Call for Applications Announced for the Indigenous Contemporary Arts Program

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is accepting applications for its Indigenous Contemporary Arts Program, which is designed to support the wide-ranging creative activities of Native American artists. The goal of the program is to increase the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of contemporary Native American arts. Funding opportunities are for the Exhibitions and Publications or Expressive Arts programs, and the application deadline is Jan. 15, 2009.

The Exhibitions and Publications Program will fund exhibitions, installations, publications and critical writing that interpret and present the work of contemporary Native visual artists to the public and encourage dialogue and critical commentary. The amount of each award will range from $7,500 to $15,000 per project. The criteria for selection will be based on the artistic and programmatic merit of the project, the ability to reach a diverse audience and the nature and extent of interpretation. Nonprofit or education-based organizations are encouraged to apply.

The Expressive Arts Program will fund the creation and presentation of new works (or existing but never-performed works) by Native artists, with particular emphasis on collaboration. Artists may create presentations that include music, dance, spoken word, electronic media, film and video, costume design, mask making, set design, performance art, photography, painting and other forms of expression. Selected artists will receive awards of up to $10,000. The scope of the projects and their overall merit, as well as the number of applicants, will determine the size of the awards.

Awards will be announced March 15, 2009, and are effective from May 1, 2009, through April 30, 2010.

This program is made possible with the generous support from the Ford Foundation’s IllumiNation grant program.

For additional information and to download an application, visit www.AmericanIndian.si.edu.

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SI-429-2008