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2010 QCAF Recipients Salvatore LaRussa Dance Company
It is important to note that there is a significant change in the required attachments from previous years: a venue letter of agreement is no longer required. This means that organizations and individual artists do not have to secure a venue for their final exhibition, performance or presentation prior to submitting the QCAF application. Instead applicants are asked to list at least one proposed venue on the application and a reason that this venue is appropriate for the proposed project. It is still a good idea to complete an official agreement letter once your project location has been secured. Click here for a sample venue letter of agreement.
Despite the additional time, finding an appropriate venue can be difficult. I suggest familiarizing yourself with the venues you are interested in prior to approaching the proprietors. This list of Queens venues is a good place to start, but be warned that these are only suggestions. None of these organizations have committed to hosting QCAF events and all availability is dependent on the venue management.
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A comprehensive list of the remaining required attachments has been added to each of the QCAF guidelines. As a result, applicants can access the attachment requirements without having to open their online applications. If you are having trouble uploading attachments, please remember that files must be 2MB or smaller and that file names should be comprised of alphabetical or numerical characters only, no spaces or symbols.
Example of an acceptable file name: queenscouncilphoto1.jpg
Example of an unacceptable file name: queens_council photo# 1.jpg
Watch the tutorial below for more help with uploading attachments.
Summer is fading and another High School to Art (HS2AS) semester has come to an end.
That was the reaction of HS2AS Students after a impromptu performance piece from the summer 2010 students.
The students went to the corner of the MOMA, close to the LOVE sculpture by Robert Indiana, and one by one formed a line in the middle of the sidewalk. Standing straight, with a look of utter determination, all the students (even Josh who was wearing a cast and crutches) lined up in a perfect line taking up a good part of the city sidewalk. It was funny to see the reaction of curious spectators and even excited participants, as these stone like sentinels caught the attention of most pedestrians. The students were energized at their first performance piece, and marveled at the variety of reactions they witnessed from even the most hardened New Yorkers.
Their innate enthusiasm for art and curious spirit will be missed…
But, we’ll be seeing most of these students again either this fall or next spring/summer!
We have a lot of new changes and goals for the fall but our objective is always the same:
helping forge great artists!
Yeon Ji
The longest part of the QCAF application is comprised of narrative questions. The narrative questions are about the applicant’s history and development, the applicant’s marketing plan and budget, and of course, about the proposed project. Although this portion of the grant application is time consuming, it also provides the applicant a valuable opportunity to highlight accomplishments and make a strong case for funding.
When answering the narrative questions, applicants should start early to have plenty of time to gather the necessary information and resources. Ask for input from your program director and financial officer, and have someone proofread the application for spelling and grammatical errors.
Create the narrative and the budget at the same time. Do not include items in the narrative portion of the grant that do not have corresponding costs reflected in the application budget.
To discover further tips and secrets to writing a grant-winning QCAF application watch the following brief, yet thorough tutorials.
For organizations:
For individual artists:
It is easy to get tripped up by the budget requirements of any grant application. The budget section of the Queens Community Arts Fund application is comprised of one page for budget expenses and one page for budget income. This budget is intended to be a project budget only, not an organization budget. It is important to include all anticipated project expenses and all anticipated income that will be used to fund the project. Remember to be detailed and thorough. To learn more helpful tips, watch the budget tutorial above, read the frequently asked budget questions below and check out the budget explanation document here.
Does it diminish my grant application to include other donors in the budget income page?
• No, including other donors is not only required (see question below) but encouraged. Having other support for the proposed project strengthens the proposal.
The guidelines state that I must show 20% of my project income from other sources. What does that mean?
• 20% of the money used to cover the project total expenses must be from a source other than QCA. This 20% should be included in the Budget-Income portion of the application. For instance if the total budget expenses for the proposed project is $3,000, then in the Budget-Income you must show that at least $600 (20% of $3,000) is funded by a source other than QCAF grants.
Can I list another QCAF grant as this 20%?
• No. Additional support must be from a non-QCA source.
If I am using a fiscal sponsor, whose budgetary and financial information should I use?
• Use financial information for the sponsored organization, not the fiscal sponsor. Do use the fiscal sponsor’s proof of non-profit status.
Can the total project expenses exceed the grant award amount? If it does, should the additional expenses be included in the project budget?
