Deadline: 9-Jan-23
Arts Midwest welcomes applications from all eligible organizations, including first-time applicants; organizations serving communities of all sizes, including rural and urban areas; and organizations with small, medium or large operating budgets.
Funding Information
- Grant awards of $15,000 – $25,000 will be awarded to 6-10 applicants to support theater education programs that reach youths within the juvenile justice system.
Examples of Eligible Projects
- An organization partners with the county’s juvenile correctional facility, offering a residency for youth that culminates in a performance for the youth’s families.
- A theater company performs Romeo and Juliet at a boarding school for juvenile offenders, followed by weekly workshops for the duration of the semester.
- An organization offers ongoing, twice-a-week workshops and theatre exercises at a short-term youth detention center.
Eligibility Criteria
- This opportunity is open to eligible 501c(3) theater companies or organizations across the nation that have two years’ experience partnering with the justice system and engaging youths in a theater education program that illuminates the works of Shakespeare and addresses his work in modern context between August 1, 2023, and July 31, 2024.
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Applicants must:
- Be a 501c3 nonprofit, professional theater company located in the U.S. and the Native nations that share this geography.
- Have a minimum of two years’ experience partnering with the justice system to provide theater education programs.
- Compensate all professional personnel at no less than the prevailing minimum compensation. (This requirement is in accordance with the regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor in part 505 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations.)
- Agree to acknowledge Arts Midwest and the National Endowment for the Arts in all programs and press materials related to funded engagements.
- Have a valid Unique Entity ID via SAM.gov (free to acquire).
- Comply with Federal eligibility requirements.
Project Requirements
- Arts Midwest is currently accepting applications for events occuring between August 1, 2023, and July 31, 2024.
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Conduct educational theater programming that explores and illuminates Shakespeare’s text, addressing his work in modern context through frequent contact over a significant number of visits.
- Examples of activities may include workshops, discussions, seminars, and residencies.
- Activities may be in-person, socially distanced, or virtual.
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Partner with at least one facility to reach youth in the juvenile justice system.
- Examples of eligible facilities include detention centers, correctional facilities, court-appointed programs, treatment centers, transition centers, group homes, or educational schools/programs specifically for juvenile offenders or incarcerated youth.
- Juvenile offenders are defined as youth (age 17 or younger) who have been found guilty of committing a delinquent act.
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Engage a minimum of two teaching artists, staff, or personnel in theater education programming.
- Activities must be be led by experienced teaching artists, staff, or personnel with strong credentials and experience working within the justice system.
- Teaching artists will be required to complete a survey at the conclusion of the programming to evaluate the impact on youth.
Selection Criteria
- Applications are reviewed by an independent advisory panel composed of a diverse group theatre peers and experts in the justice system. Panel composition changes annually.
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Applicants are selected based on:
- Artistic excellence and merit of programming. The panel will review the content of the theater education programming, the intent to illuminate Shakespeare’s text and address his work in modern context, and the frequency of contact over a significant number of visits.
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The panel will evaluate the applicant’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as they relate to the proposed project. This could include commitment to racial, gender, and age diversity of the staff or personnel; equitable pay; relevant content and themes of the activities; accessibility accommodations; the consideration of the needs of students of different backgrounds, abilities, ages, and learning styles; etc.
- The ability and capacity to carry out the project. The panel will consider the applicant’s ability to manage and implement their proposed programming. This could include the evidence of the organization’s past work with the justice system; qualifications of teaching artists, staff, or personnel; organizational capacity; proven fiscal responsibility; the proven ability to adapt to unforeseen challenges due to COVID-19 and beyond; etc.
For more information, visit Shakespeare in American Communities.
For more information, visit https://www.artsmidwest.org/programs/shakespeare/apply