FY23 Edith Lutyens & Norman Bel Geddes Design Enhancement Fund

The Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes Design Enhancement Fund is now accepting applications for the FY23 grant cycle! This year, A.R.T./New York and the Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes Foundation have worked together to streamline the application process, expand eligibility for the program, and reduce restrictions on the use of the grant. We are excited to see what you and your design team dream up!

Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes created their namesake foundation to support the design and production costs of New York City-based non-profit theatre companies. The Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes Design Enhancement Fund provides grants intended to augment the artistic needs of a production and allow a designer to more fully realize their artistic vision for a production. Design enhancement can impact the artists and audiences involved in a production in many ways, from formal and technological innovations to augmenting the audience’s experience in the theatre. In order to have the most significant impact, these funds must supplement the current production budget and augment the original design concept. Applicants may request support for enhancement to design elements including (but not limited to) sets, lights, sound, costumes, video, puppetry, props, or multimedia design elements.

In essence, we ask you and your design team to dream big and answer the question: “What would you do if you had an extra $5,000 or $10,000 to spend on this production?”

Requirements

The applicant must be a theatre company, organization, or artist collective creating, developing, or presenting theatre for at least two years with annual non-capital expenses totaling less than $5,000,000 for its most recently completed fiscal year.

Applicant may be a 501c3, fiscally sponsored, or unincorporated entity that is “non-profit in spirit”.

A.R.T./New York has an expansive definition of “theatre” as a discipline of live performance. If you call your art theatre, then you are eligible to apply for this grant! However, keep in mind as you write your application that a panel of theatre-makers and theatre designers will be evaluating your application for this theatre-based grant.

The applicant must also be an A.R.T./New York Theatre Member in good standing with no outstanding dues, loans, or rent;

Companies applying for A.R.T./New York membership in order to be eligible for the grant must apply for membership at least 2 weeks before the grant deadline and should reach out to membership@art-newyork.org explaining their intention to apply, in order to ensure their membership is approved in time;

Your project and grant request should also meet the following requirements:

Your grant request should be for the amount necessary to achieve the enhanced design element(s) and should not exceed $10,000.

The grant may be used to cover costs directly related to the design enhancement including materials, direct labor costs, additional shipping/transportation costs, equipment, etc.

Grant funds may not be used to pay for increased designer fees, unless it is directly related to the building of enhanced design elements outside of the typical scope of the design contract.

Applicants may only request funding for one project that occurs in New York City between August 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023. Touring productions are eligible, provided they have New York City performance dates during the grant period. In cases where a funded project is delayed beyond June 30, 2023, theatres must contact A.R.T./New York to discuss options.

Virtual theatrical productions are eligible for funding through this program, provided the activities occur primarily in New York City.

Applicants may request enhancement support for more than one design element if the enhancement impacts multiple design elements (i.e. where a set enhancement requires a lighting enhancement to achieve the full effect, or where a puppetry enhancement interacts with costumes requiring enhancements to both elements to fully achieve the expanded design vision).

It is not recommended that applicants apply for two or more disparate design element enhancements.

The designer should be identified in the application, and it is expected that the designer will contribute to the final application if invited to apply. The designer may be contacted as part of the panel evaluation process.

A lack of funding through this program must not impair the production as originally envisioned by the design team. Put another way, the enhancement should be described in positive terms, and should not devalue the creativity and feasibility of the original design concept(s) for the production. This grant is to enhance and augment the original design, not to fund the original design.