Program Guidelines - FY 2008

Purpose of the MCC's Artist Fellowships
The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents. In keeping with this mission, the Artist Fellowships provide direct, unrestricted support to artists in recognition of exceptional original work, to foster the creation of new art in Massachusetts. Artist Fellowships are awarded to primary creators, not those who interpret or translate the work of others.

Funding Categories and Awards
The Artist Fellowships provide grants of $7,500 in recognition of exceptional original work. The number of awards per discipline category varies according to the number of applications reviewed, the recommendations of each panel, and program funds available.

Deadline
The submission deadline is December 7, 2007. Applicants may apply in the following categories this year:

Choreography
Drawing
Fiction/Creative Nonfiction
Painting
Poetry
Traditional Arts

Discipline Definitions

Next year's categories will include: Crafts, Film & Video, Music Composition, Photography, Playwriting/New Theater Works, and Sculpture/Installation.

New This Year

• Individuals applying in visual arts categories (Drawing and Painting) are required to submit work samples online.

• The Drawing/Printmaking/Artists Books category title has been simplified to "Drawing" but will continue to accept all media formerly included: drawing, printmaking, collage, artists' books, and two-dimensional computer-generated work. For more clarification on the Drawing category or any other discipline, please refer to the Discipline Definitions.

Eligibility Requirements
Any artist 18 years or older who has been a legal resident of Massachusetts for the last two years at the time of application is eligible. All Artist Fellows must be legal residents of Massachusetts in June 2008, when grants will be awarded.

However:

• Students enrolled in a degree program directly related to the discipline or whose degrees are pending at the time of application are ineligible to apply.
• MCC board members, staff, and their immediate family members are ineligible to apply.
• Recipients of Fellowships (formerly called Artist Grants) from 2005, 2006 and 2007 are not eligible to apply. Finalists may apply, however.

Applicants may apply in more than one category. Please note that individual artists may receive only one grant in any given cycle. If an applicant is recommended for funding in more than one discipline, s/he will be recognized as a winner in both categories, but only one monetary grant will be awarded. Applicants may not submit the same work samples in more than one category. A separate online application (with a new registration, username, and password) is required for each discipline to which s/he applies.

Collaborating artists interested in applying together must file one joint application for a single Artist Fellowship and provide resumes for each collaborator. A collaborator may reside out of state, as long as the primary applicant is a legal resident of Massachusetts.

Review Criteria
There are two review criteria for the Artist Fellowships: artistic quality and creative ability based on original work submitted.

Work Sample Instructions
Choreography
Drawing
Fiction/Creative Nonfiction
Painting
Poetry
Traditional Arts>

Anonymity
In keeping with MCC's policy to ensure anonymity during the panel review process for all disciplines (Traditional Arts excepted), neither your name, nor any information identifying commissions, awards, reviews, and/or presentations, should appear on your work sample(s). Please include your name and identifying information only on your resume and where designated in the online application.

Application Process and Deadline

1. Fill out MCC's online application and click on the "Submit Application" icon by 11:59 PM Friday, December 7, 2007. Faxed, emailed, and printed application forms will not be reviewed.

2. For the visual arts disciplines (Drawing and Painting), all work sample images must be uploaded and submitted with your online application. Slides or CDs will not be accepted.

3. For Choreography, Fiction/Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, and Traditional Arts: print your Artist Fellowship Application Summary and mail or hand-deliver it with your work sample(s) to the MCC. Work sample(s) must be postmarked by December 7, 2007, or hand-delivered by 5:00 PM, December 7, 2007, to:

Artist Fellowships
Massachusetts Cultural Council
10 St. James Avenue, 3rd floor
Boston, MA 02116-3803
[Indicate on envelope to which discipline you are applying.]

Faxed or emailed work samples will not be reviewed.

Late and incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Applicants will be informed in writing of final decisions in June 2008.

Application Receipt Notification
In early 2008, MCC will send email notification that your complete application has been received. Please do not call to confirm receipt of your application package; for immediate delivery notification, you should mail your application "return receipt requested" via the US Postal Service.

Review Process
After the application deadline, MCC convenes independent peer panels to review applications. Panels are composed of artists and arts professionals representing a range of aesthetic perspectives. The review process is anonymous to ensure impartial assessment of each applicant's work. Funding recommendations made by review panels are presented to the MCC board for final award decisions.

Return of Application Material
Due to the high volume of applications received for Artist Fellowships, we are not able to return work samples (except in Choreography and Traditional Arts; see below). Please do not send original copies of work.

Choreography and Traditional Arts applicants who wish to have work samples returned through the mail must provide a self-addressed, stamped mailer or box with sufficient postage. The MCC assumes no responsibility for material lost or damaged during the review process or for shipping costs. To arrange pick-up of work samples, contact the Artists Department between July 1 and Aug. 30, 2008, during business hours. Please call at least one business day before you wish to retrieve your work samples. After Aug. 30, all unclaimed materials will be discarded.

Access Policy
The MCC is committed to access not only as a matter of law, but also as a policy designed to encourage the participation of all segments of the Commonwealth's population in MCC-funded programs. The Massachusetts Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity currently designates the following as underserved: African Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans, Native Americans, people with disabilities, Vietnam-era veterans, and women. The MCC also considers low-income communities, rural populations, and citizens over 65 years old as underserved. The MCC does not discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, religion, race, or disability.

Conflict of Interest
To ensure that all MCC review panels are free from conflicts of interest and/or the appearance of such conflicts, panelists are required to disclose any current or prospective affiliations they or their immediate family members have with an actual or potential applicant. "Affiliations" applies to employment, board memberships, independent contractual relationships, advisory or policy relationships, substantial contributor relationships, or other financial relationships. In addition, panelists are required to disclose any past or current adversarial relationships with actual or potential applicants of a professional or personal nature. MCC board members are not permitted to participate in discussions or votes relating to any applicant with whom they have an affiliation or relating to any applicants competing with that applicant.

Reconsideration Policy
An applicant may request reconsideration of an MCC decision on his or her application if the applicant can demonstrate that the MCC failed to follow published application and review procedures. Dissatisfaction with the results of a review does not constitute grounds for reconsideration.

The first step in the reconsideration process is to consult with the appropriate program staff member to discuss the review process that concluded in MCC's decision. If the applicant wishes to pursue a reconsideration, a request must be sent to the MCC's Executive Director, in writing, within 30 days of the MCC's notification to the applicant of its decision. All requests will go to the MCC's board for reconsideration no earlier than its next board meeting.