e-misférica

Ethno-Techno Art
In Search of a New Aesthetic
Ethno-techno art: In search of a new aesthetic is an audio-visual perfomative lecture which chronicles Gómez-Peña’s performance projects of the past five years. He uses this material as point of departure from which to discuss the cultural side effects of globalization, the digital divide, corporate multiculturalism, xenophobia and the culture of "the mainstream bizarre" and how these developments impact the Chicano/Latino community, and notions of the body in performance.
Born in Mexico, resident of San Francisco, Guillermo Gómez-Peña - whether working in performance, installation, writing, video or the web - illuminates the cultural side effects of globalization and the commodification of identity. The borderless future he points to may not yet have arrived, but the cultural margins with their transgressive agendas - not so long ago closely patrolled by the border guards of taste - are fast disappearing, appropriated now into what Gómez-Peña terms the mainstream bizarre.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004, 8pm (1 performance only)
the Skirball Center and the Hemispheric Institute present

"Arquetipas: A Pre-Hispanic Cabaret" with Jesusa Rodríguez and Liliana Felipe

In this full-length, full-fledged cabaret, performance artist Jesusa Rodríguez and musician Liliana Felipe use mythic characters from indigenous history to explore modern culture. In Arquetipas, these brilliant artists establish a parallel between the Aztec empire and the US contemporary empire by bringing to life the static sculptures through which we know the Aztecs today. Drinks will be available.

The performance is part of Mexico Now, the month-long, city-wide, multi-disciplinary celebration of Mexican arts and culture, sponsored by Arts International.

Performance in the Eisner-Lubin Auditorium, Kimmel Center

Tickets: $25, $12 (NYU students)

Wednesday, November 10, 8 p.m. (1 performance only)

In English and Spanish

********
The Guggenheim Museum presents:
Performances
Cabaret Prehispánico: Performance by Jesusa Rodríguez
SAT NOV 13 @ 7 PM
Rodríguez presents a satirical "Precolumbian cabaret" in which she narrates the story of the Aztec empire, with musical accompaniment by Liliana Felipe.

From Aztec to High Tech:
A Solo Performance by Guillermo Gómez-Peña
SAT NOV 20 @ 7 PM
Guillermo Gómez-Peña uses multilingualism, humor, and hybrid literary genres as subversive strategies to explore the fear of immigration, the dark side of globalization, the digital divide, censorship, and interracial sexuality.

$20 ($15 for members, students, and seniors). For more information,
call the Box Office at
(212) 423-3587.

Milton Loayza will direct the New York premiere of Visit (Visita) by Argentine author Ricardo Monti, who will attend the opening performance of its four week run at the New Perspectives Theatre Company (750 8th Ave, Suite 600) on November 4. The play was written during the Dirty War, and may be seen as a grotesque exploration of the danger of losing our sense of destiny and history in the slippery present of terrorist regimes.

Enviado por Lissette Olivares:

Announcement 1:
Gonzalo Rabanal, a performance artist and performance organizer, will be in charge of DEFORMES 2, a performance festival in Santiago, Chile that will take place from Nov.2-Nov.12. The festival will be sponsored by the Swiss and German Embassy in Chile, and Arco will establish a webforum for the conference so that international performances may be submitted.

Announcement 2:
The performance artist Coco Rico will be running for president on November 2, 2004.

I am studying, making a video and publishing an article about "ratoeira"—a specific popular performance that I found in some communities of the Santa Catarina Island, Florianópolis city. The book that I am writing will be ready in October 2004.
The other information is that my experimental group called "Corpo de Letra" presented a performance of "Entre nós, em banho maria" on March 31 and July 21, about a particular experience during the dictatorship in Brazil in 1975. The text is an experimental autobiography that is oral and performatic with 5 elements.
Sincerely,
Alai Garcia Diniz

News from Alissa Cardone
I've co-founded an intermedia dance performance project called Kinodance Company. We are based in Boston and will be traveling to St. Petersburg, Russia this November to perform our first evening-length work, "Secret Streams," during an international festival of Dance Film thanks to funding help from the Trust for Mutual Understanding. We will also be leading a workshop on Dance for the Camera and creating a project in collaboration with Russian dancers from the Kannon Dance School.

I was also granted a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council to return to Japan this fall for a collaboration with contemporary dancer Naoka Uemura and Yoshito Ohno (Kazuo Ohno's son), fashion designer Akira Minagawa and visual artist Masakatsu Takagi on a multimedia production called "Wonder Girl" at the Spiral Hall in Tokyo, taking place November 5-7.

