General Information
Eligibility
Grant Amount
Evaluation Criteria
Making Your Program Accessible

GENERAL INFORMATION 

Residencies can range from 5 to 30 contact hours within a time period of no more than six weeks. Residencies may incorporate up to three individual artists in a collaborative project. Applicants must contact IAC staff prior to submitting a request for a collaborative residency. Activities must be hands-on learning experiences and not lecture/demonstrations. Project must serve a well-defined, consistent core group. Applicant organization must identify an individual affiliated with the organization that will serve as a project supervisor and act as a liaison between the artist and the organization. Note: The IAC will not support on-going projects.

Applicants may apply for a short-term residency with any professional artist that is currently a resident of Illinois. Artist cannot be paid staff of the applicant organization or of an affiliated organization. Residency cannot fufill credit requirements for artists enrolled in a degree seeking program. The artist is responsible for helping to design the program and supplying the applicant with the necessary attachments. Applications must have the artists’ original ink signature.

ELIGIBILITY

Community organizations, school organizations and literacy organizations can use this program. Past grants have supported residencies sponsored by libraries, park districts, churches, schools, school districts, colleges, universities, local arts agencies, municipalities, hospitals, community centers, youth organizations and senior centers.

This program is open to any Illinois not-for-profit organization that is registered with the Illinois Secretary of State or that is a part of a governmental body (i.e., school, school district, park district, college, or university). Eligible organizations may also include parent/teacher organizations, senior citizen centers, hospitals, festivals, local arts agencies and community organizations. Applicants may request funding once through the NEW program per IAC fiscal year.

GRANT AMOUNT

IAC will support 50% of the artists’ fees and allowed program expenses. Refer to the Companion to the Application for details. The maximum request to the IAC is $2,000. The Applicants are responsible for securing a cash match for the remaining 50% of the artists’ fees and any additional program expenses. Note: IAC funds cannot be used for capital expenditures or refreshments.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Illinois Arts Council staff will review the application using the following criteria:

• a quality and complete application with all required attachments
• application received no less than 8 weeks prior to the project start date
• professionalism of the selected artist
• quality and appropriateness of core group participants hands-on activities
• evidence of planning as demonstrated in project schedule
• evidence of an effective evaluation plan
• project inventiveness

making your program accessible

One of the conditions an organization agrees to in accepting a grant from the IAC is to make every attempt to ensure that the program is accessible to persons with disabilities. According to state and federal law, every organization receiving public funding must ensure that it is in a position to provide accommodations when persons with disabilities make requests for services. Accessibility involves both location (the facility) and the content (the activity) of the program. Thinking about accessibility issues in the early planning stages of a project is the key to ensuring that persons with disabilities will be able to participate in the program.