Arts Program Funding Opportunities Open at Department of State

Summary

William & Mary is holding internal competitions for the DOS Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' "Creative Arts Exchange" and "Arts Envoy Program." Both programs only allow one application per institution to be submitted for consideration.

Full Description

FY 2022 Creative Arts Exchange

Pending the availability of funds, ECA will accept project proposals under the following themes:

Theme 1: Performing Arts (Center Stage)
Pending the availability of FY 2022 funds, the Bureau intends to award one
Cooperative Agreement for approximately $1,580,000, to support month-long U.S.-
based performance tours by at least two Center Stage performing arts ensembles,
(approximately 20-40 participants), reaching small and mid-sized communities. The
selected ensembles can be Center Stage alumni artists or artists new to the program.
Center Stage will also develop a series of virtual mentorships which pair U.S.
performing arts professionals and/or performing arts institutions with foreign
performing artists and/or performing arts professionals from under resourced and
underrepresented countries to share best practices, deepen artistic competencies, and
build competitiveness in the American marketplace. If conditions allow, the virtual
mentorships may be complemented by sending approximately five to ten performing
arts professionals from the United States overseas for up to two weeks to conduct
workshops to share U.S. professional standards in the creative industries. This
Cooperative Agreement will begin on or about September 1, 2022 and end on or about December 31, 2025. ECA, the recipient and the U.S. embassies will mutually
agree upon the timing of each program component. Proposals will need to contain a
detailed timeline annotating dates of each program component.

Theme 2: Hip Hop Collaboration (Next Level)
Pending the availability of FY 2022 funds, the Bureau intends to award one
Cooperative Agreement for approximately $1,200,000, to fund the Next Level
program that will send approximately 20 U.S. professional hip hop artists overseas to
approximately five countries to lead two-week exchange programs that engage youth,
explore conflict resolution strategies, and support arts entrepreneurship. The U.S.
artists will also donate music production equipment to a local partner organization to
continue job training and educational initiatives introduced during the two-week
programs. In addition to the overseas components, Next Level will bring
approximately 12 foreign artists to the United States for two weeks to participate in a
professional development program. The U.S. program will conclude with an
opportunity for the foreign artists to submit micro grant proposals for communitybased follow-on projects that they will implement in their home countries. This
cooperative agreement will begin on or about September 1, 2022 and end on or about
December 31, 2025. ECA, the recipient and the U.S. embassies will mutually agree
on the timing of the U.S. programs components and overseas tours. The program
orientations should be scheduled far enough in advance for the participants to be fully
prepared for their rigorous overseas programs. Proposals should contain a detailed
timeline annotating dates of each program component.

FY 2022 Arts Envoy Program

Cultural diplomacy enhances cross-cultural understanding and opens new avenues of dialogue
and collaboration between individuals and nations. In support of U.S. Department of State
foreign policy objectives, the Arts Envoy Program enables approximately 300 U.S. artists,
groups, and cultural experts each year -- including performing artists, visual artists, poets,
playwrights, chefs, dancers, theatrical and film directors, curators, and others -- to travel abroad
as Arts Envoys for individual or group programs and/or engage and consult virtually with key
foreign audiences through performances, workshops, meetings, seminars, artistic collaborations,
and appearances in foreign media. Arts Envoy programs are created and implemented in close
coordination with U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Programs are designed to help meet
embassy objectives that address key foreign policy goals and may take a variety of forms. By
addressing topics identified and developed by U.S. missions in cooperation with ECA, the
program promotes an understanding of U.S. policies and institutions and the political, economic,
social, and cultural context from which they arise. Arts Envoy programs seek to support core
Administration and Bureau principles, such as strengthening democratic processes and
institutions, building a more stable, inclusive, and entrepreneurial economy, and exemplifying
the importance of the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Arts Envoys represent the full diversity of the United States’ society, arts, and culture.
ECA/PE/C/CU and the award recipient recruit experts from professional organizations, academic
institutions, other U.S. government entities, and creative industries, including all genres of arts
and performance. Arts Envoy individuals and groups are programmed in one or more countries;
in-person programs range from five days to six weeks in length, while virtual or hybrid programs
may be of shorter or longer duration, as appropriate to the mission objectives being served. All
Arts Envoys must be at least 18 years of age and U.S. citizens. Exceptions are considered on a
case-by-case basis when necessary to meet a critical need.