For April-May 2005 I am organizing, along with Dedalus Wainwright, a conference on Dance and Technology that will happen in tandem with the Boston Cyber Arts Festival. We will be putting out a call for papers, performances, projects, etc. very soon. Stay tuned!

quiero informarles que un compañero que realiza performances fue encarcelado en Guadalajara en la pasada cumbre de Latinoamérica, el Caribe y Europa. Yo también estuve en Guadalajara...el nombre del camarada es César Naranjo y lo detuvieron injustificadamente porque él no causó ningun daño.

Por otro lado les cuento que tengo un personaje con el que realizo performances y se llama "el Centinela Urbano"...con él estuve en Guadalajara donde nos manifestamos contra la represión en Guadalajara...

próximamente les envío una foto de mi personaje

saludos.
roberto guillen, from monterrey n.l. mexico

Puerto Rico, año 2007

Nueva York - Los días 14 y 15 de agosto pasados en el HERE Arts Center en SoHo, como parte de su festival The American Living Room 2004 Karina Casiano presentó su obra teatral "COLONIA 2007 o el cabaret de los días terribles".

Para culminar una gira por América Latina que comenzó en el 2001, la actriz nos trajo el año pasado la exitosa producción "¿Qué me trajiste?: Cabaret Boricua". Ahora, presenta esta obra que ficticiamente predice el futuro cercano de la isla de Puerto Rico a raíz de la creciente política de represión que se impone en Estados Unidos y en el resto del mundo.

"COLONIA 2007 o el cabaret de los días terribles" es una pieza teatral totalmente en español, que incluye canto, baile, video, y personajes sorprendentes que se presentan en un club nocturno administrado por el represivo gobierno del Puerto Rico del 2007. El público es bienvenido a este "Espacio de Recreación Alternativa" dentro del cual se permiten comportamientos que eran ilegales antes del año 2001, cuando -según la obra- hubo una violenta revuelta social. El propósito: crear una ilusión de libertad que mantenga la tranquilidad y el orden en el país. Casiano concibió y escribió esta obra en el año 2000 sin imaginar que, cuatro años más tarde, su denuncia iba a tener más vigencia que entonces.

El espectáculo presenta, con fuertes dosis de sarcasmo y humor negro, la tendencia al estado policial que ya no sólo se ve en países del llamado "tercer mundo", sino especialmente en las grandes metrópolis del mundo capitalista, como Nueva York. La vigilancia constante a través de cámaras, la presencia intimidante de la policía y el ejército, y la limpieza étnica e ideológica, se convierten en políticas aceptadas por la ciudadanía, aterrorizada por la amenaza que sufre su bienestar individual. En el año 2007, la relación de propiedad que tiene Puerto Rico con Estados Unidos ha provocado una imitación barata de ese estado policial, y una sumisión aún más profunda de parte del pueblo puertorriqueño.

WORKSHOPS [back to top]

Estudio Búsqueda de Pantomima-Teatro A.C.
Casa Arte Teatro Tanque la Valenciana
Privada de Casa Arte #1
(a un costado de la mina)
Mineral de Valenciana, Guanajuato, Gto. 36240 - México
presents

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMING WORKSHOP
Creation of Clown Movement Theater
October 4 to 30, 2004
Guanajuato, Guanajuato. México.
with
SIGFRIDO AGUILAR who is celebrating 36 years of creating, teaching and directing in the U.S.A. and Mexico. Learning Sigfrido’s method for creating physical theater is a playful, organic process. Each individual performer can integrate it with their own experience, embodying a unique comic sense and style. The physical creative technique developed by Sigfrido provides the performing artist with a movement vocabulary which enables the artist to create pieces with a focus on comedy. Improvisation and analysis provide the practical understanding needed in order to apply this style of acting. By expanding the tools of expression and by developing the agility of acting from form into content, the performing artist discovers a personal method for physical theater capable of presenting any subject matter. The style of the method, ‘Comic Physical Acting and Creating’, is a blend of the modern mime, theatrical clown and the natural actor. Along with the distinct physical playing of the method, it uses text, costumes and objects in creating complete pieces of theater. The four-week course is a balance of creative training and an ongoing preparation of pieces to be performed weekly in front of an audience in the open space of the amphitheater Teatro Tanque. During the month of October the city of Guanajuato becomes an international plaza for the arts as it hosts the "Festival Internacional Cervantino", the most famous international festival for the arts in all of Latin America. You can get more information about this festival through the Internet.

With this in mind, the Estudio Búsqueda de Pantomima-Teatro A.C. has programmed, as an off-off-Cervantino, three weekends of performances which coincide with the three weeks of the International Festival.

