Archive for the ‘funding source’ Category

« Newer Entries
Older Entries »
h1

Poetry Out Loud

March 22, 2020

Before the virus 

The Poetry Out Loud (POL) Maine State Finals he state finals took place at the Waterville Opera House on March 2. The following ten high school students proudly took their places after excelling at the classroom, school and regional level. If you click on their names you can hear parts of an interview and the student reciting.

Northern Maine Regional Champions

Southern Maine Regional Champions

Ella Shaffer, grade 10, Rangeley Lakes Regional School photo by Kate Philbrick, Sun Journal

At the time the students, their families and schools understood that one student would be selected to represent Maine at the POL National Finals. Each student was prepared to recite three poems. At the end of round two five state finalists were selected to recite their third poem from which one is the runner-up and one is the state champ. Grade 10 student from Rangeley Lakes Regional School Ella Shaffer was named the 2020 State Champ and Maine’s representative to travel to Washington, D.C. at the end of April. Ella did an amazing job reciting  “Sestina: Like” by A.E. Stallings, “I Eat Breakfast to Begin the Day” by Zubair Ahmed, “No, I wasn’t meant to love and be loved” by Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib.

Traditionally a school bus from Rangeley travels to the POL state finals with a group of students and their teachers to support their school representative and also participate as audience members. English teacher Tim Straub has been a huge supporter of his students and the program. Along with Sonja Johnson, art teacher who is amazing! Everyone can benefit from the experience. This year was no exception but it was the first time Rangeley traveled home with the POL State Champ. Those of us who live in a small town in Maine know how exciting this news was for the residents in Rangeley and you can see in the video (below) what that looked like to Ella’s dad on the night of March 3 returning to town. (Get out your tissues).

Sadly the Corona virus (COVID-19) has robbed Ella and her school community the opportunity to travel to D.C. at the end of April for the national event. Even though the national event has been canceled it doesn’t remove the pride that this community has for Ella! I’m sure her three poems will be with her everywhere she travels during her lifetime.

If your high school doesn’t participate in the Poetry Out Loud program you can learn more at the National Poetry Out Loud website. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission.

Posted in Food for thought, funding source, Opportunity, VPA, YAHOO | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Art Scholarship

March 19, 2020

MAEA

The Maine Art Education Association (MAEA), a statewide professional organization whose members are committed to excellence in visual art education provides one scholarship each year for a high school senior attending school in Maine. The deadline for the scholarship is May 1, 2020. Details are below and you can access the documents for the application at THIS LINK. 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE

  1. A high school senior attending a school in Maine
  2. Currently enrolled in a visual arts class
  3. Nominated by a teacher who is a current member of the Maine Art Education Association
  4. Pursuing a degree in Fine Arts or Design fields

ANNUAL DEADLINE
May 1 
Submit all requirements to Heidi O’Donnell at heidiaemaine@gmail.com with MAEA Scholarship in the Subject Line.

SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT AND PROCESS FOR AWARD
$500-$1,500 will be awarded directly to the student upon receipt of proof of the successful completion of the first semester of post-secondary school. The scholarship shall be forfeited if the above criteria are not met within the first year after graduating from his or her Maine High School.

REQUIREMENTS

Complete this INFORMATION FORM and the information below. 
Two rubrics are used for scoring – one for the overall application and the second for the art work. 
  • Contact information
  • Where you plan to go to school (2 or 4 year college or university)
  • Current GPA (un-weighted)
  • GPA of visual arts classes
  • A list of high school arts classes and name of art teacher(s)
  • A list of activities, leadership, awards, and honors
  • A list of community service and employment

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION FROM A CURRENT MAEA MEMBER that includes

  • Evidence of strength in academics and character
  • Evidence of accomplishments

ARTIST STATEMENT (no more than 500 words) that addresses

  • Your artwork: motivation, process, and product
  • Why you wish to pursue a college degree in art

Images: (submit via email attachments or shared Google Doc folder)

  • 10 jpeg images: 72dpi-2mb – labeled by title (at least two must be from direct observation)
  • A .doc or .rtf file with the name/title, media, and dimensions of the original work

PLEASE NOTE

By submitting an application you agree that images of your artwork may be used in MAEA publications, announcements, and websites.

Posted in Food for thought, funding source, Opportunity, Visual Arts | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Ticket to Ride

February 5, 2020

Funding available once again

Great news for Maine educators seeking funding for field trips. Ticket to Ride, the Maine Arts Commission grant program that provides funding for schools wishing to travel to arts based venues and events is back! Grant applications are administered on a first come first serve basis, so don’t delay.