• Yes, your proposed project should exceed the grant award amount since you are responsible to fund 20% of the project from non-QCA funds (see question above) Include all of the expenses and all of the income for the proposed project in the application. If you are applying for $3,000 from QCAF, but the entire project will cost $6,000, complete the budget for the full $6,000.
What is considered an in-kind donation?
• An in-kind donation includes donated services, materials or venues.
Aesthetic work could be anything, from a painting to sculpture to performance or even FASHION!!
When it comes to fashion, specifically the crafted work we see during Haute Couture (high fashion) week, should we consider it art or just clothes? Haute Couture combines artistic quality with fashion garments. We all heard the saying “Fashion is a form of art!”, although some people don’t agree with this, I actually do.
Fashion to me is a way of thinking & creativity. Viewing the latest trends from top designers, such as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano & Chanel it seems that today designers may be drawing their inspiration from art! I call it “Art on the Runway”, just like any painting/drawing or installation you see in a gallery. And like any work of art, you start with research, inspiration, a sketch, and a creation process that requires a great deal of skills and talent. The designer cuts their fabrics with the skills of a sculptor and adds color and texture with the skills of a painter. Although garments like this (more specifically Couture) will never be worn in the “real world” some people are willing to pay a lot of money to buy it for their own collection, just like they would of a painting/drawing.
There have been a few fashion exhibitions, such in The Museum of the City of New York, Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Brooklyn Museum. Fashion has the power to change an image and make a social statement like any other art can. There will always be a debate on whether fashion is art but we are still left with the question, is fashion a form of art?
What do you think? Do you consider Fashion a form of Art or does it depend?
Haute Couture Atelier Versace Dress including the sketch
Steven Colucci had an exhibition of paintings and Haute Couture at the National Arts Club. The exhibition featured 12 new paintings and 6 gowns bearing his original artwork and debuting as a designer. (Image: Miss USA Crystle Stewart in one of his creations)
Links:
http://www.mcny.org/exhibitions/past/paris-new-york-design-fashion-culture-1925-1940.html
http://fitnyc.edu/3662.asp
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/american_high_style/
http://www.artofcolucci.com/
http://www.nationalartsclub.org/index.htm
-Daliana Rosa
2010 QCAF recipient Susan Springer Anderson
It is mandatory for new applicants to fulfill a grant orientation requirement, although all applicants are encouraged to use the available grant assistance. The list below outlines the three ways to fulfill this requirement and the content of each option.
1) You can view the QCAF video tutorials. There are five tutorials, but you only need to view four depending on whether or not you are an individual artist or represent an organization. They are all under three minutes. To receive credit for watching the tutorials, you must fill out this form. Although the form is similar to an event registration form, you are not registering for an event, just notifying QCA that you watched the tutorials.
2) You can attend one of the four grant workshops held throughout Queens. A QCA staff member will discuss the QCAF grant guidelines, application questions and content, and tips for completing a competitive grant application. Grant resources will be passed out. RSVP is NOT necessary.
3) Using the google doc linked on the QCA website you can schedule a one-on-one meeting with a QCA staff member who will spend 20 minutes reviewing your grant application and answering questions.
Other Helpful Tools (click here to access)
- Video tutorial on how to use Vimeo to upload and embed video work samples
- QCA’s grant writing basics booklet
- A Queens Community Arts Fund budget worksheet
- Info on fiscal sponsorship
- A list of Queens venues
- A sample venue agreement letter
Building online communities through Facebook, connecting through Twitter and idea sharing through blogging… These “social media” terms are in the forefront of our lives whether we like it or not. Aren’t we thankful that this online business has made our lives move a little easier?
While attending this year’s wrap up session of the Individual Artist Initiative (IAI) a few weeks ago, I found that the good old fashioned face to face still has star power.
I had the privilege of sitting with the IAI participants while they shared ideas and concerns with one another. The artists were privileged to work, for several months, one on one with a professional consultant to help guide them to their specific career goals. The event was meant to have this group come together to share, network and build relationships.
What I observed was that the artists all seemed to value this opportunity but what was even more impressive was to see an empowered and passionate group of emerging artists networking with one another, building a community with shared concerns and needs. Each one realizing that their peers can be their best resource. Even though some of the artists connected using QCA’s Facebook page, this face to face gathering and sharing ideas still seems to be the perfect recipe for strengthening our cultural community.
