UMEZ Mertz Gilmore Seed Fund for Dance

The Seed Fund for Dance is a grant program designed to support creatives with exceptional dance or choreographic talent, who exhibit a distinctive voice, and whose career path would benefit from the recognition and visibility that this award offers.

The program will provide $5,000 grants to support 16 dance projects taking place in Upper Manhattan from January 1, 2022, to February 28, 2023. Funding is intended for dance-centric projects, ranging from folk/traditional forms to contemporary and socially engaged artistic practices. These projects must be available to a public audience and can be concerts, performances, festivals, or other ventures that foster community engagement through dance.

Program funding is generously provided by the Mertz Gilmore Foundation.

The UMEZ Mertz Gilmore Seed Fund for Dance program is administered by the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation (UMEZ) with promotional support from the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), and Dance/NYC.

Requirements

Eligibility: The Seed Fund for Dance invites proposals from individual dance artists, ensembles, collectives, and nonprofit organizations with budgets of $250,000 or below in their pursuit of a project that expresses their artistic vision.

Application Instructions

Review the Seed Fund for Dance guidelines and application worksheets to apply. All applications must be submitted to UMEZ’s online submission platform, Submittable. Incomplete applications, hard copy submissions, and applications received after the stated deadlines will not be considered.