Supported by Indigo Arts Alliance applications are open from Monday, April 12th through Monday, May 10th, 2021.
About the Fellowship:
A foundational aspect of Indigo Arts Alliance’s mission is to amplify and empower Black and Brown artists who enrich our local community. The goal of the David C. Driskell Fellowship Program is to identify talented Maine based artists whose work is of excellent artistic merit and is open to all artistic career stages. That is why Indigo Arts Alliance is proud to offer rent free studio space to our Maine based community! We are excited to announce the opening of our new Black Seed Studio for Black and Brown artists that reside in the state of Maine.
The IAA mission is both local and global. We are specifically working with “Black and Brown” artists. African descent refers to people from all African nations, African-American, Afro-Latin, and Caribbean. The geographic breadth of all the places where Africans were displaced as a result of the transatlantic slave trade. We describe “Brown” to include Native Americans, indigenous peoples, Latinx, East, and Southeast Asian, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim.
This exciting opportunity will enable artists to engage in their practice in ways that they may not otherwise have the space and/or resources to. As artists and creative professionals ourselves, we understand the value and rarity of having dedicated studio space for an extended period of concentrated time. In addition to having access to a 1,000 sq foot studio facility, selected applicants are awarded a $500 fellowship, thanks to the David C. Driskell Fellowship Program created by Indigo Arts Alliance.
About Indigo Arts Alliance:
We amplify the creative voices and visions of global and local artists and facilitate cross-cultural collaboration using a multidisciplinary approach. Our mission is to connect Black and Brown artists from around the world with Maine’s artists of African descent through a multidisciplinary artist-in-residency program that embodies a Black-led approach to creativity, community-building, and mentoring. We are an incubator for Black and Brown artists.
About David C. Driskell
David C. Driskell served as the Elder Advisor to Indigo Arts Alliance. His mentorship, advice and support helped to affirm and inform our unique model. David generously shared his wealth of knowledge and experience in ways that have been instrumental in helping to sow the seeds for the future growth of the organization.
David C. Driskell revolutionized the field of African American art through his scholarship, innovation and humanity.
A giant in the art world, he played a critical role in bringing awareness to the art of African American artists at a time when these artists were overlooked. His work made it clear that African American art is essential to the American art canon.
Black Seed Studio
Application Process
The program will use an independent jury of three arts professionals to award the fellowships. BIPOC Artists from all areas of Maine are eligible to apply.
Supported by Indigo Arts Alliance the fellowship application periods are as follows:
Spring
Application: December 15th, 2020 – January 22nd, 2021
Studio Access: February 1st, 2021– May 1st, 2021
Summer
Application: April 12th, 2021 – May 10th, 2021
Studio Access: June 1st, 2021 – September 1st, 2021
Fall
Application: August 9th, 2021 – September 13th, 2021
Studio Access: October 1st, 2021 – January 1st, 2022
Selected Fellows Receive:
- Rent free studio space for up to three months
- $500 (unrestricted): Fellowship funding may be used to enhance any aspect of the artist’s life, such as overhead costs, the purchase of materials, and other living expenses. Awards are subject to state and federal income tax guidelines.
- Support from Indigo Arts Alliance staff and menu of community resources and services.
- Black Seed Studio Visits: IAA coordinates a mid-residency studio visit with the current Indigo Arts Alliance Mentor/Mentee residents and a selection of arts professionals. These can be virtual or in person depending on your comfort level.
Selection for use of Black Seed Studio will be based on artistic skill and commitment to your practice. Artists working at every level, emerging through established, are equitably welcomed and reviewed. Applications will be evaluated by a jury panel. applicants will be notified by email of acceptance. Artists are expected to credit Indigo Arts Alliance in all social media, exhibit announcements and any other public interface during the time they are in residency. This program is not open to currently enrolled students. We encourage those who are enrolled in a program to apply following their graduation. Applicants are evaluated and selected based on their work, as evidenced in submitted materials and work samples. Consideration is given to accomplishments to date as well as promise for continued development and the potential impact the fellowship will have on the artist. The distinguished panel will also be asked to consider the wide range of media, aesthetic considerations, social engagement, relationship to defined community, and cultural traditions that might be influenced by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and geography.
Criteria:
Artistic Merit: The artist presents a sustained commitment to their practice, risk-taking, and clear concepts and creative methodologies that advance artistic expression. This includes traditional studio practices, music/sound, creative writing to new forms that explore digital art mediums.
Creative Integrity: The artist’s work demonstrates integrity and ethical use of material demonstrates responsible social and/or environmental practice, models new forms of creative action.
Engagement with defined communities: There is a clear articulation of the role and relationship of the artist with the communities in which they are engaged. The artist engages in equitable creative practice which seeks to build social/structural/systemic equity.