What is your preference for meeting up with your peers, face to face or using social media tools?
Take a look at this year’s IAI participants
Perhaps you will meet some of these artists at QCA’s next networking event
Interview with Natalia Paruz (aka the “Saw Lady”)
By David Bromley
Hi Natalia you have been playing music on the subway for 16 years, you are kind of a legend on the N/W train. What neighborhood do you call home?
My neighborhood is Astoria. I’ve lived here for almost two decades. I love this neighborhood because it feels like a community – neighbors know one another, the clerk at the post-office asks me how my father is doing, the cashier at the health-food store asks how my music is going – that sort of thing. Priceless.
Of the millions of interactions you have had with people on the train what is the most memorable?
One time when I was playing at the Times Square subway station, among the people standing on my right hand side was a blind gentleman. As he was listening to my playing, a big smile spread on his face. A lady standing on my left hand side, who had nothing to do with the blind man, noticed how his face lit up to the sound of the music and how much he was enjoying it. She came over to me, purchased my CD and went over to the blind man. She put the CD in his hand and said: “This is the music you are listening to now. This is for you”. Music really connects people, bridges over cultural differences and breaks the alienation that big city streets often create.
The 8th annual Musical Saw Festival is coming up this Saturday, August 7th. Congrats. Obviously you are part of a community of saw players–how did you start the festival? It seems like your instrument is so specific, it might be difficult to find other like minded musicians. Did you meet each other at the hardware store? Sorry couldn’t resist.
A trip to the local hardware store was an interesting experience. The owner was furious about the “whistling” that somebody was doing in his store… He was very puzzled when he saw where the sound was coming from, but let me continue to test all his saws when he realized I was going to purchase an expensive saw…
It seems that all the saw players know me, through my website SawLady.com or from having run into me in the subway or elsewhere, but they don’t realize that there are more saw players, too. For some bizarre reason, all the saw players unanimously decided that I should be the one to organize a festival… As the years went by, more and more saw players came out of the woodwork (sorry – now I couldn’t resist…) and also more and more people are inspired to learn to play the saw. It’s really cool seeing the wide variety of people who are interested in saw playing. Last year we had a 13 year old sawist and an 83 year old sawist at the festival – and every age in between. The musical saw connects people of different ages, different origins – we’ve had saw players from Japan, China, India, Canada, Germany, Belgium etc. Last year we had 55 saw players present, and 53 of them got into the Guinness Book of Records for playing together as the ‘Largest Musical Saw Ensemble’. There is definitely a growing community of saw players, and the festival became the center-point where saw players can meet, interact, perform and learn from one another. Astoria is now an annual pilgrimage location for musical saw aficionados.
Why did you choose the Saw as your instrument? Or did it choose you?
I didn’t even know to go looking for a musical instrument, much less for a saw… This is how it happened:
I was a professional dancer. I was a trainee with the Martha Graham Contemporary Dance Company, I was a tap-dance teacher and demonstrator for Dance Masters and Dance Educators of America, I earned a living performing in musical theater – in short, I was a happy dancer – until… One day, on my way home from Lincoln Center, I crossed the street and was hit by a speeding taxi-cab. This was the end of my dance career. I suffered permanent damage to my upper spine.
Needless to say, I was devastated. I have dedicated my life to dance, and now what was I going to do? To cheer me up, my parents took me on a trip to Austria. You see, as a kid I loved the movie ‘The Sound of Music’. I went to the movie theater 14 times just to see it on the big screen! So, my parents took me to the country where this film was made. While there we attended a show for tourists. One of the acts was… you guessed it – a musical saw player! Now I have never seen nor heard of a musical saw before. This was totally new to me, and it blew me away. I thought the sound was phenomenal, and what really appealed to me was the visual – the fact that the whole instrument moved when being played. It was like a dance!
I went back stage to talk with the sawist. With my broken German I managed to ask him to give me lessons. His answer was a flat and resounding ‘No’. Of course I said I would pay him, and asked how much he wanted, but he just told me that I didn’t need a teacher. “Pick up a hand saw, hold it the way you have seen me do on stage, and figure it out” was his instruction. As a “bonus hint” he told me that the more expensive a saw I get – the better it would sound.