WORK SCHEDULE: 9:00AM to 3:30PM, Monday through Friday.
PERFORMANCES: Friday and Saturday at 5:00PM
TUITION: $1,000.00 U.S. dollars for four weeks.
Maximum number of students: 9. Please contact us if interested: ebpantea@prodigy.net.mx

PUBLICATIONS [back to top]

INDIAN ACTS - ABORIGINAL PERFORMANCE ART
Canadian Publication 2004/2005

Project of grunt gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, and TRIBE, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Producer: Glenn Alteen, grunt gallery
Curators: Lori Blondeau, TRIBE; Dana Claxton
Coordinator: Daina Warren, grunt gallery
Editor/Designer: Florene Belmore
Photo Editor: Bradley Laroque, TRIBE

Publication will document the history of First Nations/Native American artists working in Performance Art in Canada and the U.S.A. over the past 30 years. Through 9 commissioned essays and a documentary section featuring photographs and texts, the book will cover such diverse artists as Rebecca Belmore, James Luna, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Jimmy Durham and others. It will document the history of these practices though 4000 – 6000-word essays by a selection of writers who have worked within the performance and academic communities over many years. Introduction will be by Lakota Elder and award-winning anthropologist Dr. Bea Medicine.

Description
The book will contain 9 essays by artists, art historians and anthropologists on First Nations Performance Art, as well as a chronology of performances and a feature throughout featuring ten strong First Nations performances, dealt with in an expanded format of texts and photographs. The publication will be intensely illustrated, using extensive grunt and TRIBE archives as well as artists' own collections.

This book is important for several reasons. The nature of performance art is very ephemeral, and while several actions and performances are well known, the context these artist work within is less known. By documenting and encouraging critical discourse around this work, we disseminate the ideas through the wider art community and beyond.
The nature of most people's understanding of First Nations art and culture is through traditional crafts, ceremony and artistic practices. First Nations' participation in contemporary art is less documented and well known beyond a select and small group of artists. Because performance artists often use the medium to discuss serious issues within these communities, it functions as a bridge between aboriginal communities and to the wider community. Reona Brass talked about it at the 2002 Indian Acts Performance Art conference in Vancouver as a language for people who have lost their languages, and it is a way for her to speak to her grandmother who is the last in her family to speak Cree.

Indian Acts places First Nations artists on the cutting edge of contemporary art. It speaks against anthropological and art markets that set traditional work over contemporary work. It allows for a free flow of ideas between Western and Aboriginal histories of performance and often incorporates First Nation ritual, performance and history within its practice.

Audience
We expect the book will attract interest primarily within contemporary art communities in Canada, the U.S.A., and internationally. It also will have possibilities as a text in art schools and Indian Studies departments in Canada and the United States. Finally we expect high interest from First Nations communities and cultural organizations.

Debate Feminista
Abril, 2004, año 15, volumen 29

The most recent issue of the Mexican feminist journal Debate Feminista, titled Las "raras" [The Queer or Strange Ones], includes a dossier, "Desde lo queer," with the following contributions on gay and lesbian issues in Latin America and the U.S.:

Cristina Rivera-Garza. ¿Ha estado usted alguna vez en el mar del norte? [Have You Ever Been to the North Sea?]; Robert McKee Irwin. Las inseparables y la prehistoria del lesbianismo en México. [The Inseparable Women and the Prehistory of Lesbianism in Mexico]; Adriana Novoa; Mónica Szurmuk. Desnaturalizando la nación autoritaria: una propuesta queer. [Denaturalizing the Authoritarian Nation: A Queer Proposal]; Licia Fiol-Matta. Raras por mandato: la maestra, lo queer y el estado en Gabriela Mistral. [Queer by Command: The Teacher, Queerness and the State in Gabriel Mistral]; Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes. De sexilio(s) y diápora(s) homosexual(es) latina(s): cultura puertorriqueña y lo nuyorican queer. [Regarding Sexile(s) and Homosexual Latino/a Diasporas: Puerto Rican and Nuyorican Queer Culture]; María Mercedes Gómez. Crímenes de odio en Estados Unidos. La distinción analítica entre excluir y discriminar. [Hate Crimes in the United States: The Analytic Distinction Between Exclusion and Discrimination]; Carlos Monsiváis. La emergencia de la Diversidad: las comunidades marginales y sus batallas por la visibilidad. [The Emergence of Diversity: Marginal Communities and their Battle for Visibility]; Maru de la Garza. Raúl y yo; Jesusa Rodríguez. Pastorela terrorista; Liliana Felipe. Los paraísos.

Más información en:/ For more information see:
http://www.debatefeminista.com
ventas@debatefeminista.com

Folks interested in Carpa theatre and related forms might want to check out my recent publication in the December 2003 issue of the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology. It is a web-enhanced article that centers on phonograph recordings of comic dialogues made by immigrant vaudevillians in San Antonio during the Depression. Audio clips of my examples are available at:

http://www.aaanet.org/sla/jla/wea_13_2_haney.htm

The Arhoolie Foundation (www.arhoolie.com) provided me with access to the recordings.

Peter Haney

CONFERENCES [back to top]

Networked Peformance Blog and Conference
http://turbulence.org/blog

Hello,
We're planning a networked performance conference for Spring/Summer 2006 and invite you to play a role in its development.

