The deadline for application to the 2010/2011 JTN program is August 30, 2010. This is a receipt deadline. Applications received after this date will not be eligible for review.
BACKGROUND Jazz has a particularly rich history in the mid-Atlantic region and continuing presence with vibrant jazz communities in its major urban centers of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and the world's jazz capital, New York. Over the past decade the marketplace for the presentation of jazz has changed as the number of commercial jazz venues has declined and jazz artists have begun to turn to nonprofit presenting organizations to sustain their ability to tour and make a living. To facilitate this shift in the jazz touring environment and bring one of the country's great indigenous art forms to new audiences across the region, especially outside of its major metropolitan areas, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation ("MAAF") created the Jazz Touring Network ("JTN").
The JTN was established in 2001 to expand the presentation of jazz throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The underlying premise of the program is that through professional development, experiential learning, and fostering collaborative relationships, JTN participants will acquire the skills and connections necessary to regularly present jazz at their own venues as well as across the region. Since its founding, 31 presenting organizations have participated in the program receiving performance fee subsidies for jazz engagements and support to attend bi-annual network meetings that provided opportunities for professional development and peer interaction.
The JTN is made possible through support from the National Endowment for the Art's Regional Touring Program.
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
MAAF is one of six regional arts organizations in the United States. Founded in 1979, MAAF has a long history of supporting jazz with such programs as the Jazz Touring Network and the BNY Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award. In 2009, MAAF launched Jazz.NEXT, a national initiative exploring the incorporation of technology into the operating practices of the jazz community to foster a healthier and more sustainable environment for the art form. Jazz has figured prominently in other MAAF programs as well, including American Masterpieces, ArtsCONNECT, Mid Atlantic Tours, PennPAT, Special Presenters Initiatives, and USArtists International.
PROGRAM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of the JTN is to expand the number of nonprofit venues in the mid-Atlantic region that present jazz on a regular basis, particularly in communities underserved by the arts (defined for the purposes of this program as populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, age, economics, or disability).
The goals of the program are:
The JTN is a membership program that provides support for professional development opportunities and performance fee subsidies for its participants. New members are selected on an annual basis through an open, competitive selection process. The focus is on performing arts presenters from within the mid-Atlantic region that have had little to no experience presenting jazz, and who also work with communities underserved by the arts. Generally, no more than five organizations will be selected for membership in any given year. Once selected, membership in the program is ongoing contingent upon meeting annual participation requirements.
Network Meetings
Bi-annual meetings are the primary vehicles used for professional development, peer mentoring, facilitating collaboration, and building and sustaining relationships among the membership. Network sessions are held at different sites across the region and are often scheduled in conjunction with opportunities to attend jazz performances. Meetings include workshops and presentations by experts in their respective fields on subjects relevant to the presentation of jazz, including audience development, booking, corporate sponsorship, jazz programming and aesthetics, marketing and promotion, and technology. All professional development sessions are offered free-of-charge. Presenters that are not members of the network wishing to attend the bi-annual meetings are invited at their own expense, but not charged for professional development workshops or seminars. To maintain membership in the network, JTN participants must attend, at least, one meeting each year.
Performance Fee Subsidies
To foster the presentation of exemplary jazz artists across the region, MAAF provides performance fee subsidies to JTN members for engagements that are part of block-booked tours comprised of other JTN members and/or presenters from outside the network. Funded engagements must include at least one public performance. Tours must consist of a minimum of three presenters from, at least, two different jurisdictions within the mid-Atlantic region. If the number of proposed tours exceeds available funds in any given year, priority is given to those tours that exceed the minimum requirements for eligibility. A list of the JTN membership can be found on the MAAF website at www.midatlanticarts.org. Presenters that are not members of the network do not receive fee subsidies from MAAF.
Members of the network collaboratively develop JTN tours. Presenters that are not part of the network may participate in planning JTN tours in order to benefit from possible performance fee reductions through block-booking, although they are not eligible for fee subsidies from MAAF. American and international jazz artists are eligible for consideration for touring through the network.