Armed with these instructions I borrowed my landlady’s old saw. It was rusty from time and woodwork, so it only had 6 notes left on it.
As a dancer I continuously went to lots of auditions, trying to get work, but as a sawist – the phone just kept ringing with invitations to perform! I didn’t think I was any good, but I just couldn’t say ‘no’ to all these nice people that wanted me to play for their events. And so, a whole new career blossomed out for me, without me ever intending it to happen.
That was about 17 years ago. Today, my resume includes playing the saw with many orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by maestro Zubin Mehta, at such venues as Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Gardens, etc.
Today I am so happy to be a sawist that I have forgotten to be sad about not being a dancer anymore!
How can people find out about the festival?
www.MusicalSawFestival.org – the festival’s flyer is available for printing from there, and there are videos from previous festivals on the ‘Videos’ page.
Anything else you would like to add?
I am forever grateful to the QCA for their amazing support of the festival – not only financial, but also mental/spiritual, encouraging me when the goings gets hard, lending a sympathetic ear, giving advice and lending a hand above and beyond.
When: Saturday, August 7th, 2010, 2pm.
Where: Hellenic Cultural Center, 27-09 Crescent Street (corner of Newtown Avenue), Astoria, NY 11102-3142
The entrance to the festival is on Newtown Avenue.
1. Visit the Grant section of the QCA website. The first page is titled Guidelines. Take a moment to click on the top box and learn about QCA’s grant programs.
2. Return to the Guidelines page. This page is broken down into boxes that best describe the type of applicants that apply to QCA’s grant programs. For instance, if you are an organization with your own non-profit status, click on Grants for Organizations. If you are an individual artist that plans to apply with fiscal sponsorship, click on Grants for Individual Artists with Fiscal Sponsorship.
3. Once you have clicked on the box that best describes you, take a look at the available grant opportunities. Read the guidelines thoroughly and decide which grant application(s) you are going to complete.
4. Once you have decided which grant(s) you are applying to, click on Assistance to learn about the grant orientation requirements, the ways in which you can fulfill these requirements, and additional materials that will help you prepare a competitive grant application. Don’t forget to view the helpful video tutorials!
5. At this point you may have questions about different aspects of the guidelines or application. Click on the FAQs and skim to find answers to your questions. Rest assured that you can revisit the FAQs section for help throughout the grant writing process.
6. It is always a good idea to reference projects that have been funded in the past as you start to consider the scope of your application. Click on Awardees for information on 2010 grant recipients and their projects.
7. Finally it is time to open and begin your grant application! Click on Application to learn about the online grant system CueRate. Follow the link to CueRate.
8. Creating an application in CueRate is easy, as explained here.
9. Once you have created a login name and password in CueRate and you are signed in, you will be directed to the main menu. SCROLL DOWN. Select the grant for which you wish to apply from the “select a form” pull down menu and click the “create new application” button. Your application will appear in the application manager. The application manager allows you to view and make changes to your application(s).
10. Congratulations! You are on your way to completing your QCAF application. Please check the Assistance and FAQs pages often for help and remember to reference the tutorials and additional resources as well.
One of my favorite quotes in the world is by Agatha Christie who said,
“Conversation reveals all”
And she should know.
The Grande Dame of Whodunit has built an empire of mystery novels of assorted murderers, scoundrels and thieves who have been undone by conversation.
I prefer to keep company with other types of people less deadly but just as fascinating. For me, the best place to do this and to have a conversation is over lunch.
How do you get to know someone?
Spending an hour with a person over a sandwich and coffee is a great way to start a relationship. Breaking bread is usually followed by breaking the ice. If you are a skilled conversation artist, you will find yourself listening a lot more than talking. If the food is exceptionally tasty, this is not difficult to do. People like to talk and share stories about themselves.
I think of lunch the same way I think about weddings.
Who is the wedding for, really? The bride and the groom? Guess again. It’s for everybody else. You guys are just animated versions of the cake figures.
Who is lunch for? I’ll give you a hint:
The most important letter in the word “lunch” is u.
U, as in you. Not you, the other you. The other person.
Lunch is about everybody else, if you really want to get to know people. When you invite someone to lunch, ask them to bring their appetite. You bring your ears.