We've set up a blog on the Turbulence website (http://turbulence.org/blog) where you can describe your performance activities and give us your perspective on what the important issues and challenges are in networked performance today. We hope to obtain a wide range of perspectives and uncover points of mutual relevance that will help build the content of the conference.

The conference will bring together practitioners and scholars from all forms of networked performance—distributed Internet performance (including dance-, theater-, and music-driven works), avatar theater, online performance art, multi-user gaming performance, mixed reality performance, and other hybrid forms.

Multiple institutions and organizations will play a role: New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. (NRPA), a not-for-profit media organization and parent of Turbulence.org; Emerson College, Boston; and California State University at Monterey Bay (CSUMB). We plan to work with additional organizations that will commission and/or host performances during the conference.

So visit the blog. Tell us who you are. Give us your URL(s) to post in our links section and the dates of any upcoming networked performances. And please tell anyone you think might be interested to join us.

Looking forward to an exciting discussion and conference,

Helen Thorington, Jo-Anne Green (New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.)
Michelle Riel (California State University at Monterey Bay)
John (Craig) Freeman, Brooke Knight (Emerson College)

World Homo Cultural Conference

The seventh ILGCN (International Lesbian and Gay Cultural Network) is presenting the WORLD HOMO CULTURAL CONFERENCE which will take place in San Juan from September 24-27, 2004. The same is dedicated to the memory of Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) a gay, African-American organizer of the legendary March on Washington in 1963, where Martin Luther King made his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Background

Pride Parades all over the world, most conspicuously that of Sao Paulo, Brazil (1.5 million) and Madrid, Spain (800,000), have demonstrated the numerical strength and the positive visibility of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Transsexual Questioning (GLBTTQ) community. The resounding success of the Second Symposium of Homoculture Studies, held in Brasilia June 16-20, 2004, was the most outstanding academic and activist event in Brazil and in Latin America, according to Dr. Luiz Mott.

The symposium aims to attract a most active participation of academics, activists, students, artists, writers, musicians, philosophers, and world humanists to engage in an open conversation and discussion of topics advancing the inclusion of all members of civilized society involved in maintaining peace and order, with an emphasis on love and caring for each other. Along these lines, proposals are requested on all matters pertaining to the realm of studies related to the GLBTTQ world community.

Professor Dr. Luiz Mott, a most distinguished scholar, educator, and leader in the Brazilian Homosexual Movement, has graciously accepted to be the keynote speaker of this transcendental event. We are most happy to have this inspiring man to be with us.

In April 2003, Queer Zagreb, the successful first stage of the ILGCN Queer Zagreb World Conference, took place, drawing participants from Europe, North America, and Australia. In September 2003, Colin de la Motte-Sherman headed another most productive conference in Berlin, the second stage of the sixth ILGCN conference, which also drew distinguished scholars and activists from the GLBTTQ community. At this meeting, the delegates unanimously supported a proposal to hold a stage of the seventh ILGCN World Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico—the very first such ILGCN event in the United States.

Topics

All areas related to the GLBTTQ world are welcome for exploration in this interdisciplinary, international, cross-cultural open dialogue. Many people have suggested the following topics, but they are not limits of creative possibilities, such as:

-Bayard Rustin
-unsung leaders of the GLBTTQ movement
-GLBTTQ role models for children
-same-sex marriage
-grassroots organizations & leadership
-the world without homophobia
-GLBTTQ families & issues
-safety of children in school and the community
-Lesbians and world society
-homophobia, invisibility & silence
-gays and the business community
-AIDS education & prevention
-activism in today's world
-historical roots
-2004 U.S. elections
-legislation & lobbying
-politics & political parties
-AIDS & the world today
-the closet & its limitations

Languages of the symposium are English, Spanish and Portuguese. In addition to papers, there will be an exhibition of art work and published books. Participants are encouraged to share their work with others in the group.

Sponsors

This symposium has a very distinguished group of sponsors:

Pedro Julio Serrano - Puerto Rico Para Todos, activist and community leader
pedrojulio@prparatodos.org

Mario Rodriguez - President, Puerto Rico Rainbow Foundation, Editor of
OrgulloBoricua.net and Nuevos Tiempos mario@orgulloboricua.net

Colin de la Motte-Sherman - activist, international journalist, Berlin
coordinator of the ILGCN eratonet@web.de

Bill Schiller - distinguished journalist, coordinator of ILGCN World Homo
Cultural Conference, Chairman, Tupilak Homosexual Cultural Workers in the
Nordic Area bill.schiller@sr.se

Professor Waldemar Matias - college professor, writer, educational consultant,
activist lifelonged@hotmail.com

AWARDS [back to top]

