Purpose
The Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA) offers Arts Engagement Grants to support the development, production, and public presentation of original performances and works of art at Texas A&M University and in the surrounding community. The supported activities must enhance the experience of the arts in the Brazos Valley.
These grants may be used to support short-term projects but are also intended to provide seed monies for longer-term projects that may be able to obtain external funding for long-term support.
Priority will be given to new projects with the potential to have transformative effects on students, faculty, and our local and regional communities; these impacts should be clear and compelling. Priority will also be given to projects that are 1) original (that do not currently exist in any state or form and/or are novel in their relationship to a given domain of artifacts or products) and 2) adaptive, in that they resolve a specific problem relative to the field, fill an essential need in campus or local communities, or bridge an existing gap related to formal and informal resource barriers relative to engagement in the arts.
Eligibility
All Texas A&M University faculty are eligible to receive the AVPA Arts Engagement Grant. Co-authored, interdisciplinary proposals are eligible and encouraged. Collaborations with faculty from other member schools within the Texas A&M University System are also encouraged.
A faculty member’s name may not appear on more than one application in a single grant cycle. No more than two Arts Engagement Grants may be awarded to any principle investigator in any three-year period.
The AVPA Director and the AVPA Advisory Board will adjudicate grant applications. Board members who submit a grant proposal will be excused from the entire Arts Research Grant review process. Award Limit: $7,500
Application Format
All proposals must be submitted electronically as a single PDF file, uploaded via the Grant Application Portal. Two or more PDFs must be combined into a single file. Proposals must include:
Statement of Support: A brief, signed statement of support from the principle investigator’s Department Head or Section Chair.
Abstract: A summary briefly describing the planned artwork; participating students, faculty, staff, and others; and plans for public exhibition. The abstract should not exceed 150 words and must use Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced with one-inch margins. List five keywords associated with this proposal listed directly underneath the abstract.
Project Description: A narrative description of up to 3 double-spaced pages using Times New Roman 12-point font with one-inch margins. The project description should clearly describe the art work that will be presented, its potential impact on the arts in the Brazos Valley (including direct impacts on TAMU students, faculty, and the wider community), and the background and expertise collaborators bring to the project.
Collaborators’ Curricula Vitae: Up to two pages listing recent publications or creative works by the project’s leaders.
Current and Pending Support: List the source, title, date, and amount of relevant internal and external funding support received and pending, as well as for applications submitted but not funded during the previous three years (for all investigators).
Budget and Justification: Up to one page, specifically itemizing each budgeted item. Justify each item in the budget in terms of the goals of the project.
Evaluation Criteria
Evaluation of Arts Engagement Grants will consider the following:
- Arts Engagement: The potential of the proposed project to result in outstanding creative works, performances, or productions, available to Texas A&M University students, faculty, and community members.
- Engagement and Impact: The potential of the proposed project to impact faculty, students, and the community. Impact will be evaluated through consideration of
- Size and make up of potential audiences;
- Involvement of community members, students, faculty, and staff in the creative process;
- Potential for integration with courses and curricula;
- Potential to advance faculty research;
- Potential to achieve international recognition.
- Budget: The clarity and appropriateness of the proposed budget. Applications must include a complete and itemized budget of projected expenses. If equipment is to be purchased, a detailed explanation of why the equipment is integral to the project and a plan for the future use of the equipment must be provided. Expenses beyond the amount of the grant will not be reimbursed by AVPA.
- Investigator: The potential and previous qualifications for the proposal applicant(s) to successfully complete the proposed project.
Project Period
Grants are awarded for one year from the transfer of project funds to the Principal Investigator. One ninety-day, a no-cost extension may be requested. Any unused funds at the end of the project period will be returned to the AVPA.
Report Requirement
At the conclusion of the project period, awardees must provide a final report and a budget report to the AVPA. The final report should include a summary of the execution of the project and documentation of the project (such as texts, photos, videos, and/or recordings, etc.). The budget report should itemize expenses. In any materials produced by this grant (e.g. programs, liner notes, publications, etc.), the Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts should be appropriately acknowledged. Documentation of the project will also be posted on the AVPA website.
If supported activities take place in association with a specific course, the faculty member is required to provide an evaluative report with specific feedback from the students regarding the impact of the activities on their education.
If the awardee fails to submit a report on time, they will not be eligible to apply for any APVA grants for three academic years.