The calendar below features upcoming Arts Commission deadlines, events, information sessions and workshop opportunities. Times, dates and event details may be subject to change. For more information, please email info@azarts.gov.
Apply Now: 2020 Research & Development Grant
The Arizona Commission on the Arts is now accepting applications for 2020 Research & Development (R&D) Grants.
R&D Grants provide funding support to Arizona artists as they work to advance their artistic practice, expand their creative horizons, and deepen the impact of their work.
Who’s it For?
Artists working in any discipline who live and work in Arizona. Whether you’re just getting started or you have already experienced many career successes, the R&D Grant is available to help you take your artistic practice to the next level, including:
- exploration of new techniques
- experimentation with new materials or technologies
- creation of new work
- development of new strategies for engaging your community of practice
The application period for 2020 Research & Development Grants is now open.
Applications will be accepted through 11:59 PM, Friday, October 25, 2019.
R&D Grant Information Sessions
Leading up to the application due date, the Arizona Commission on the Arts will present public information sessions online and throughout the state.
Additional opportunities will be posted as they are scheduled.
Apply Now: 2020 Research & Development Grant
The Arizona Commission on the Arts is now accepting applications for 2020 Research & Development (R&D) Grants.
R&D Grants provide funding support to Arizona artists as they work to advance their artistic practice, expand their creative horizons, and deepen the impact of their work.
Who’s it For?
Artists working in any discipline who live and work in Arizona. Whether you’re just getting started or you have already experienced many career successes, the R&D Grant is available to help you take your artistic practice to the next level, including:
- exploration of new techniques
- experimentation with new materials or technologies
- creation of new work
- development of new strategies for engaging your community of practice
The application period for 2020 Research & Development Grants is now open.
Applications will be accepted through 11:59 PM, Friday, October 25, 2019.
R&D Grant Information Sessions
Leading up to the application due date, the Arizona Commission on the Arts will present public information sessions online and throughout the state.
Additional opportunities will be posted as they are scheduled.
Apply Now: 2020 Research & Development Grant
The Arizona Commission on the Arts is now accepting applications for 2020 Research & Development (R&D) Grants.
R&D Grants provide funding support to Arizona artists as they work to advance their artistic practice, expand their creative horizons, and deepen the impact of their work.
Who’s it For?
Artists working in any discipline who live and work in Arizona. Whether you’re just getting started or you have already experienced many career successes, the R&D Grant is available to help you take your artistic practice to the next level, including:
- exploration of new techniques
- experimentation with new materials or technologies
- creation of new work
- development of new strategies for engaging your community of practice
The application period for 2020 Research & Development Grants is now open.
Applications will be accepted through 11:59 PM, Friday, October 25, 2019.
R&D Grant Information Sessions
Leading up to the application due date, the Arizona Commission on the Arts will present public information sessions online and throughout the state.
Additional opportunities will be posted as they are scheduled.
Apply Now: 2020 Research & Development Grant
The Arizona Commission on the Arts is now accepting applications for 2020 Research & Development (R&D) Grants.
R&D Grants provide funding support to Arizona artists as they work to advance their artistic practice, expand their creative horizons, and deepen the impact of their work.
Who’s it For?
Artists working in any discipline who live and work in Arizona. Whether you’re just getting started or you have already experienced many career successes, the R&D Grant is available to help you take your artistic practice to the next level, including:
- exploration of new techniques
- experimentation with new materials or technologies
- creation of new work
- development of new strategies for engaging your community of practice
The application period for 2020 Research & Development Grants is now open.
Applications will be accepted through 11:59 PM, Friday, October 25, 2019.
R&D Grant Information Sessions
Leading up to the application due date, the Arizona Commission on the Arts will present public information sessions online and throughout the state.
Additional opportunities will be posted as they are scheduled.
Notice of Public Meeting: https://publicmeetings.az.gov/content/research-and-development-grant-panel-meeting
Due to precautions related to COVID-19, this public meeting will be held online rather than in our office, as originally planned. The public may listen to a livestream of the meeting at https://azarts.gov/panels/public-meetings/.
AZ Creative Aging Researchapalooza is a year-long data collection and research challenge focused on gathering data about existing creative aging programs and their participants.
It is also a capacity-building program for teaching artists, arts organizations and health/aging organizations with a serious and committed interest in strengthening existing Creative Aging programs through research and development efforts.
Application period extended. Applications will now be accepted through March 26, 2020.