Diana Taylor’s fabulous latest book, The Archive and the Repertoire: Performing Cultural Memory in the Americas, Durham and London Duke University Press, 2003, has been recognized with the ATHE Research Award in Theatre Practice and Pedagogy for books published in 2003. Our deepest congratulations go out to Diana. For a review of the book, please visit http://hemi.nyu.edu/eng/newsletter/issue8/pages/publications.shtml

CALLS [back to top]

EXIT ART call for proposals: THE PRESIDENCY http://www.exitart.org/emailers/emailer_current.html

The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics invites you to propose performances, papers, performance-based scholarship (scholarship that attempts to enact what it describes), videos, installations, visual arts, Work Group topics, activist projects, hacktivist or virtual actions, and other forms that bring together performance and politics in the Americas to participate in our upcoming
5th Encuentro
Performing Heritage:
Contemporary Indigenous and Community-Based Practices
co-sponsored with the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)
in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
March 11-20, 2005

Since 2000, our Encuentros have been a meeting place for artists, scholars, students, and activists investigating the relation between performance and politics in the Americas. Gathering roughly 300 participants, each Encuentro is part academic conference, part performance festival, part workshop series, and wholly interdisciplinary: it is a concentrated space of experimentation, dialogue, and collaboration, featuring lectures, performances, installations, roundtable discussions, exhibits, video screenings, work groups, and hands-on performance workshops. This next Encuentro on Performing Heritage will explore the production and circulation of notions of identity, traditions, authenticity, rights, cultural access and ownership in the age of globalization. For more information and to apply online, please visit http://hemisphericinstitute.org/eng/seminar/brazil2005 Deadline is November 15th, 2004. We hope you will join us!

FUNDING OPORTUNITIES (edited by Tanya Calamoneri) [back to top]

This resource is intended to provoke thought and provide information about funding organizations that support projects addressing the issue of democracy. This list is by no means complete and the majority of sources are U.S.-based. Please feel free to send us additional information you think might be useful and we will make it available through the forums. When available, past funded projects are listed to provide a sense of the scope of projects that the foundation supports. While grants may not be directly applicable to your work, researching these funding organizations and funded projects may be a jumping off point in your studies of democracy. By comparing funded projects, you may be able to identify trends in support - for example several funding organizations support access to technology projects in an effort to enable democratic process.

The Arca Foundation
1308 19th St. N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: (202) 822-9193
Contact: Donna F. Edwards, Exec. Dir.
FAX: (202) 785-1446
E-mail: grants@arcafoundation.org
URL: http://www.arcafoundation.org
Purpose and activities: To help citizens shape public policy, particularly on economic and political issues affecting the Western Hemisphere, north and south. With respect to Central America and the Caribbean, support for projects that strengthen support for a foreign policy that respects national sovereignty while promoting economic and political rights. Domestically, emphasis is on projects that expose corrosive effects of private money in our political system and seek creative cures.
Fields of interest: Caribbean; Central America; International affairs, foreign policy; International human rights; Public policy, research.
Geographic focus: National; international
Types of support: Conferences/seminars, Continuing support, General/operating support, Matching/challenge support, Program development, Seed money.
Limitations: Giving to U.S.-based groups in the Western Hemisphere for national and international programs. No support for direct social services, government programs, or groups outside the U.S. No grants to individuals, or for annual campaigns, emergency funds, capital or endowment funds, scholarly research, deficit financing, scholarships, or fellowships; no loans.
Application information: Proposals received via FAX or E-mail will not be considered; preliminary letters of inquiry are discouraged; the foundation no longer accepts unsolicited proposals in the area of campaign finance reform. No fall, 2002, cycle, thus placing next deadline for proposals on Mar. 1, 2005. Application form not required.
Initial approach: Proposal (maximum 10 pages)
Copies of proposal: 1
Board meeting date(s): June and Dec.
Deadline(s): Mar. 1 and Sept. 1
Final notification: 2 weeks after board's decision
Selected grants: The following grants were reported in 2002.
$125,000 to People of Faith Network, Brooklyn, NY, For new campaign to abolish sweatshops and child labor.
$120,000 to Lexington Institute, Arlington, VA for 2 grants: $60,000 (For work to educate public about U.S.-Cuba policy), $60,000 (To organize and sponsor delegation of policymakers to Cuba).
$100,000 to Institute for Media Analysis, New York, NY, For Democracy Now to produce daily news and information program.
$75,000 to Georgetown University, DC, For Constitution Project to continue public education work on reforms in implementation of capital punishment.
$75,000 to Institute for Americas Future, DC, For research project looking at myriad of reforms needed to make corporations accountable to public and for general support.
$75,000 to Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba, Atlanta, GA, For operating support in endeavors to bridge U.S. and Cuban medical communities, promote joint research on health problems, and broaden awareness in U.S. about Cuban public health system.
$75,000 to National Security Archive Fund, DC, For work on accountability for U.S. involvement in western hemisphere policy issues.
$75,000 to Proteus Fund, Amherst, MA, For Piper Fund to promote and nurture state campaign reform efforts.
$60,000 to New School University, New York, NY, For World Policy Institute's Cuba Education Project to organize National Summit on Cuba in Washington, DC.

