The next N.A.S.A. Grant application deadline is Monday, August 25, 2008.

The spring 2008 grant awarde is Jen Berger, read about Jen in the announcement press release. The work-in-progress showing this summer will be announced soon.

Supporting Vermont artists and the creation of new work are integral parts of the Flynn Center’s mission to build the artistic community in Vermont. In that spirit, the Flynn Center introduced the New Art Space Assistance (N.A.S.A.) Grant in 2000. This grant provides Vermont artists, working locally, with the development time and space in which to engage in process and thus to create new and meaningful work. The Flynn Center believes strongly in the inherent value of professional, dedicated workspace for artists. The grant—open to an individual artist or a group of artists for a project in theater, dance, music or a combination thereof—provides for the freedom to create and experiment, allowing the awardee to incubate ideas and change direction as the piece evolves. Emphasis therefore is not placed on the awardee presenting a finished and polished piece; in fact the opposite is true of this grant, which culminates in an informal, work-in-progress showing.

N.A.S.A. Grant awards include six hours of creation time per week for 10 weeks in either the Chase Family Dance Studio or the Hoehl Studio Lab and an opportunity for an informal public showing of the new work in either of the two FlynnArts studios or in FlynnSpace. Minimal technical support will be provided—some light cues, the most basic of sound, and seating as is found on that date—and will be in keeping with the informal setting of this work-in-progress showing. Marketing assistance will be provided by the Flynn Center and includes press releases, one announcing the award and later the work-in-progress date; two ads and an email advertising the work-in-progress; 11x17 posters hung around the Center; as well as press connections and a program. Any additional marketing is up to the awardee to organize and implement.

Applications are reviewed twice annually by a panel of regional arts peers, based on the grant criteria below. Questions about the grant, criteria, and application are welcome and encouraged; please contact Tracey Gilbert Dengler at 802-862-6825 or tgilbert@flynncenter.org.

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• Download a N.A.S.A Grant Guidelines & Application Packet
  To receive the N.A.S.A Grant guidelines and an Application in the mail, email tgilbert@flynncenter.org or call 802-862-6825. Please provide your name, mailing address, phone number, and email address.

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Application Instructions

• Review the criteria. If you have questions call Tracey Gilbert Dengler at 802-862-6825 or email tgilbert@flynncenter.org.
• Complete the application form.
• Make copies of your application. Please make eight copies of your application form, narrative, artistic history, timeline, and any written support materials. Please also three-hole-punch all copies. One copy of digital support materials, cued to a 3-5 minute segment, is sufficient.
• Attach relevant support materials.
• Applications should be post-marked or hand-delivered to the Flynn by close of business, 5 pm, on the application deadline.

Who May Apply

• Applicants must be Vermont artists—defined as artists who live and create primarily in Vermont and are recognized as full-or part-time Vermont residents.

Criteria for Award

• The proposal must be for the development of new, original work—this means that the artist should be: challenging himself or herself to work in different ways, in different genres, with new collaborators, and/or with a different process than (s)he has worked with previously. Therefore, the application should demonstrate how the artist intends to grow and develop in new ways through the N.A.S.A. process; what risks are being taken, what is or are the artistic investigation(s), what questions you are proposing to explore and how are they new or leading to new, original work. The application should show how the artist or group of artists are experimenting, evolving, and growing rather than simply continuing previously learned and mastered methodologies.
• The artist 's proposal must show that the work will lead to greater understanding and appreciation of the art form(s) for the artist or artists involved and/or for the audience. This includes both the underlying genre (music, theater, dance, etc.) and any collaborative relationships formed through the process with artists working in other genres. The Flynn Center awards N.A.S.A. Grants to artists to build artistic potential and opportunities for learning and growth, pushing boundaries and stretching understanding.
• The artist 's proposal must show that work to be accomplished during the grant period demonstrates an intent or emphasis on process, rather than on producing a polished "product." The grant is awarded to the applicant clearly expressing their engagement in an artistic investigation and who is most likely to benefit from an intensive, self-guided learning process. It is not awarded for rehearsal space, classes, discussion groups, or for the refinement of an existing and/or a finished, already highly polished production. Applicants should demonstrate the ability to be self-reflective about their learning process as artists.

