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Contact:
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646-723-2225
New York City has long been the dance capital of the country, yet dance remains an underfunded sector of the performing arts. The Mertz Gilmore Foundation has an extensive history of supporting dance in the city, reflecting Joyce Mertz Gilmore’s passion for dance. The Joyce Theater in Chelsea is named in her honor. Mertz Gilmore was one of the first foundations to recognize the key role that presenters play in the dance field - providing artists with technical and promotional support, commissioning pieces, staging works-in-progress, mounting full performance seasons, educating audiences through outreach programs, and developing a vital distribution network for live performance. The current economic downturn, which is already protracted, is exacerbating the challenges dance organizations face. The Foundation will continue to fund contemporary dance presenters located throughout the city’s five boroughs. Our objective remains to support and invigorate the presenting field to serve New York City’s artists and audiences.
The Program’s grants fall into three categories:
I. Presenters: The Foundation provides operating support for presenters of small to mid-sized dance companies in New York City. A presenter is an organization, or department or program of a larger organization, which facilitates exchanges between New York City’s artists and audiences through creative performance opportunities. Grants are available only to groups that present contemporary dance (exclusively or as a part of multi-disciplinary programs). Grant size is keyed to the annual budget of the presenter’s dance program. Grant terms will generally be two years in length. To qualify for a grant, applicants must demonstrate the following:
- A current and continuous three-year history of presenting high quality contemporary dance
- A substantial annual budget dedicated to dance
- The dance budget should include annual expenses related to dance presentations; residency and commissioning programs; technical assistance services to dance artists; and rehearsal space and time
- The dance budget should NOT include expenses related to fiscal sponsorships; dance schools/conservatories; or school-based arts education programs
- Sound organizational financial capacity and stable management, documented by the organization's most recent audit and operating budget
- Maintenance of on-going performance activity (with multiple dance presentations each year)
- Concerted efforts to increase and diversify the audience for dance
II. Festivals: Since the fall of 2003, the Foundation has funded a number of dance-specific festivals throughout New York City. However, the Foundation is phasing out this stream of funding. Going forward, we will focus predominantly on dance presenters, including a number of new smaller presenters located in the boroughs outside Manhattan.
Please note: The Foundation is not considering new inquiries in this category. In November 2009, the Foundation began making final tie-off grants to current festival grant recipients. The last of the tie-off grants were awarded in April 2010.
III. Advocacy/Support Services: On a limited basis and for opportunities that meet strategic concerns of the Foundation, organizations may submit proposals for technical assistance projects. The Foundation will consider discrete capacity building and support service projects. Prior to submitting a letter of inquiry, grantseekers are encouraged to contact Leah Krauss at 646-723-2225 or
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to discuss the nature of the proposed project.
Across all funding categories, the Foundation will not make grants for individual artists or companies, or organizations based outside of New York City. Any organization receiving support from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust will not be eligible for a grant from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation Dance program during the period of direct support.
TO APPLY: Please send a 3-page letter of inquiry to
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to help staff determine the possible fit with the Foundation’s criteria and program priorities. Please include a detailed budget of your dance program.
The deadline for letters of inquiry for the fall 2010 board meeting is Friday, August 13th. Please note that earlier submissions are welcome, although final funding decisions are made in mid-November.
2010 GRANTS
Presenters
Baryshnikov Dance Foundation (Baryshnikov Arts Center)
$40,000 over two years to support a creative laboratory, meeting place, and performance center founded by Mikhail Baryshnikov. (Year 1)
College Community Services (Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts)
$20,000 over two years to support the dance series at a cultural facility located on the campus of Brooklyn College. (Year 1)
Dance Theater Workshop
$70,000 over two years to help identify and meet the needs of contemporary dance artists through performances, commissions, residencies, and specialized services. (Year 1)
Dancenow/NYC
$30,000 over two years to provide showcase performance opportunities to a spectrum of emerging through established contemporary dance artists. (Year 1)
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
$100,000 over two years to support New York City dance artists who present and create work at the longest-running international dance festival in the country. (Year 1)
Kings Majestic Corporation (651 ARTS)
$30,000 over two years to present performances by emerging and established choreographers of the African Diaspora. (Year 1)
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
$30,000 over two years to develop, produce and present original work by emerging and established dance artists at a venue in the East Village of Manhattan. (Year 1)
LaGuardia Community College Foundation
(LaGuardia Performing Arts Center)
$20,000 over two years to support the creation, development and presentation of dance at a performing arts center located on the campus of a community college in Queens. (Year 1)
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
$30,000 over two years to grow a dance presentation program in Lower Manhattan. (Year 1)
Works & Process
$20,000 over two years to present a dance series at the Guggenheim Museum. (Year 1)
Festivals (final tie-off grants)
Battery Dance Corporation (Battery Dance Company)
$20,000 over two years to present the Downtown Dance Festival, an annual seven-day event of free outdoor lunchtime and afternoon performances in Downtown Manhattan. (Year 1)
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
$20,000 over two years to support an annual festival in Bedford Stuyvesant that promotes and preserves the arts legacy of the African Diaspora and encourages artistic development in central Brooklyn. (Year 1)
CEC Stuyvesant Cove (Solar One)
$20,000 over two years to present emerging and established choreographers in two summer festivals at Stuyvesant Cove Park: the Solar Powered Dance Series and the Sun to Stars South Asian Festival. (Year 1)
Dancing in the Streets
$20,000 over two years to present an annual free public festival that celebrates a variety of hip hop dance forms. (Year 1)
Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center
$20,000 over two years to support an annual festival that presents choreographers and dance companies of color, especially women and/or gays and lesbians, to a diverse audience in downtown Brooklyn. (Year 1)
Advocacy/Support Services
Queens Council on the Arts
$40,000 over two years to provide business training for dance companies and individual dance artists based in Queens. (Year 1)
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