Benton Foundation
1625 K. St., N.W., 11th Fl.
Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: (202) 638-5770
FAX: (202) 638-5771
E-mail: benton@benton.org
URL: http://www.benton.org
Purpose and activities: The Benton Foundation's mission is to realize the social benefits made possible by the public interest use of communications, because the foundation believes that communications in the public interest is essential to a strong democracy. The foundation bridges the worlds of philanthropy, community practice, and public policy. It develops and provides effective information and communication tools and strategies to equip and engage individuals and organizations in the emerging digital and communications environment.
Fields of interest: Arts; Children/youth, services; Health care; Libraries/library science; Media/communications; Public policy, research; Telecommunications.
Types of support: Conferences/seminars, Internship funds, Research, Technical assistance.
Limitations: Applications not accepted.
Application information: Disbursements primarily through operating projects initiated by the board of directors; few direct grants awarded. The foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications or offer general grants.
Board meeting date(s): Mar. and Nov.

Deer Creek Foundation
720 Olive St., Ste. 1975
St. Louis, MO 63101
Telephone: (314) 241-3228
Contact: Mary Stake Hawker, Dir.
Purpose and activities: Support primarily for programs that preserve and advance our democratic system and government accountability, with civil liberties protection provided by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and to promote education about democracy; grants primarily to 'action programs' with promise of making a significant national or regional impact; some preference to projects in MO.
Fields of interest: Civil liberties, advocacy; Civil liberties, reproductive rights; Civil rights; Civil rights, race/intergroup relations; Environment; Minorities; Public affairs; Public affairs, citizen participation; Women.
Geographic focus: National
Types of support: Program development, Seed money.
Limitations: Giving on a national basis, with some emphasis on MO. No grants to individuals, or for building or endowment funds, equipment, or operating budgets.
Application information: Application form not required.
Initial approach: Proposal
Copies of proposal: 1
Board meeting date(s): May, Sept., and Dec.
Deadline(s): Mar. 1, July 1, and Oct. 1
Final notification: Within 2 weeks after board meeting
Selected grants: The following grants were reported in 2003.
$200,000 to Center for Progressive Regulation, DC.
$150,000 to Alliance for Justice, DC.
$150,000 to American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, DC, To provide forum for discussion and debate on legal thought and act as catalyst for critical, broad rethinking of American jurisprudence commensurate with preservation of individual rights and liberties, and protection of health and the environment.
$120,000 to American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY for 2 grants: $70,000 (For a program of litigation, media and public education, and legislative monitoring and advocacy aimed at preserving reproductive freedom), $50,000 (For public education, legislative advocacy, and litigation aimed at trying to ensure that measures taken by the government to protect our nations security do not unduly intrude upon our right to privacy).
$65,598 to Citizenship Education Clearing House, Saint Louis, MO, For Saint Louis Region Kids Voting Project, which teaches students the importance of exercising their right to vote and of making their vote an informed one.
$50,000 to Brennan Center for Justice, New York, NY, To provide legal counsel to public interest groups defending campaign finance reform laws and guidance to groups drafting reform legislation.
$50,000 to Center for Investigative Reporting, San Francisco, CA, For investigation into and education about the ways in which privacy has been traded for security post September eleventh.
$50,000 to Government Accountability Project (GAP), DC.
$50,000 to National Wildlife Federation, DC, For combined legal advocacy and public education effort to protect the Endangered Species Act from attempts to weaken it.
Glaser Progress Foundation
(formerly The Glaser Foundation )
P.O. Box 91123
Seattle, WA 98111
Telephone: (206) 728-1050
Contact: Leslie McDonald, Operations Dir.
FAX: (206) 728-1123
E-mail: grants@glaserprogress.org or Leslie McDonald: leslie@glaserprogress.org
URL: http://www.glaserprogress.org
Purpose and activities: The foundation focuses on three program areas: 1) Measuring Progress: build a more equitable and sustainable world by improving our understanding and measurement of human progress, 2) Animal Advocacy: make animal treatment a crucial consideration in business, policy and personal decision-making, 3) Independent Media: strengthen democracy by making independent voices heard.
Fields of interest: Animal welfare; Animals/wildlife; Civil rights; Community development; Media/communications.
Geographic focus: National; international
Types of support: General/operating support, Matching/challenge support, Program development, Technical assistance.
Limitations: Giving on a national and international basis. No grants to individuals.
Application information: Guidelines available on Web site. Application form not required.
Initial approach: Letter or E-mail
Copies of proposal: 1
Board meeting date(s): Approx. 6 months after receipt of application letter to staff and board review
Deadline(s): None

