JURIED ARTIST APPLICATION PROCESS

Application Process Timeline - The Juried Artist process is currently under review and no applications are being accepted at this time.  Once the policy review is complete we will post details here.  Subscribe to ArtMail, our biweekly enewsletter, to stay informed about the Juried Artist process and other grant deadlines and opportunities throughout the year. 

What is a Juried Artist?

Every two years the Vermont Arts Council invites accomplished individual artists and artist groups to apply for designation as a “Vermont Arts Council Juried Artist.” Juried Artist designation is open to artists of all artistic disciplines. Artists wishing to become Juried may also apply for designation in three optional “areas of expertise” and must be evaluated by a peer review panel. The optional areas of expertise are Education, Social Service, and Design Team. Receiving these Juried designations communicates to presenters, exhibitors, educational institutions, social service organizations, and design project managers that you are an outstanding professional artist with solid experience in a variety of traditional and/or non-traditional settings.

Additional Benefits of Becoming a Juried Artist

• Makes Council grant applications easier for organizations or schools wishing to hire you, since the artistic support material requirement does not need to be submitted.
• Additional consideration is given to Council grant applications hiring Vermont Juried Artists.
• Many Council grant programs are specifically designed to employ Juried Artists.
• Performing and Literary artists who are listed as Juried Artists in the Arts Directory are eligible to participate in the New England Foundation for the Arts' (NEFA) New England States Touring (NEST) Program.
• Council activities and programs occasionally provide opportunities for artists for which Juried Artists are given first consideration.

Who May Apply

Individual artists and group applicants for a Juried designation in the Directory must be:

• professional working artists who are currently active in their field
• legal residents of Vermont for a minimum of 1 year prior to application deadline (artist groups or organizations must be incorporated in Vermont at least 1 year prior to application)
• at least 18 years of age
• not full-time students.

Residency Requirements

An artist must be a legal resident of Vermont to be eligible for listing as a Juried Artist in the Directory. A Vermont voter registration, driver's license, or income tax return is considered acceptable documentation of Vermont residency. An artist must remain a resident throughout the term of their designation as a Juried Artist.

For artist groups, at least one artist must be a Vermont resident and, if the group has a legal status, it must be incorporated in Vermont.

Term of Juried Status

Artists selected to be listed as a Juried Artist in the Arts Directory will be included for a term of six years provided they remain Vermont residents for the full term. In the sixth year of their term, artists will be notified that they will need to be re-evaluated. The re-evaluation process will consist of another complete application to the program to assure continuing artistic excellence and that all artists, both those in the program and those newly applying, are judged by the same criteria. The Council reserves the right to reevaluate artists at any time before the completion of their six-year term if, for example, negative evaluations are received from sponsors about their performance or service.

HOW TO APPLY

ALL applicants must apply for the Juried Artist designation. Read and complete the instructions for the Juried Artist designation - artists seeking this designation should be professionals currently active in their field and have documented work within the last four years.

Optional -- Artists may also choose to be juried in one or more of the following Areas of Expertise:

1. EDUCATION - Artists seeking this designation should be professionals currently active in their field. They should also be able to document recent professional experience in the field of arts education. Education artists need at least two years experience in an educational setting working in-depth with students in the kindergarten-college age range. (Artists whose backgrounds and interests lie in single short-term workshops are not required to seek an Education Designation and may conduct workshops as part of a Juried Artist designation.) Read Education guidelines.
   
   
2. SOCIAL SERVICE - Artists seeking this designation should be professionals currently active in their field. They should also be able to document recent active experience in the social service field. Social Service artists need at least two years “hands-on” participatory experience teaching and/or working with people with various disabilities, seniors, non-traditional students, pre-school aged children, incarcerated inmates, at-risk youth, or other specific populations served by social service agencies. Read Social Service guidelines.
   
   
3. DESIGN TEAM - Artists seeking a this designation should be professionals, currently active in their field. They should be able to document recent experience (within the last four years) in the field of public art. Design Team artists need to have experience working in collaboration with other artists and project participants. Read Design Team guidelines.

Panel Review Process

All applicants will be evaluated by peer review panels. Panels will be comprised of individuals with expertise in various artistic disciplines and applicable professions. The panels will consider the applicant's professional ability and quality of work based upon artistic support materials, career achievements, promotional materials, resume, and other relevant documentation.

Applicants to these areas of expertise categories must first be evaluated and pass review by the artistic peer panel. Once the artistic quality of their work has been endorsed (through the Juried Artist designation process) applicants will be interviewed by an Education/Social Service, or Design Team panel. NOTE: Applicants who are not selected for a Juried Artist designation will not be considered in the optional areas of expertise.

DEADLINES AND REQUIREMENTS

Application Process Timeline - The Juried Artist process is currently under review and no applications are being accepted at this time.  Once the policy review is complete we will post details here.  Subscribe to ArtMail, our biweekly enewsletter, to stay informed about the Juried Artist process and other grant deadlines and opportunities throughout the year

Completed application packages must be postmarked on or before the deadline. If an applicant chooses to hand deliver the application, it must be received at the Council office no later than 4:30 PM on the deadline date.

All supporting materials must accompany applications. Late applications will not be considered. The Council cannot accept applications transmitted by facsimile machines or e-mail or be responsible for applications lost in transit. After the deadline, no additions or changes can be made to the application. Errors and omissions may adversely affect the panel's evaluation of the application.

Important Note: If you are approved as a Juried Artist we strongly encourage you to attend an artist orientation meeting. We anticipate conducting the meeting sometime in February 2007. Exact date and time will be determined at a later date.

Application Fee

• An application fee of $20 must be submitted with all applications.
• Fees submitted with incomplete applications will not be refunded.
• If the applicant is a current Member of the Vermont Arts Council at the time of submission, the fee is waived.

Incomplete Applications

The Council reserves the right to reject incomplete applications. Applications missing artistic support materials will not be reviewed. Applications missing other components, such as resumes and letters of support may fare poorly in the review process.

Appeals Process

Applicants may appeal the Council's decision concerning an application for a grant or for recognition of professional merit.
NOTE: Dissatisfaction with the application's denial or with the amount of an award is not sufficient reason for an appeal. Grounds for an appeal are evidence that:

1. The application was reviewed on the basis of criteria other than those appearing in the relevant guidelines.
2. Panelists or the Council Board were influenced willfully or unwillfully by members who failed to disclose conflicts of interest.
3. Erroneous information was provided by staff, panelists, or Council Board members at the time of the application's review.

The first step in the appeals process is for an applicant to consult with the appropriate program staff to review the considerations that went into the Council's decision. If the applicant wishes to pursue an appeal, a request must be sent in writing, to the Board of Trustees, in care of the Executive Director, within 30 days of the date of notification of the Council's decision. The letter should contain evidence to support one or more of the above grounds for appeal. The appeal will be reviewed and decided at the discretion of the Council's Board of Trustees. If the applicant is still not satisfied that a fair process was used by the review panel, a hearing with the Board of Trustees may be arranged.

NOTE: Applicants may not appeal the rejection of an application that was, in a panel's unanimous view, incomplete.