OVERVIEW
The Artist Leadership Program (ALP) for Museums and Cultural Arts Organizations invites local museums, arts organizations, and cultural institutions in the United States and Canada to collaborate with the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), Smithsonian Institution (SI):
- To identify local and regional Native artists well qualified to research Native cultural objects in museums and other collections in the region; document their research; receive training in arts management, marketing and career strategies, and business and leadership skills; and network at the local institutional level.
- Then to support the artists empowered with new artistic skills and techniques as they share—in their home communities or on-site at the museum or cultural arts organization—the value of Native knowledge through art. Organizations do so by hosting a Youth Public Art Project or Artist’s Community Workshop.
This program aims to rebuild cultural self-confidence, enable local indigenous artists to think more broadly about themselves and their art, and conduct local community art projects that inspire and reflect artistic diversity.
The program’s primary objectives for local museums and cultural arts organizations are to engage indigenous artists in focusing on artistic process through research in local collections, create opportunities for local artists to meet and consult with staff members, host public art programs that present indigenous artists as voices of authority on their art, and break down stereotypes about Indigenous art.
The program’s secondary objectives include to mentor young artists in collaboration with elders; convene local artists for networking and to share ideas and resources; affirm that Indigenous arts hold value and knowledge; and through indigenous arts, offer communities a means for healing and new ways to exchange cultural information.
Two museums/cultural arts organizations will be selected each year.
KEY DATES FOR 2015
Applications must be submitted using the ALP online application by 5 PM eastern time, Monday, May 4, 2015. Only complete applications received by the deadline will be considered.
Each award recipient will be expected to be in Washington, D.C., November 30 through December 4, 2015.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
- Applicants must be arts organizations, museums, and/or cultural institutions with sound fiscal management, including established methods for accepting cash receipts and making disbursements, documenting and reconciling income statements, and documenting and reconciling payments. Applicants must have been in operation for at least five fiscal years and be nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations committed to serving the indigenous communities in the United States and Canada.
- Applicants must demonstrate access to Native cultural materials supporting local Native artists; have staff to provide financial and logistical support for local Native artists; have access to local arts-management professional trainers, training facilities, and computer equipment; and have access to local video professionals.
- Applicants must be able to send at least one mid-career Native staff person or Native consultant to travel to Washington, D.C., in November-December 2015 to meet with NMAI staff and tour NMAI facilities. Upon proper invoicing, the applicant will be provided with a reasonable reimbursement for travel expenses, including airfare, airport transfers and baggage fees, lodging, and per diem. One additional staff member may attend the Washington program at the expense of each selected organization.
- Applicants must be able to collaborate with local security agencies to ensure that security background checks are successfully completed on individuals directly involved with youth.
- If selected, applicants must provide a DUNS number.
- Applicants must be in good standing with U.S. Government agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and able to register in the System for Award Management (SAM), a database of individuals and companies that do contractual business with federal agencies. Registration in SAM is necessary to ensure payment of contractor invoices.
- Applicants must be able to provide a certificate of liability insurance from their insurance carrier in the amount of $1 million to cover general liability, automobile liability, and worker’s compensation and employer’s liability to cover the applicant’s staff and/or consultant while on SI property.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://www.nmai.si.edu/connect/artist-leadership-program/#organization