Ticket to Ride provides funding to defray the cost of travel for Maine schools wishing to visit Maine arts based venues and events as part of a well-rounded curriculum. The goals of the travel should support student learning and be aligned with the visual and/or performing arts standards. Applications are accepted throughout the year. Funding will be made available approximately one month after an application is submitted. Schools may apply more than once a year as long as they are applying to attend a different event, bringing a different student population, or have not expended their eligible amount.

Any PK-12 school in Maine with a documented free and reduced lunch student population between 30 and 49 percent is eligible to receive support of up to $300 each school year. Any PK-12 school population of 50 percent or greater is eligible to receive up to $500 per school year. Schools are welcome to use Ticket to Ride funds in combination with transportation funds that may be available from individual Maine arts based venues and events.

Eligibility Requirements

All applicants must have an active Maine Arts Commission account and current Vendor Code to receive funding.  A school district is eligible to apply if they meet the following criteria:

  • Is a public school district in the state of Maine.
  • Is in compliance with Final Reports required by the Maine Arts Commission for previous awards.

For more information and to apply go to the TICKET TO RIDE grants page on the Maine Arts Commission website.

Posted in funding source, Uncategorized, VPA | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Bicentennial Grants

January 8, 2020

Maine 200

The purpose of the Maine Bicentennial Grants program is to support the interests, needs, and local creativity of communities as they plan local commemorations of the Bicentennial and to ensure that citizens throughout Maine have the opportunity to participate in Maine’s Bicentennial commemoration. Projects can be on any scale. All funds must be expended no later than March 30, 2021. Complete information is at: https://www.maine200.org/

Grant applications should be submitted to the Maine Bicentennial Commission c/o the Maine Arts Commission, which will administer the program applications. Program applications will be reviewed by a panel consisting of representatives from the Maine Cultural Affairs Council (7) and from practicing educators representing the field (2).

There will be two application cycles with deadlines of:

  • February 1, 2020
  • June 1, 2020

The grant application screening committee will make awards based on the priorities listed above, and based upon ensuring a representative distribution of funds across the state. Support for communities that lack existing capacity to raise funds for these purposes will be prioritized.

Notification of awards will be made within 4 weeks of the deadline for each application cycle. Applications not approved for funding in one cycle may be resubmitted for a future cycle.

All funds must be expended by March 30, 2021.

Project Grants (Small) 

Maximum Award: $500. Required Match: None. Award Cycle: September 1, 2019 – March 30, 2021   

Proposed projects should offer context to the Bicentennial Commemoration and could include:

  • Public Programs: Lectures, exhibitions, library series, workshops, discussion groups, etc.
  • Community Events: Parades, fairs, festivals, concerts, performances, reenactments, etc.
  • Preservation Projects: Digitization/processing of collections, publications, oral history initiatives, location-based restoration /interpretation, etc.
  • Curriculum Development: Classroom offerings, student projects, fieldtrips, adult learning, etc.

Learn more–>

Project Grants (Large) 

Maximum Award: $10,000.Required Match: 1 to 1 cash or in-kind match is highly encouraged. Award Cycle: September 1, 2019 – March 30, 2021

Maine’s Bicentennial commemoration offers a unique occasion to draw residents, visitors, public servants, and private businesses together to commemorate 200 years of statehood, celebrate Maine’s present, and inspire a healthy and prosperous future. The Maine Bicentennial Commission exists to plan, administer, and coordinate programs and projects that commemorate Maine’s 200th anniversary of statehood, with three major goals:

  • To explore Maine’s history from the many perspectives of its multiple past and current populations.
  • To celebrate Maine’s present people, places, institutions, and economy.
  • To envision the public and private actions that will enhance Maine’s future prosperity.

Learn more–>

For more information on the grants being administered by the Maine Arts Commission.

Posted in Communication, Community, Creativity, Food for thought, funding source | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Dance Dance Dance

December 10, 2019

Dance Education grant

Thanks to Martha Piscuskas for providing information for this blog post.She is the interim director for arts education, Maine Arts Commission.

Hunt and Allison Smith

Nearing the gym, through the corridor literally owned and decorated by the K-third grade Central School students in South Berwick, one could already hear the rhythmical claps of a class fully engaged in old-time dancing. Recently I paid a visit to Kate Smith’s music program, where the whole school was treated to a residency with Maine Arts Commission Teaching Artists Hunt and Allison Smith, who played and taught old English, Irish and even Russian dances throughout the  week.

