As you may or may not be aware, every spring here at Brandeis since 1952 the Office of the Arts puts on the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. This is a five-day cultural free-for-all with local, regional, national, and international artists and performers, as well as Brandeis staff, students, and faculty, putting on shows and generally exhibiting their talent for all to see. Over fifty exhibitions and hundreds of participants get their art on for this event each year, and 2007's festival is no different with the exception that this year its easier and more convenient than ever to get in on the action and apply for grant money to fund your own participation in the festival.

Every year, the Office of the Arts funds aspiring performers and artists within the Brandeis community. Undergrads, grads, as well as staff and faculty, are all welcome and encouraged to apply for Festival Grants. The average grant runs anywhere from $50 to $300 dollars and can be put toward various expenses related to the festival. In the past, grant recipients have used them to pay for art supplies, performance rights, publicity, and so on.

In previous years, the deadline for grant applications fell in October, which did not leave those interested in applying much time to figure out what type of performance or artistic work they would like to do, let alone enough time to fill out a form for an idea they hadnt conceived yet.

This year, however, things are running a little differently. As Ingrid Shorr, the Program Administrator for the festival, announced, I've decided to extend the deadline to December 4, to allow people to further develop their applications. I figure that ideas and partnerships are likely to emerge throughout fall semester. This extension to the end of the semester allows students and other participants to really know what they want to bring to the festival not to mention giving them plenty of time to get the forms in without the date sneaking past them in the veritable flash that is the month of October.

So how does the process work? Pick up an application either at www.brandeis.edu/arts/festival or just stop by the Office of the Arts in Slosberg 232 and pick up a paper copy. From there, just make sure to get all your materials back to the Office of the Arts by 5:00 pm on December 4, 2006. From there, a jury comprised of faculty, staff, and students from the Schools of Creative Arts, the Office of Student Life, and the Dean of Arts and Sciences evaluates the applications based on the quality and innovation of the project and how it will involve the Brandeis community.

To help the application process, the Office of the Arts also recommends dropping in and informally pitching your proposal before submiting your application. This can help you learn ways to refine your proposal and additionally can lead to recommendations about other Brandeis grants that might be applicable to your idea. Various other offices and departments on campus also offer funding for the festival, and the Office of the Arts both encourages and can help recommend other sources of funding for which you could apply.

So what are you waiting for? The December 4 deadline? Apply now (or eventually) and make this years Festival of the Arts better than ever.
For more information, contact Ingrid Schorr (ingrids@brandeis.edu or 6-5008).