As a participant you will…
- Build the capacity of your creative aging programs through research and development efforts
- Work one-on-one with a research consultant to gain new assessment and evaluation skills and knowledge
- Collect demographic & programmatic data to better understand equity and equitable evaluation within your programs
- Develop tools to advocate the benefits of creative aging programs to funders, policy and decision makers
- Strengthen your connection to the creative aging community
Extended Application Due Date
11:59 PM, Thursday, March 26, 2020
Program Timeframe
March 2020 – March 2021
Schedule
The following schedule is approximate and will be finalized with participants.
February 2020– March 2020: Recruitment
Eligible applicants are invited to apply for Researchapalooza by completing a short proposal to be considered for the year-long challenge.
April 2020 – July 2020: Development
Selected participants will be placed into cohorts based on where they are in their data collection journey. During this phase, the participants will engage in regular virtual convenings for sharing and learning with their cohort. Each participant will have the opportunity to engage with a researcher one-on-one as a consultant for their research and evaluation plan. This individualized attention will allow each participant to practically and sustainably apply the skills they will develop.
August 2020 – December 2020: Implementation
Participants will take their research and evaluation plan and implement it in at least one of their programs during the Fall 2020 or analyze existing data Researchers will be engaged throughout this phase to help with data review and analysis.
January 2021 – March 2021: Evaluation
Participants will gather to share their research journey. Researchers will conduct final individual meetings to help analyze the data. Findings will be communicated with the participants and the community at large.
When you’re ready, go click on “Apply Now” below. This will take you to a website called Submittable where you’ll submit your application materials. You do not have to complete the application in one session; Submittable allows you to save a draft of your application and complete/submit it later.
Please review the Researchapalooza Guidelines thoroughly before beginning your application.
If you’d prefer to prepare the narrative section of your application in a word processing program before entering your responses in Submittable, click here to download a Word document version of the overview and narrative questions.
The application consists of the following:
Profile
In this section, you will provide general information about the applicant (individual or organization).
Application Narrative
Answer each of these questions. You can type up your proposal narrative (650 words), or you can upload it in a video or audio recording (no more than 5 minutes in length). Describe your work in the creative aging field. How would you describe your programming? Do you currently work with any partners?
- Describe where you currently are in your data collection and research journey.
- Please describe 1-3 areas you currently feel you/your organization would focus on if paired with a creative aging research consultant.
- If you share your proposal narrative in a video or audio recording keep it simple and to the point. The recording should be just you, describing your proposal and answering the three questions listed above. Please do not include edits of your work samples or special effects. Production quality of this recording will not be considered in your review. Just make sure we can hear and understand you and keep editing and post-production embellishment to a minimum.
The call for applications is open to all artists, arts organizations and health/aging organizations with Creative Aging programming based in Arizona. Organizations who apply must be incorporated as a nonprofit organization with tax-exempt status or be a unit of government. Applicants must have programming scheduled for the Fall 2020 or existing data to review.
The Arizona Commission on the Arts is seeking up to 12 teaching artists, arts organizations and health/aging organizations to participate in this program.
Applications will be reviewed by AZ Creative Aging partners and Arts Commission staff. Late or incomplete applications will be ineligible for review or funding.
The reviewers will seek a balance of arts disciplines and geography within the participant cohort. Up to 12 artists, arts organizations and health/aging organizations will be selected.
Applicants will be notified of their application status by mid-April, 2020.
In 2019, the Arts Commission and Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, in partnership with the Institute of Sustainable Communities, developed a five-month engagement process that prioritized the perspective and voices of the creative aging sector in an effort to strengthen the creative aging movement in Arizona. The process successfully gathered information from community leaders and local creative aging experts to articulate and define a set of strategies unique to Arizona. The creative aging visioning process resulted in the following final strategies; Researchapalooza was developed out of this process and in response to these collective strategies.
Strategy A
Build the capacity for the creative aging sector to deepen collaboration and relationships between artists and organizations.
Strategy B
Increase advocacy to policy makers and general public awareness of creative aging programming and the benefits it has among older adults and an entire community
Strategy C
Strengthen the creative aging community through:
- Dedicated research and evaluation efforts by all
- Increased collaboration and connectivity
- Increased communication among peers
Strategy D
Ensure equity is prioritized throughout the creative aging sector.
Strategy E
Build a creative aging culture where the community is able to remain innovative, imaginative and nimble.
Arizona Teaching Artist Virtual Conversation
Thursday, April 9, 2020
2:00 – 3:00 pm
A peer-to-peer driven conversation for Arizona Teaching Artists to virtually check-in, share strategies, insights, tools, and resources relevant in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.