Bert & Mary Meyer Foundation, Inc.
1237 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30310
Telephone: (404) 758-1007
Contact: Laverne Robinson, Admin. Coord.
E-mail: bammf@aol.com
Purpose and activities: Support for rural people's organizations and coalitions that are: 1) educating and organizing communities to initiate, build and sustain progressive movements; 2) aimed at establishing political, economic, and social institutions which value democracy, equity, and human dignity; and 3) working to create a non-racial, non-sexist society in which human beings and communities can reach their full potential.
Geographic focus: National
Types of support: Continuing support, General/operating support, Program development, Seed money, Technical assistance.
Limitations: Applications not accepted. Giving limited to the southeastern U.S. No support for schools, hospitals, single-disease organizations, government-related institutions, or organizations that are not self-governed. No grants to individuals.
Application information: Unsolicited requests for funds not accepted.

The Ottinger Foundation
80 Broad St., 17th Fl.
New York, NY 10004
Telephone: (212) 764-3878
Contact: Michele Lord, Exec. Dir.
FAX: (212) 764-4298
E-mail: info@ottingerfoundation.org
URL: http://www.ottingerfoundation.org
Purpose and activities: Supports selected projects designed to advance democracy, social and economic justice, citizen activism, and environmental protection. The foundation is implementing a program area focusing on economic security issues.
Fields of interest: Environment.
Geographic focus: National
Types of support: General/operating support, Matching/challenge support, Program development, Seed money.
Limitations: Giving on a national basis. No support for local organizations, human services, or for organizations which typically receive popular support like universities, museums or schools. No grants to individuals, or for capital or annual campaigns, deficit financing, building or endowment funds, equipment and materials, land acquisition, publications, conferences, film or video projects or academic research.
Application information: Guidelines available on Web site. Accepts NNG Common Grant Application Form. Proposals for the environment and democratic participation by solicitation only. Application form not required.
Initial approach: Letter of inquiry
Copies of proposal: 1
Board meeting date(s): Biannually
Final notification: 1 month after board meeting

Alfred & Jane Ross Foundation, Inc.
c/o Hecht & Co.
111 W. 40th St.
New York, NY 10019
Purpose and activities: Giving to art and cultural institutes, education, animal rescue agencies, and youth services.
Fields of interest: Education; International exchange, arts; Performing arts, opera.
Geographic focus: National
Limitations: Applications not accepted. Giving on a national basis. No grants to individuals.
Application information: Contributes only to pre-selected organizations.

Selected grants: The following grants were reported in 2001.
$29,790 to New York City Opera, New York, NY.
$12,000 to Institute for Democracy Studies, New York, NY.
$11,500 to Horace Mann School, Riverdale, NY.
$5,310 to Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
$5,000 to East Hampton Healthcare Foundation, East Hampton, NY.
$4,800 to Young Concert Artists, New York, NY.
$2,000 to Glimmerglass Opera, Cooperstown, NY.
$1,000 to Doctors Without Borders USA, New York, NY.
$1,000 to Planned Parenthood of New York City, New York, NY.
$350 to Lycee Francais de New York, New York, NY .
The Schumann Center for Media and Democracy, Inc.
(formerly The Florence and John Schumann Foundation )
33 Park St.
Montclair, NJ 07042
Telephone: (973) 783-6660
Contact: Lynn C. Welhorsky, V.P., Admin.
Purpose and activities: Grants for programs in effective governance and the environment.
Fields of interest: Media/communications; Public affairs, citizen participation.
Geographic focus: National
Types of support: Continuing support, General/operating support, Matching/challenge support, Program development.
Limitations: Giving on a national basis. No grants to individuals, or for annual campaigns, capital campaigns, deficit financing, equipment and materials, land acquisition, or endowment funds; no loans.
Application information: Application form not required.
Initial approach: 1- to 2-page letter of inquiry
Copies of proposal: 1
Board meeting date(s): Feb., June, and Oct.
Final notification: 2 to 3 months