Thanks to the leadership of Kate and the Physical Education Teacher, Kristan Tiede, the school received a Maine Arts Commission Dance Education Grant and funding from the Marshwood Education Fund to bring this duo to play their fiddle, accordion and teach traditional set dances in circles, squares, and lines over three days. The teaching artists held the attention well of the students, no matter which age group. Even parents, siblings and teachers got to join in with a community family contradance one evening. Says Kate, “I know the residency with the Smiths will renew my confidence in teaching units that embed dance in music units in a more thoughtful, appropriate and successful way.  

I love the opportunity to integrate other subjects and collaborate with peers deepening student learning while giving us the chance  to learn from each other.”

I invite you to learn more about the Maine Arts Commission grant opportunities and the Teaching Artist roster.

The dance education grant at the Maine Arts Commission was established in 2012 with the help of Thornton Academy dance educator Emma Campbell and several dance programs and studios in southern Maine. Through a fund raiser performance they have contributed thousands of dollars so students, school communities, and teaching artists  across the state could benefit from dance education learning opportunities.

If you have any questions about arts education programs at the Maine Arts Commission please contact Martha Piscuskas, Interim Director of Arts Education.

Posted in Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction, Dance, funding source, Opportunity | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

CMCA

October 3, 2019

Kindling Fund

The Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland is hosting a Kindling Fund grant workshop presented by SPACE. The workshop runs for about an hour including a brief overview of the program and will coach audiences on how to create a competitive application, with time for questions at the end.

Projects supported by The Kindling Fund have included: curatorial projects that focus on unconventional artistic practice; public art projects, interventions, and site specific installations; the publication of writing directly related to the visual arts; and the creation of artist residencies and artist-run exhibition spaces.

The grant was established in 2015 in response to the needs of individual artists across the state and to the needs of Maine’s arts community at large. The Regional Regranting Program connects Warhol Foundation support with localized partner organizations who value artist-driven contemporary and independent practices. Thirteen other regranting initiatives around the United States fulfill a similar need.

For more details, please visit Kindling Fund.

Posted in Community, funding source | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Maine Expansion Arts Fund

September 7, 2019

Maine Community Foundation

The Maine Community Foundation’s Maine Expansion Arts Fund is accepting applications from nonprofits for grants of up to $5,000 that support indigenous, ethnic, or rural arts programs or projects, particularly those that serve areas with limited access to arts events.

The deadline for grant applications is September 15, 2019. An online application, guidelines and a list of recent grants are available at www.mainecf.org.

The Maine Expansion Arts Fund is a collaborative effort of MaineCF, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lillian M. Berliawsky Charitable Trust, and the Maine Arts Commission to strengthen and ensure the future of these artistic traditions. Additional funding is provided through the Elizabeth Laughlin Anderson Memorial Fund.

A statewide organization headquartered in Ellsworth with additional personnel in Portland, Dover-Foxcroft and Mars Hill, the Maine Community Foundation works with donors and other partners to improve the quality of life for all Maine people

Posted in funding source, Opportunity | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Music Scholarship

June 8, 2019

Westbrook High School – Don and Barbara Doane Music Scholarship

Trombonist Don Doane practices at the Maine Veterans’ Home in Scarborough in 2014. In addition to being a professional musician, Doane taught music to hundreds of students across Maine. File photo Portland Press Herald

This is a wonderful way to honor someone who has made an impact on the world of music education. After both of them are going their memory lives on with this scholarship.

Don Doane (1934-2015) was, in the words of one of his former students, the “best musician Maine has ever seen.” This designated fund honoring Don and his wife Barbara (1931-2015) supports a graduating senior from Westbrook High School seeking post-secondary study, with preference given to students pursuing music as a major or minor field of study.

 

 

 

Posted in funding source, Leadership, Music, Opportunity | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Traditional Maine Handcrafts Grant

April 27, 2019

Maine Community Foundation

The Maine Community Foundation seeks proposals to its Belvedere Traditional Handcrafts Fund for projects and organizations that promote traditional handcrafts in Maine.

An anonymous donor established the Belvedere Traditional Handcrafts Fund in 2007. Grant funding supports fiber arts, ceramics, basketry, jewelry, glass arts, woodwork, leather, metal crafts, and more. It also includes traditional Native American handcrafts.

Grants are available for new or expanding projects and capacity-building activities. Online applications are available through the Maine Community Foundation at www.mainecf.org. The application deadline is June 1, 2019. Only 501(c)3 organizations are eligible to apply.   