To maintain membership in the network, JTN participants must participate in, at least, one network block-booked tour per year.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The following financial support is available to members of the network:
Only organizations that present the performing arts are eligible to apply to the JTN. For the purposes of this program, MAAF defines a presenter as an organization that selects, engages and pays touring artists for public performances at their venues and within their communities. Presenters manage all local arrangements for the performance (providing space, local technical support, marketing and promotion) and facilitate the interaction between artists and audiences.
Eligible applicants must:
Applications will be reviewed by a panel of experienced arts professionals and evaluated based on the following criteria These criteria are neither ranked nor given specific weights.
JTN applications must be received by MAAF on or before the deadline listed in these guidelines at the address listed below:
Jazz Touring Network
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
201 N. Charles Street, Suite 401
Baltimore, MD 21201
Applications sent via electronic transmission (i.e. fax or email) will not be accepted for consideration.
Application Deadline: August 30, 2010
Please note this is a receipt deadline, not postmark deadline. Applications received after the application deadline will not be considered for review.
Notification Date: October 15, 2010
Questions concerning the JTN should be directed to Sara Donnelly, Program Officer, Jazz at [email protected].
BACKGROUND Jazz has a particularly rich history in the mid-Atlantic region and continuing presence with vibrant jazz communities in its major urban centers of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and the world's jazz capital, New York. Over the past decade the marketplace for the presentation of jazz has changed as the number of commercial jazz venues has declined and jazz artists have begun to turn to nonprofit presenting organizations to sustain their ability to tour and make a living. To facilitate this shift in the jazz touring environment and bring one of the country's great indigenous art forms to new audiences across the region, especially outside of its major metropolitan areas, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation ("MAAF") created the Jazz Touring Network ("JTN").
The JTN was established in 2001 to expand the presentation of jazz throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The underlying premise of the program is that through professional development, experiential learning, and fostering collaborative relationships, JTN participants will acquire the skills and connections necessary to regularly present jazz at their own venues as well as across the region. Since its founding, 31 presenting organizations have participated in the program receiving performance fee subsidies for jazz engagements and support to attend bi-annual network meetings that provided opportunities for professional development and peer interaction.
The JTN is made possible through support from the National Endowment for the Art's Regional Touring Program.
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
MAAF is one of six regional arts organizations in the United States. Founded in 1979, MAAF has a long history of supporting jazz with such programs as the Jazz Touring Network and the BNY Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award. In 2009, MAAF launched Jazz.NEXT, a national initiative exploring the incorporation of technology into the operating practices of the jazz community to foster a healthier and more sustainable environment for the art form. Jazz has figured prominently in other MAAF programs as well, including American Masterpieces, ArtsCONNECT, Mid Atlantic Tours, PennPAT, Special Presenters Initiatives, and USArtists International.
PROGRAM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of the JTN is to expand the number of nonprofit venues in the mid-Atlantic region that present jazz on a regular basis, particularly in communities underserved by the arts (defined for the purposes of this program as populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, age, economics, or disability).
The goals of the program are:
- for presenters to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively program jazz at their organizations;
- to establish an active, functional network of jazz presenters within the mid-Atlantic region; and;
- to increase the touring of exemplary jazz artists to venues of program participants as well as those of experienced jazz presenters in the region.
The JTN is a membership program that provides support for professional development opportunities and performance fee subsidies for its participants. New members are selected on an annual basis through an open, competitive selection process. The focus is on performing arts presenters from within the mid-Atlantic region that have had little to no experience presenting jazz, and who also work with communities underserved by the arts. Generally, no more than five organizations will be selected for membership in any given year. Once selected, membership in the program is ongoing contingent upon meeting annual participation requirements.
Network Meetings
Bi-annual meetings are the primary vehicles used for professional development, peer mentoring, facilitating collaboration, and building and sustaining relationships among the membership. Network sessions are held at different sites across the region and are often scheduled in conjunction with opportunities to attend jazz performances. Meetings include workshops and presentations by experts in their respective fields on subjects relevant to the presentation of jazz, including audience development, booking, corporate sponsorship, jazz programming and aesthetics, marketing and promotion, and technology. All professional development sessions are offered free-of-charge. Presenters that are not members of the network wishing to attend the bi-annual meetings are invited at their own expense, but not charged for professional development workshops or seminars. To maintain membership in the network, JTN participants must attend, at least, one meeting each year.