Selected grants: The following grants were reported in 2002.
$1,025,000 to American Prospect, Boston, MA, For series of public debates, and continued support of bi-weekly magazine.
$250,000 to Institute for Americas Future, DC, For general support.
$225,000 to Atlantic Public Media, Woods Hole, MA, For continued support of Transom.org Public Radio/Internet project.
$50,000 to Community Rights Counsel, DC, For continued support of campaign to prevent undue influence of corporations and interest groups over federal judges.
$50,000 to Institute for Public Accuracy, San Francisco, CA, For War and Peace Media Project.
$50,000 to Public Campaign, DC, For book, OUCH: A Citizens Guide to Politicians, Plutocrats and Powerful Interests That Are Ripping Us Off.
$35,000 to Nation Institute, New York, NY, For Journalism Fellowship Program.
$25,000 to Cursor, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, For general support of Cursor.org and MediaTransparency.org web sites.
$25,000 to United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, DC, For Internet organizing on environmental public education.
$15,000 to Alliance for Justice, DC, For research for study examining independence and integrity of elections laws.
Stern Family Fund
(formerly Philip M. Stern Family Fund )
P.O. Box 1590
Arlington, VA 22210-0890
Telephone: (703) 527-6692
Contact: Elizabeth Collaton, Exec. Dir.
FAX: (703) 527-5775
E-mail: sternfund@starpower.net
URL: http://www.sternfund.org
Purpose and activities: Support for systemic reform efforts that attack the root causes of problems rather than providing direct services; projects that strive for a more equitable distribution of political and economic power; and action-oriented projects with the potential for significant regional and national impact. The fund operates 2 grants programs: Public Interest Pioneers, which seeks to create new organizations or projects by providing funds to individuals with meaningful experience in the public interest community or in a particular specialty who are prepared to create a cutting-edge project designed to stop or prevent government and corporate abuses; and Strategic Opportunity Grants, which fund projects or organizations at critical junctures in their development (also limited to the field of corporate and government accountability). Pioneer Grants range from $60,000 to $100,000; Strategic Opportunity Grants range from $5,000 to $20,000. Except in extraordinary circumstances, no Strategic Opportunity Grants will be made to organizations with current annual operating expenses of more than $500,000 (with the exception of grants in the field of campaign finance reform).
Fields of interest: Public affairs.
Geographic focus: National
Types of support: General/operating support, Matching/challenge support, Program development, Seed money.
Limitations: Giving limited to the U.S. No support for international programs or domestic programs dealing with international issues, the performing arts, universities, hospitals, museums, or social service programs offering ongoing or direct delivery of service. No grants for building or endowment funds, capital campaigns, academic research, scholarships, land acquisition, films, or benefits.
Application information: Telephone inquiries and FAX submissions are discouraged, cover page format provided by NNG Common Grant Application section I cover page; see Web site for copy. Application form required.
Initial approach: Letter or proposal
Copies of proposal: 3
Board meeting date(s): Semiannually
Deadline(s): Jan. 8 for Public Interest Pioneer Grants; Aug. 16 for Strategic Opportunity Grants
Final notification: May for Public Interest Pioneer Grants; Nov. for Strategic Opportunity Grants
Selected grants: The following grants were reported in 2002.
$75,000 to Proteus Fund, Amherst, MA.
$50,000 to Action Without Borders, New York, NY.
$50,000 to Center for Digital Democracy, DC.
$40,000 to Clean Elections Institute, Phoenix, AZ.
$30,000 to Grassroots Leadership, Charlotte, NC.
$30,000 to People of Faith Network, Brooklyn, NY, For Worker Rights Consortium.
$25,000 to Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action, New York, NY.
$20,000 to International Media Project, Portola Valley, CA.
$20,000 to Maine Equal Justice Partners, Augusta, ME.
$20,000 to New Mexico Environmental Law Center, Santa Fe, NM, For Uranium Mining Project.

Also....

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS MAKES FY 2005 GRANTS FOR ARTS PROJECTS GUIDELINES AVAILABLE ON AGENCY WEB SITE

New Format Encourages Simpler Application Process

Washington, D.C. - The National Endowment for the Arts today posted Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) guidelines for FY 2005 on the agency website at http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/GAP05/. These are the first online-only GAP guidelines at the Endowment, providing applicants earlier access and a more flexible format for changes and access to information.

The most beneficial change to the guidelines is a return to discipline orientation. For the past several years, applicants have been directed to funding categories, such as Creativity or Heritage & Preservation. This coming year, applicants will approach funding through the field or discipline of their project, such as dance, theater, or visual arts.

"We hope this change will simplify the application process, as well as underscore the importance of artistic field and discipline at the agency," said A.B. Spellman, NEA Deputy Chairman for Guidelines and Panel Operations.

Grants for Arts Projects supports exemplary projects in dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literature, local arts agencies, media arts, museums, music, musical theater, opera, presenting, theater, visual arts, and multidisciplinary art forms. Although organizations will apply directly through these fields, each discipline offers granting opportunities in the following categories:

Access to Artistic Excellence - supports artistic creativity, preserves our diverse cultural heritage, and makes the arts more widely available in communities throughout the country

Challenge America Fast-Track Review Grants - enables small and mid-sized organizations to extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability

Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth - advances learning in the arts for children and youth consistent with national, state, or local arts education standards

Further information about these categories and about GAP requirements can be found on the NEA Web site at http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/GAP05/.