U.S./Japan Creative Artists Program 2011

 Program Description

Each year leading contemporary and traditional artists from the United States spend five months in Japan as part of the United States/Japan Creative Artists Program. They go as seekers, as cultural visionaries, and as living liaisons to the traditional and contemporary cultural life of Japan. The outlook they bring home provides an exceptional opportunity to promote cultural understanding between the United States and Japan.

Cultural understanding is at the heart of this program. It provides funds for up to five artists to complete the residency in Japan. Artists are free to interact with Japanese artists anywhere in the country and to pursue activities of greatest relevance to their creative process. While many artists chose to remain in Tokyo, others have undertaken their residencies in Kyoto or other cities, and still others have worked in rural settings or have visited a number of sites relevant to their work.

Upon their arrival in Tokyo, artists will be predominantly on their own during the residency; however, International House of Japan provides in-depth orientation materials, expert advice and professional contacts, as well as logistical support during the residency period.

The Japan-US Friendship Commission works cooperatively with the National Endowment for the Arts to sponsor this program.

Grant Award

Each artist will receive:

• A monthly stipend of 400,000 yen for living expenses, 100,000 yen a month as a housing supplement, and up to 100,000 yen a month for professional support services. (While the yen value may fluctuate against the dollar, applicants should be assured that these funds will cover the cost of living and working in Japan.)
• A total of up to $6,000 for round-trip transportation for the artist, domestic partner and / or unmarried children (up to age 18) and a baggage/storage allowance, and any pre-departure Japanese language study in the United States.

 

Because of the limited number of awards, only one residency will be supported for artists who apply as a collaborative team. In addition, while artists may wish to apply for other grants concurrently with the application to this program, selected artists may not hold a second award for financial assistance during the period of support of the US/Japan Creative Artists Program.

Review Criteria and Selection Process

The US/Japan Creative Artists Program is extremely competitive; only five artists are selected to go to Japan. Applicants should anticipate a highly rigorous review of their artistry and should have compelling reasons for wanting to work in Japan. Their work must exemplify the best in US arts. Generally this means that only those artists who have demonstrated expertise and established professional recognition (e.g. awards, featured shows, publications, etc.) in their field either regionally or nationally or who have shown truly exceptional promise at the local level are likely to be competitive. Proficiency in the Japanese language is not required.

Preference will be given to those applicants for whom this will be a first-time opportunity for in-depth creative work in Japan. Applicants must be able to begin their five-month residency within the period between January 1 and December 31 of the year following the application deadline.

Applications are judged by the following review criteria:

·       The artistic excellence of the applicant's work and artistic merit of the proposed residency

·         The extent to which working in Japan is consistent with the applicant's artistic vision and would contribute to his or her artistry

·         The applicant's ability to meet cross-cultural challenges successfully

·         The availability of resources in Japan that are necessary to the artist's proposed residency

 

Applications will be reviewed by a panel convened jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Japan-US Friendship Commission. The panel will include previous recipients of the US/Japan Creative Artists Program award, as well as other arts professionals with expertise in Japanese culture.

Eligibility

 

·        Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

·        Candidates must be professional creative artists (contemporary or traditional) working as: architects, choreographers, composers, creative writers, designers, media artists, playwrights, librettists, visual artists and solo theater artists who work with original material (including puppeteers, storytellers, and performance artists). Artists who create original work in a multidisciplinary form are also eligible.

·         There are additional eligibility requirements for librettists, playwrights, and creative writers (fiction, non-fiction, and poetry) outlined below.

·         Librettists and playwrights must have had a full-length work professionally produced and/or published in the United States at least once in the last five years.

Creative writer applicants must meet specific publishing requirements. Self-published work will not satisfy this eligibility requirement.  In the last 10 years writers must have published at least one of the following:

·       Twenty poems in five or more literary journals

·         Five different short stories or essays (of creative non-fiction) in two or more literary journals, anthologies, or publications

·         A book of poems of more than 48 pages

·         A novel or a novella

·         A book of creative non-fiction  

 

Applicants may use online publications to establish up to fifty percent of their eligibility, provided that such publications have competitive selection processes and stated editorial policies.

 

The following may NOT be used to establish eligibility:

·        Pre-publication material, such as galleys, proofs, and advance reader's copies

·         Self-publication including work that has appeared in a publication for which you are the editor, publisher, or staff

·         Collaborative work

·         Scholarly writing

·         Instructional writing

·         Journalism

·         Book reviews

·         Editorials/letters to the editor

·         Interviews

·         Student publications and publications that primarily print work by persons who are affiliated with a particular academic institution

·         Vanity press publication.  For the purposes of this category, a vanity press is defined as one that does any of the following: requires individual writers to pay for part or all of the publication costs; asks writers to buy or sell copies of the publication; publishes the work of anyone who subscribes to the publication or joins the organization through membership fees; publishes the work of anyone who buys an advertisement in the publication; publishes work without competitive selection; or publishes work without professional editing.

 

Application Deadlines and How to Apply

Postmark Deadline: February 1, 2011 for the 2012 program. Residencies may begin any time between January 1 and December 31 of 2012. Notification: By June 30, 2011.

One copy of the following material must be postmarked by the deadline.   Send to:

 

Margaret Mihori 
Japan-US Friendship Commission
1201 15th Street, NW, Suite 330
Washington, DC 20005

There are numerous components to the application. Please number and submit in the order as outlined below. Please use clips to collate. Do not staple or use a binder.

