. My coach gave me a beautiful balance of solutions, strategy, empathy and encouragement that made me feel inspired to take action on her suggestions and recommendations. And these strategies are ones that I know will be able to return to throughout my career.”
MAP is thrilled to support more artists by collaborating with Walder Foundation. Learn more about Walder Foundation here.