For more information, visit the foundation’s website, www.mainecf.org, or contact Leslie Goode, lgoode@mainecf.org, or by phone at (207) 412-2002.

Headquartered in Ellsworth, with additional personnel in Portland, Dover-Foxcroft, and Mars Hill, the Maine Community Foundation works with donors and other partners to improve the quality of life for all Maine people. To learn more about the foundation, visit www.mainecf.org.

Posted in funding source, Opportunity | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Grant Funding

February 23, 2019

NEA announces grants

National Endowment for the Arts Announces More than $27 Million in Grants Reaching All 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico

Washington, DC— With today’s announcement of more than $27 million in grants, the National Endowment for the Arts is continuing its efforts to provide all Americans with the opportunity to participate in and experience the arts. These fiscal year 2019 grants will reach all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This is the first of two major grant announcements in fiscal year 2019 and includes three of the agency’s funding categories: Art Works and Challenge America to support projects by nonprofit organizations, and Creative Writing Fellowships. Through these grants, the National Endowment for the Arts supports local economies and preserves American heritage while embracing new forms of creative expression.

“The arts enhance our communities and our lives, and we look forward to seeing these projects take place throughout the country, giving Americans opportunities to learn, to create, to heal, and to celebrate,” said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Click here for a list of all the recommended grants in this announcement sorted by city and state.

  • Click here for a list of recommended grants separated by category: Art Works (sorted by artistic discipline/field), Challenge America, and Creative Writing Fellowships in poetry.
  • Click here to use the online Grant Search to find additional project details for National Endowment for the Arts grants.
  • Click here for the lists of the panelists who reviewed the applications for funding.

Art Works

Art Works is the National Endowment for the Arts’ principal grantmaking program. The Arts Endowment convened panels to review 1,605 eligible applications for funding and the agency will award 972 grants ranging from $10,000-$100,000 totaling more than $25 million. Projects include:

  • An arts education grant of $10,000 to Mauro, Inc. in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to support therapeutic arts programs including in- and after-school dance and theater residencies for children affected by Hurricane Maria.
  • A theater grant of $30,000 to Theatre Squared in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to support the Arkansas New Play Festival. The festival will serve as a laboratory for new play development and present the work of emerging playwrights to audiences in Bentonville and Fayetteville.
  • A folk and traditional arts grant of $30,000 to Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission in Olympia to support a series of presentations to showcase cultural and occupational communities in the state, increasing participation in the parks, while also strengthening cultural identities and fostering cross-cultural respect between the various ethnic communities.
  • A design grant of $45,000 to Design Museum Boston to support the publication Bespoke Bodies: The Design and Craft of Prosthetics, which will include a 500-year history of prosthetics, case studies of how prosthetics design changes the lives of people with limb loss, and guest essays addressing global impact, athletic performance, and bionics.

Challenge America

The Challenge America category primarily supports small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations—those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.

For fiscal year 2019, expert readers reviewed 221 eligible applications and the agency will award 138 grants of $10,000 each for a total of $1.38 million. Projects include:

  • A grant to Josephine Sculpture Park Inc. in Frankfort, Kentucky, to support a multidisciplinary arts festival featuring outdoor sculptures and associated outreach events. A guest artist will be in residence before the festival to create and install a new sculptural work with the help of local students.
  • A grant to Maplewood Housing for the Visually Impaired in Chicago, Illinois, to support a collaboration between a sound artist and blind weavers to create a woven art piece for exhibition. The guest artist will help incorporate technology and sound elements into the artwork.
  • A grant to Eastport Arts Center in Eastport, Maine, to support a community-based musical theater work produced in partnership with the Passamaquoddy Tribe. The development of performing arts programming intended to serve residents of the Pleasant Point Reservation is in alignment with tribal strategies to combat poverty, unemployment, and opioid use.

Creative Writing Fellowships

In fiscal year 2019, the National Endowment for the Arts will award 35 Creative Writing Fellowships in poetry. Each fellowship is $25,000 for a total of $875,000. Nearly 1,700 eligible applications were received and reviewed anonymously by a panel, resulting in a group of recipients from across the country, diverse in ethnicity and background. None of the 2019 recipients have previously received an NEA fellowship.

Visit the Arts Endowment’s Literature Fellowships webpage to read excerpts by and features on past Creative Writing Fellows and recipients of Literature Fellowships for translation projects.

About the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.

Contact: Liz Auclair, auclaire@arts.gov, 202-682-5744

Posted in funding source | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

« Newer Entries
Older Entries »