 

1. The signed application cover sheet. For a collaborative team, please prepare and sign a cover sheet for each individual. The coversheet can be downloaded from the following Web link: http://www.jusfc.gov/creativeartists.asp 

 

2. Work sample information. On a separate sheet titled “Work Sample Information Sheet," provide the following information:
• Artist's name
• Title of work
• Additional information as specified in “Instructions for Submitting Work Samples”

 

3. Answers to each of the following questions (two pages maximum – additional pages will be discarded):
• Why do you want to go to Japan?
• What do you propose to do in Japan?
• What resources do you need?

 

When answering the questions, keep in mind that you will benefit from a focused description of your planned residency. Be as specific as possible in outlining why you wish to work in Japan at this time. If you have made preliminary contacts with Japanese counterparts, please include documentation that indicates their interest in your work.

 

We recognize that each artist's experience may prove to be profoundly different from what he or she anticipated as an applicant. However, applicants who demonstrate serious prior thought about how they plan to achieve their artistic goals in Japan have in the past proven to be the candidates most likely to benefit from the international experience. Successful residencies reflect a balance between expectations of accomplishing specific goals and being open to new processes and opportunities for collaboration.

 

4. Two signed letters of recommendation from professional colleagues, on letterhead if possible. Additional letters will be discarded. If necessary, the letters may be sent separately from the application. Letters should address each of the following:
• The artistic quality and evolution of your work
• How your work would benefit from interaction with Japanese arts and cultural life
• How you would adapt to the challenge of living and working in another culture

 

Applications without letters of recommendation will be rejected. If letters are in Japanese, please provide an English translation. Do not send reviews or articles. They will not be considered.

 

5. Resume (two pages maximum – additional pages will be discarded).  Each member of a collaborative team may submit two pages.

 

6. For creative writers, librettists, and playwrights, proof of publication or play production as follows:
• Creative Writers: submit a copy of the title, copyright page, table of contents, or front cover of a magazine, novel or book of poems.
• Playwrights and Librettists: submit one copy of the title or copyright page of a published work, or a copy of the production program.

 

To document eligibility through online publication, provide the relevant printed pages from the internet, including the Web link they came from.

 

Instructions for Submitting Work Samples:

 The work sample is a critical factor in panel deliberations. Given the large amount of material and the limited amount of time available for panel review of work samples, please prepare a well-organized presentation. Your application will benefit by including recently created work (i.e. within the last three to five years).  **The work that you present should help the panel understand your interest in pursuing artistic inquiry in Japan. **

Please determine the type of sample(s) that best represents your work. With the exception of creative writers, playwrights, and librettists, all applicants must submit PC compatible work samples on a CD or DVD.

 

·         DVDs (Choreographers, theater artists, media artists, and other visual or performing artists who feel they would benefit from an audio-video presentation)
Select up to two full length works. Do not send a series of short excerpts, Web links, or promotional material. On your work sample information sheet, please indicate the title, chapter, or time segment that you would like the panel to review, as well as the site, date, and length of the work.

 

·         Audio CDs (Composers)
Submit one CD with at least two tracks. On your work sample information sheet, please indicate the tracks or time segment that you would like the panel to review, as well as the date and length of the work.

 

·         CDs with Images (Visual artists, architects, designers, and other artists who feel they would benefit from a visual presentation without an audio component)
Include up to 15 electronic images in JPEG format. Image size should be consistent. PowerPoint format is encouraged, but not necessary. If you do not send a PowerPoint, save the images with a number and title that corresponds with your work sample information sheet.  Suggested size is 640x480 ppi. On your work sample information sheet, please indicate the title, media, size, and year of each work.
 

·         Manuscripts (Creative writers of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction; librettists, playwrights)
Manuscript material must be in English and must be typescript, legible, and properly collated. All paper should be 8 1/2 x11. Your name and the page number should appear in the upper right hand corner of each page. Do not submit manuscripts in folders or binders. Do not crowd pages. Any pages submitted over the page limit will be removed. Photocopies from books or magazines will not be accepted (except as proof of publication).

 

·         Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Non-fiction: Submit a manuscript (one copy) containing previously published work, unpublished work, or work-in-progress. Your manuscript should include one of the following:

 

o   10 typescript, single column pages of poetry or one long poem (or section of a long poem) not to exceed 15 pages in length; or

o   15 typescript double-spaced pages of short fiction, short stories, or creative non-fiction; or

o   15 typescript double-spaced pages of an excerpt from a novel.

 

On your work sample information sheet, please provide a brief description explaining the context of the sample, if submitting an excerpt.

 

·         Playwrights and Librettists: Submit a manuscript (one copy) of a 15-page excerpt from a play, libretto or work-in-progress. On your work sample information sheet, please provide a brief description explaining the context of the excerpt, i.e. stage setting, theme, period, etc.

The following will NOT be accepted:

·        Slides or other non-electronic images

·         Work created as a student for an undergraduate degree-granting program

·         Critical reviews

·         Promotional materials

·         Original artwork in physical form

Collaborative artists should present work samples that are reflective of the collaborative process.

Work samples will be returned only if the applicant provides a self-addressed stamped return mailer with the appropriate amount of return postage.

 

Application Checklist: Make sure your completed application includes the following:

‘       Signed application cover sheet

‘       Work Sample Information Sheet

‘       Answers to application questions (no more than two pages)

‘       Resume (no more than two pages)

‘       Two signed letters of recommendation (please note if the letters will be sent by their author separately)

‘       Proof of publication (if applicable)

‘       Work sample(s) (PC compatible)

‘       Self-addressed, stamped mailer if you want your samples returned