Performance Fee Subsidies
To foster the presentation of exemplary jazz artists across the region, MAAF provides performance fee subsidies to JTN members for engagements that are part of block-booked tours comprised of other JTN members and/or presenters from outside the network. Funded engagements must include at least one public performance. Tours must consist of a minimum of three presenters from, at least, two different jurisdictions within the mid-Atlantic region. If the number of proposed tours exceeds available funds in any given year, priority is given to those tours that exceed the minimum requirements for eligibility. A list of the JTN membership can be found on the MAAF website at www.midatlanticarts.org. Presenters that are not members of the network do not receive fee subsidies from MAAF.
Members of the network collaboratively develop JTN tours. Presenters that are not part of the network may participate in planning JTN tours in order to benefit from possible performance fee reductions through block-booking, although they are not eligible for fee subsidies from MAAF. American and international jazz artists are eligible for consideration for touring through the network.
To maintain membership in the network, JTN participants must participate in, at least, one network block-booked tour per year.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The following financial support is available to members of the network:
- Travel expenses relating to attendance at bi-annual network meetings are reimbursed by MAAF.
- Performance fee subsidies are provided for engagements meeting touring eligibility requirements on a two-tiered basis as follows:
- Presenting organizations entering the JTN for the first time are eligible for support of up to two engagements per year at 30% of performance fee not to exceed $5,000 per engagement, with up to five engagements total over their initial three years in the program.
- Thereafter, JTN members are eligible for subsidy for one engagement per year at 30% of performance fee not to exceed $2,500.
- An additional ten percent of fee subsidy not to exceed $1,000 is provided to JTN members who program complementary activities to performances, such as residencies, master classes, lecture demonstrations, pre or post-performance discussions, exhibitions, etc., which provide the public with greater understanding and appreciation for the work of jazz artists. The artists booked to perform through JTN tours may, but are not required, to participate in these complementary activities.
- JTN members who act as “lead" presenters in developing tours receive an additional $100 for each network colleague participating in a tour.
Only organizations that present the performing arts are eligible to apply to the JTN. For the purposes of this program, MAAF defines a presenter as an organization that selects, engages and pays touring artists for public performances at their venues and within their communities. Presenters manage all local arrangements for the performance (providing space, local technical support, marketing and promotion) and facilitate the interaction between artists and audiences.
Eligible applicants must:
- be a legally incorporated nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status as determined by the Internal Revenue Service or a unit of government;
- be located in one of the states or jurisdictions served by MAAF, including Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia;
- have, at least, a three-year continuous history of offering multiple presentations each year by touring performing artists to the general public
- primarily serve and market to the general public;
- have an annual operating budget of $100,000 or above;
- be experienced in presenting other performing arts disciplines, but have significantly less experience presenting jazz;
- have the capacity to present jazz artists in performance and complementary activities, including access to the minimal technical and equipment requirements included in a jazz contract (such as a grand piano, drum kit, and amplification); and
- be in good standing with MAAF and not be delinquent in any of its reporting requirements.
- be commercial, for-profit entities; or
- primarily serve and market to K-12 schools, young people's audiences, summer camps, nursing homes, or solely university-based programs;
Applications will be reviewed by a panel of experienced arts professionals and evaluated based on the following criteria These criteria are neither ranked nor given specific weights.
- Artistic excellence as represented by quality of presenting activity over the past three years
- Level of experience presenting jazz as represented by presenting activity over the past three years
- Capacity to implement and sustain high-quality jazz presenting as represented by organization's available financial, human and physical resources
- Commitment of organization to JTN as evidenced by the individual selected to serve as their representative to the network
- Potential to reach communities underserved by the arts, as defined in these guidelines;
JTN applications must be received by MAAF on or before the deadline listed in these guidelines at the address listed below:
Jazz Touring Network
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
201 N. Charles Street, Suite 401
Baltimore, MD 21201
Applications sent via electronic transmission (i.e. fax or email) will not be accepted for consideration.
Application Deadline: August 30, 2010
Please note this is a receipt deadline, not postmark deadline. Applications received after the application deadline will not be considered for review.
Notification Date: October 15, 2010
Questions concerning the JTN should be directed to Sara Donnelly, Program Officer, Jazz at [email protected].
