PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Artists & Audiences Exchange

Elise Engler, Inventory Drawings, or You Are What You Own
Tuesday, October 22, 2002, 6:00 pm
Queens Borough Public Library, Flushing Branch
41-17 Main Street, Lower Level Rooms A&B
Flushing, New York

Elise Engler, 2001 NYFA Fellowship recipient in Printmaking/ Drawing/Artists’ Books, will give an artist talk and lead a drawing workshop for the general public on Tuesday, October 22, at 6:00 pm, at the Flushing Branch of the Queens Borough Public Library. This free event is co-sponsored by the Queens Borough Public Library and Artists & Audiences Exchange (A&AE), a public program of NYFA. For more information, call (718) 661-1200.

“My drawings are list-like in format and chronicle various types of collections,” explains Engler. “These collections have included everything I own, the contents of women’s bags, and what’s in and on refrigerators and desks.”

Engler will present her drawings and slides of her work, and provide basic instruction on how to draw based on her artistic technique. Participants will complete an exercise surrounding the idea that “you are what you carry,” drawing the contents of their own pockets, bags, and knapsacks. The artist will also lead participants in a discussion about the works created and will answer questions about her work and life as an artist.

Artists & Audiences Exchange brings free high-quality multidisciplinary arts programming into local communities throughout New York State. Through A&AE, NYFA Fellows create over 100 exchanges each year. By reaching new audiences, A&AE expands the cultural dialogue between the public and contemporary artists and their work.

For more information on A&AE, contact Christine Slevin, Program Officer, at (212) 366-6900 x322 or cslevin@nyfa.org.

NYFA’s Artists’ Fellowships and Artist & Audience Exchange are made possible in part with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Artist Residency

Laura Straus
November 10-16, 2002
In New York’s Southern Tier Region

Laura Straus, 2002 NYFA Photography Fellow, will visit New York’s Southern Tier Region, November 10-16, 2002, in NYFA Public Programs’ first community residency project developed in association with the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

"Working with families is the central focus of my work as a photographer,” explains Straus. This summer, she lived with and photographed a farm family in Oregon, Illinois, as part of The Fields Project (www.artontherock.com), a program directed by Betty Adams that invites artists to live with host families. Through her NYFA residency, Straus will continue with her American family project by living with a local family while working and teaching in schools and communities throughout Tompkins and Cortland counties.

The NYFA Artist Residency is a partnership with the Education Department of the Johnson Museum that offers an outreach program to area schools reaching over 6,000 students and teachers annually. Through the museum, NYFA was introduced to the Groton Central High School, which last year was named a GRAMMY Signature School for its exceptional job of cultivating school art programs in its rural setting despite a difficult funding environment.

During the residency, Straus will lead Groton Central High School students in a photography intensive that will link classroom learning with the museum and community. She will also conduct a series of public programs with area artists, arts organizations, and community groups, including a visit at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

To complete the week, NYFA will invite area artists to a Southern Tier Artists’ Community Meeting on Thursday, November 14, from 6:30-8:30 pm, at the Community School of Music and the Arts, 330 East State Street, in downtown Ithaca. The meeting is a forum for artists and NYFA to meet and share information about artists’ issues and NYFA programs and services. The meeting is free. RSVP is preferred. Contact David Terry, Program Officer/Outreach, at (212) 366-6900 x240 or dterry@nyfa.org.

NYFA Public Programs is a new, statewide initiative that presents and produces the work of NYFA artists and offers artist outreach and networking services. For more information on the residency, visit www.nyfa.org/nyfaresidency.htm, or contact Jeanette Vuocolo, Senior Program Officer/Public Programs, at (212) 366-6900 x362 or jvuocolo@nyfa.org.

The NYFA Artist Residency is made possible in part with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

FISCAL SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

What Is Fiscal Sponsorship?

Priscilla Miner, Program Officer, Fiscal Sponsorship, NYFA

Have you researched funding opportunities for your project or your new organization only to find that what sounds like the perfect grant for you is only available to 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations? Are there individuals who would support your work financially, if only they had the incentive of a tax-deductible, charitable contribution?

A program called fiscal sponsorship can help bridge the gap between you and these seemingly inaccessible funders. Fiscal sponsorship is a mechanism the non-profit community uses to enable individuals and organizations that do not have their own non-profit status to gain access to funding opportunities and materials for which they are otherwise ineligible. A relationship with a fiscal sponsor allows you to apply for funding that is only available to 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, and often also includes additional technical and financial services. The fee for these services generally ranges from 5%-10% of funds received on behalf of a project.

How do you develop a relationship with a fiscal sponsor, and what does a fiscal sponsor actually do? The first step is to look into several programs to find the right match for you, since every organization that provides fiscal sponsorship practices it a bit differently. Once you have found what you think is a good match, the next step is usually some sort of application process. Upon acceptance into a program, a letter of agreement will govern your relationship with the fiscal sponsor. It is important to review the agreement in detail to ensure that you know how the relationship will work, what services the sponsor offers, and what is expected of you.

NYFA’s Fiscal Sponsorship program has been in operation since 1976. For further information about the program, please visit www.nyfa.org.

Extreme Close-up

A NYFA Fiscally Sponsored Project
My Friend Paul (Jonathan Berman, Producer/Writer/Director)

Once upon a time on Long Island, there were two boys who relished playing cops and robbers, while one of them also pretended to be a TV news cameraman filming a talkative bad guy who attempts to justify his crime as he’s dying. It turned out to be prescient role-playing. Jonathan, the boy with the camera, grew up to be a TV director/filmmaker. Paul, the charming bad boy, became a bank robber who spent ten years in jail. Mimicking their childhood, they agreed to make a documentary film about themselves. In doing so, they provide a not-so-gentle reminder that a true friend remains a friend even in the most trying situations.

My Friend Paul screened at the DocuClub in New York City, 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle, Slamdance Film Festival in Utah, Boston Jewish Film Festival, and on The Sundance Channel on July 29, 2002.

Partial funding was received from Independent Television Services. The project was also made possible in part with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.