• Although the Flynn Center encourages artists at all levels to apply for the N.A.S.A. Grant, the applicant should be able to demonstrate skill and competence in their primary art form and be able to show a past history of successful work. The artist 's proposal and attached artistic history must demonstrate the ability—through past accomplishments, resources, skills, and scope of the proposal—and thus feasibility to undertake the project successfully. The application should clearly state at what stage you are in as an artist and how this grant will support your development.
• The artist 's proposal must include a realistic timeline showing how the 10-week time period will be utilized. Applicants should consider their goals for the project and build a timeline that realistically meets those goals while allowing room for the process involved in an artistic investigation. The 10-week, 60-hour grant cycle inherently limits the scope of a project and may mean the timeline only allows for the incubation of one part or one segment of a larger process. A brief discussion of the future of the work or a vision for the future of the work—beyond what this creation grant would assist with—is encouraged.
• The artist 's proposal must lead to work that will have a potential positive impact on both the participating artist(s) and the artistic community in Vermont. Discuss how your work will impact other artists, the community at large, and/or yourself. For example, what will the ripple effect be, will this work lead to more investigations, will the piece continue to evolve beyond the grant period, are you working with other artists and thus expanding their work and experience as well.

Support materials (to be provided with application and project narrative):

• Lead applicant artistic history—please list other works created, including brief descriptions and relevant
  dates, etc.
• A timeline showing how the 10 weeks will be spent.
• A work sample such as a video or audio sample (cued for 3-5 minutes of viewing/listening) or 5-10 pages of an original manuscript.
• No more than two pieces of additional artistic support materials should document past work and/or demonstrate skill and competency in the applicant’s primary art form (audio clips cued for 3-5 minutes of listening, video clips cued for 3-5 minutes of viewing, press reviews or articles (one article equals one support material), a quote sheet (abbreviated press quotes listed on one page), 5-10 pages of an original manuscript). All support materials will be evaluated on length maximums stated; materials exceeding these maximums will only be evaluated up to the maximum lengths stated for that particular support material.

What the grant provides

• 60 hours of work/creation time in the Chase or Hoehl studios at the Flynn Center. This time will be coordinated around the FlynnArts program of classes and workshops.
• A public “work-in-progress” showing at the end of the grant period;
• Limited marketing and technical support for the “work-in-progress” showing as described in the introduction paragraph.

What the grant does not support

• Classes or discussion groups
• Rehearsal space
• Extensive/polished technical support (final showings are low-tech or no-tech as described in introduction paragraph)
• Substantially completed work that is being revised or restaged

What the Flynn Center expects of awardee(s)

• Responsible, secure, and respectful use of the studio space and time awarded.
• Completion of the project with an understanding that there may be a natural evolution from proposal to showing due to the creation process.
• Documentation and reflection on the goals of the project by the participating artist(s). To accomplish this, awardees are expected to articulate their artistic process through short weekly reflections posted on the FlynnBlog, at a post-showing audience feedback session, and in a short final reflection piece after completion of the N.A.S.A. Grant period. The work proposed and the process involved should be documented in some form, be it written, video recording, voice recording, or a combination thereof.
• A work-in-progress showing of the piece at the end of the grant period in one of the Flynn studios or in FlynnSpace followed by a question-and-answer session with all artists (moderator to be chosen by or in consultation with N.A.S.A. Grant administrators).
• Credit for the Flynn Center and the N.A.S.A. Grant program in future presentations of the work.

Mail to: N.A.S.A. Grant c/o Flynn Center, 153 Main Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401
Questions: Call Tracey Gilbert Dengler at 802-862-6825 or email at tgilbert@flynncenter.org
Deadline for application: Monday, August 25, 2008
Grant awardee announced the week of Monday, September 15, 2008

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