A link and instructions for joining the session will be emailed to you upon registration.
Friday, April 17, 2020
5:30 – 6:30 pm
A conversation about strategies for staying connected to community during “social distancing” and imagining new ways to sustain your creative practice and share your craft during the coronavirus pandemic.
A link and instructions for joining the session will be emailed to you upon registration.
Nik Ridley is a Resident interdisciplinary Artist at Phoenix Center for the Arts and an ASU Gammage Teaching Artist trained in the Kennedy Center Arts’ Integration Method. His passion is in creating residential, corporate, and event-specific art. A proud Purdue Boilermaker, Ridley brings more than 20 years experience in the arts (visual, poetry, theater, spoken word, and music).
Email: nik@artbynikridley.com
Painter Antoinette Cauley has spent the past several years working as a full time artist in her studio in Phoenix, Arizona. She attended Mesa Community College where she studied Fine Art with an emphasis in painting. Cauley is currently represented by the monOrchid Gallery in Phoenix.
Email: info@antoinettecauleyart.com
Gina Ribaudo, owner of I Love Murals, is a professional muralist and portrait artist. With 25 years experience, she is mastered the art of mural painting. Always loving portraiture, several years ago, she started painting iconic legends in her studio. Her portraits are large scale and her style is very colorful, expressionistic and spontaneous.
Email: creativewalls@gmail.com
Lindsey Krause relocated to Arizona seven years ago from Pennsylvania, and currently manages the north location of Phoenix Center for the Arts: Thunderbird Arts Center. She holds her Master’s Degree in Humanities with a focus on expressive arts therapies, social justice, and non-profit community arts organizations. Lindsey is proficient in several art mediums and has been known to teach and show her art in her home state and in select locations in Arizona.
Email: l.krause@phoenixcenterforthearts.org
Tiesha Harrison is an Arizona native and a multi-disciplinary creative collaborator who is an Abstract Artist and Founder of I Love This Journey LLC, an inspirational event planning company that focuses on Art, Creative Expression and Collaboration. Tiesha thrives on self-mastery, creativity and self-reflection to help bring awareness to important topics like mental health, vulnerability and authenticity.
Email: ilovethisjourney@icloud.com
Motown born making home in the Valley of the Sun, Billy “Issim” Ramsey is a father, husband, creative & activist that utilizes arts and arts experiences to connect and cultivate “the village”. The Co-founder of Arizona Talking Drum Performance Studio Network and BlackPoet Ventures, LLC, Issim is working on bettering connections between youth across the metropolitan area and offering tools for resiliency.
Email: issimdark@gmail.com
Ty Bilunes is a local visual artist from Lansing, Michigan.
Email: email@tybilunes.com
Randi England got her start in fashion when she enrolled in The Art Institute of Phoenix for Fashion Design. She was halfway through her degree when it closed in 2018. She has volunteered and worked at F.A.B.R.I.C., a local fashion incubator, for going on three years as an event/fashion show/ model coordinator.
Email: randi.england@ymail.com
Kait Ahlschwede is a professional fundraiser, informal music educator, and avid arts advocate. After spending several years in Phoenix working at the Musical Instrument Museum and Phoenix Center for the Arts, she is currently on staff at the Minneapolis Institute of Art on their Major and Planned Giving team. Kait holds her Bachelor’s degree in Arts Administration and Music from Arizona State University and is a current Master’s student at the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy.
Email: kaitahlschwede@gmail.com
Jennifer Gastelum‘s degrees in Psychology and Community Counseling serve her well in her role as Community Engagement Specialist at Mesa Arts Center. As a local resident and a Mesa native, Jennifer is driven by her passion for community and the arts, and the value of bringing the two together to make positive change.
Email: Jennifer.Gastelum@mesaartscenter.com
Dance in the Desert Webinar
Thursday, April 30, 12:00 pm
Video Work Samples for Dancemakers
What are Grant Panels Looking For?
with Kristin Gregory and Cheri Opperman of New England Foundation for the Arts
Join us for the second in a series of free webinars presented by Dance in the Desert 2020. This installment offers a grantmakers perspective on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to dancemaker work samples.
Presented by Kristin Gregory (Program Manager, Dance) and Cheri Opperman (Grants Manager, Dance) of New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA).
This online instructional resource is offered free of charge, but advance registration is required.
Join the Arts Commission’s Artist programs team for a discussion of the Research & Development Grant, the application and review process, and tips for preparing a competitive application. Can’t make the live presentation? We’ll post a recording the following day for you to watch at your convenience!