The MAP Fund’s 2022 Grant Cycle

MAP’s 2022 grant cycle will provide grants of $30,000 to 85 new, live performance projects across all regions of the United States.

Project funds ($25,000) may be used for creation, dependent care, personnel, practice, production, rehearsal, research, rest, residency, travel, and workshop costs. General operating funds ($5,000) are unrestricted.

Key features include:

• Open and supported application: Anyone may apply on behalf of an eligible new, live performance project that connects with MAP’s mission. The person(s) who create the application (“primary contact” in Submittable) may be an individual artist, ensemble representative, producer, manager, agent, or presenting representative. We expect that all artists have consented to their presence in the proposal, and that the primary contact will share all subsequent communications with the artist(s). MAP aims to make the application process as supported as possible, offering phone call, email, and project description support.
• Three-step selection process to mitigate bias: In Step 1, a cohort of 60+ artists and arts workers serving as representatives of the applicant community will complete independent assessments of each proposal. They will cast anonymous votes to advance projects into the next step. In Step 2, an Excel function will randomly draw 85 projects. In Step 3, MAP’s Board of Directors approves the selected projects. MAP staff will send notifications via email.
• Granting process foregrounding artists’ agency: Each grantee will receive a $25,000 grant for the creation of a new, live performance project and a $5,000 unrestricted general operating grant. The artist(s) will choose the “grant custodian” best suited to their project’s needs, and must agree to how and when the funds will be distributed. We will move the funds quickly upon completed paperwork.

Requirements

All applicants will complete a short eligibility form in Submittable to ensure that the proposal meets these minimum criteria:

• Applicants intend to spend the grant down beginning November 2022 towards the creation, development, or production of a new, live performance project led by working artists.
• Artists must consent to their presence in the proposal and understand that they will be responsible for choosing the grant custodian in the event of an award.
• Artists on the project team do not need to be US citizens, but the project must take place in the United States (or its territories) and the grant custodian must be US-based.

In addition to the form, MAP staff scan project proposals prior to the review process. Proposals that fall into any of the following categories are deemed ineligible:

• Restaging of work that was originally created by other artists, has already premiered, and/or is considered a “classic” within any cultural context.
• Requests to support a curated series or festival, arts education curricula, touring, or documentation of a prior, completed work.

Eligible applications move into the selection process.