Examples of typical Arts Envoy programs, including virtual programming implemented during
the pandemic when travel was not advisable, follow:
• Four groups of Arts Envoy cultural exchange artists – a fashion designer, a dance group,
a chef, and a jazz quintet – visited Qatar in November and December of 2021 as the
country celebrated the conclusion of the Qatar-USA Year of Culture. The Year of
Culture prioritized the Mission goals of building a strong and vibrant civil society in
Qatar while promoting trade and investment in the U.S. economy. The
Arts Envoy exchanges, which included workshops, performances, and demonstrations,
focused on primary contributions of the United States to shared culture in the fields of art,
fashion, cuisine, dance, music, and entrepreneurship.
• An Arts Envoy musician and her band performed virtually at the Hyderabad International
Jazz Festival in support of PAS India’s “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based
Violence.” The musician, who has expertise in women’s empowerment, and her band
spoke virtually to an in-person audience in Hyderabad on themes of women’s
empowerment and countering gender-based violence. The performance highlighted the
under-recognized contribution of women performers to jazz music, promoted an
understanding of the United States to an Indian audience through jazz,
and highlighted U.S. contributions to cultural preservation.
The Arts Envoy Program seeks to:
• Foster mutual understanding and deepen trust between the people of the United States
and foreign countries to counter negative stereotypes and advance safety and security.
• Advance and complement U.S. foreign policy objectives by enabling U.S. citizen cultural
experts to interact, as program participants (Envoys), with key foreign audiences
worldwide.
• Build the capacity of creative leaders and institutions to develop new skills, partnerships,
and opportunities, which promote creative industries and entrepreneurship.
• Identify and recruit the most appropriate U.S. cultural experts to undertake and
participate in Public Diplomacy programs in response to Department of State strategic
initiatives and requests from U.S. missions abroad.
• Convey the diversity and high artistic merit of the arts in the United States and increase
awareness and understanding of U.S. art, culture, values, and society among international
audiences.
• Enable foreign audiences to learn about U.S. culture, society, and institutions, supporting
development and growth of civil society and cultural and social institutions abroad, and
countering negative stereotypes.
• Establish sustained relationships and linkages between Arts Envoys, U.S. missions, and
foreign audiences, peers, and institutions in order to cultivate the exchange of knowledge
and skills that benefits participating communities.
• Implement music-or-dance themed programs that build on the Department of State’s
legacy of diverse cultural engagement and emphasize and highlight the diversity, equity,
inclusion, and accessibility of U.S. arts and culture. In addition to performances,
programs typically include workshops, demonstrations, and other forms of engagement
with a wide range of overseas participant groups including but not limited to students,
youth, emerging artists, arts instructors, and established artists and arts leaders.
• Implement arts-themed tours or programs that focus on policy priorities such as disability
rights and access, arts entrepreneurship and economic development, intellectual property
rights, democratic values, and climate protection and environmental stewardship.
• Implement, through subawards if appropriate, Arts Envoy culinary diplomacy programs
that include a thematic focus on food security, entrepreneurship, trade promotion, and
sustainable practices

**Only one application per institution PER OPPORTUNITY is allowed. For more information, please visit the ECA Open Grant Solicitations website

The internal due date for review and determination of grant to move forward on the behalf of  W&M is 5/2/22 at 4PM ET.  Questions should be sent to wosp@wm.edu.

The agency due date is 5/16/22 by 5PM EST.