In our third annual Queer|Art Mock Panels, esteemed art professionals from various disciplines offered invaluable guidance on writing stronger applications for grants, residencies, and other art opportunities.
At Queer|Art, we’ve seen our fair share of applications. Between our flagship Queer|Art|Mentorship program and our continually evolving slate of awards and grants, we’ve reviewed upwards of 2,700 applications from artists across the country and disciplines. Each application has taught us something new about the application process, and as we continue learning, we want to share those lessons. To that end, we launched our Mock Panels initiative in 2019, inspired by a similar model courtesy of artist and educator LJ Roberts at the New School. Three years later, the Mock Panels series has become an annual program, staying true to its original goal: to equip artists of different career stages with the necessary tools to develop successful applications for awards, residencies, fellowships, and other opportunities within the arts. Participation in the series is open to all current applicants for Queer|Art|Mentorship.
To lead the 2021 Queer|Art Mock Panels, we invited a diverse group of arts and cultural workers to serve as reviewers on four separate panels categorized by creative discipline. These eight accomplished professionals represented a vast body of experience, hailing from a variety of backgrounds including art nonprofits, residencies, biennials, performance centers, production companies, film festivals, and publishing collectives. They included:
Ashley Artis (Creative Time) and Evan Garza (2021 Texas Biennial) in Visual Art
Edgar Miramontes (REDCAT) and Jack Phillips Moore (The Public Theater) in Performance
Lucila Moctezuma (Chicken & Egg Pictures) and Jose F. Rodriguez (Tribeca Film Festival) in Film
Rachel Levitsky (Belladonna*) and Yanyi (Foundry) in Literature.
The rich and insightful dialogues yielded indispensable advice for attendees, covering everything from basic formatting tips, to portfolio do’s and don'ts, to general career counseling.
Once again, portfolio reviews occurred live via Zoom. Our panelists were given eight minutes to assess statements, work samples, and CVs from six randomly selected applicants, and two additional minutes to answer follow-up questions. Though panel reviews are often kept behind closed doors, our series of Mock Panels was intended to give artists a sense of how jurors interpret their work in real time, an impression of what questions naturally arise, and concrete feedback they could utilize to elevate their applications.
The most resonant pieces of advice have been gathered below by our Programs & Operations Assistant, Dani Brito, and our Design & Social Media Assistant, Andrius Alvarez-Backus:
Put your best foot forward—and right away: A common piece of feedback across our Mock Panels was that applicants often bury the thesis of their project at the end of their proposal. Since jurors often have hundreds of applications to evaluate, lead with your best content, get to the point quickly, and hook them in from the very first sentence. Prioritize what’s foundational to your practice, and frame it with additional context afterwards.
Be intentional in how you give language to your practice: Be as creative, expressive, and conscious in describing your work as you are in making it, and use it as an opportunity to enrich the reviewers’ understanding of your artistic self. Your work sample descriptions should be as specific as possible, and if there’s a word count, every sentence should be strategically and economically constructed to maximize the allotted space. Though it’s tempting to err on the side of over-communicating, be wary of academic language. Using ten dollar words and flexing your writing skills can come across as pretentious, and can even damage your chances since many review committees are comprised of folks who have varying degrees of interest in academic discourse or aren’t native English speakers. Language that is clear and concise will be much easier for jurors to connect with.
Balance historical context with your future vision: In describing your practice, situate yourself within a creative lineage. To do so, give reviewers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your process: who are you inspired by? With which contemporary or historical artists do you most identify? What cultural references are key to understanding your work? Once you articulate where you’re coming from, give an indication of what’s next for you and your trajectory. How do you plan to level up your practice? How are you pushing the conversation forward in unique ways, and how will this program help you do that? Though it’s a tricky balance to find, your application will shine if done correctly.
Research today’s application standards: If you’re unsure of what certain application elements should look like, research your favorite creatives and see how they present themselves. Learn from how they structure their CV, portfolio, artist bio, and more. That isn’t to say you should copy another artist’s package, but it helps to look to others for benchmarks. In addition, this past year saw countless application info sessions live-streamed and recorded in response to COVID-19. Seek out those resources and use them as data when assembling your application.
The devil is in the details: Though it may seem obvious, it’s still worth stating. Please double or even triple check your application materials for grammatical errors and mistakes! Be extra cautious to iron out typos so jurors can concentrate on the content of your application without being distracted by tiny mistypes. Similarly, be thoughtful in naming your files. Work titles are a safe bet to include, but consider if either the medium, year, or location will help reviewers move through your application with ease. And before you hit submit, have a trusted friend or colleague skim over your application. It never hurts to have a set of fresh eyes give you another opinion.
Zoom out to ensure your application is cohesive on the macro level: In contrast to the previous tip which emphasized the micro, reviewers are also looking for meaningful connections within a larger scope. Make sure the written portions of your application and your work samples are in direct conversation, and that your overall package is telling the coherent and complete story of who you are as an artist. If that story means depicting the full range and versatility of a multi-faceted practice, then by all means present the full breadth of yourself—just be sure to do so with clarity.
Don’t underestimate the power of your CV/Resume: Our Mock Panelists had differing opinions on whether or not it’s important to include experiences outside your creative field of choice on your CV. Regardless, they agreed that a CV or resume is a critical space to present the fullness of your past, your accomplishments, and your world. It can describe alternative pedagogies that inform your practice, give indication of who has supported/funded you, and flesh out any gaps in your creative journey. For more advice on crafting the perfect CV, we recommend this resource.
Get to know your artist self again: For many, putting together an application can be a rare opportunity to recenter their artist values and refamiliarize themselves with why they create what they do. So if you’re feeling a bit lost, take advantage of this opportunity to ask yourselves the big questions. For whom are you making work? Why? What sets your vision apart from the crowd?
When in doubt, reach out: If you’re confused about an element of the application, feel free to reach out to the administrators with clarifying questions—but only after you’ve thoroughly reviewed the application requirements and FAQs. It’s best to go into an application with a clear and robust understanding of what’s expected.
Your application should take jurors on your own carefully curated joyride. Invite them into your world, think of the stops you don't want them to miss along the way, and use every opportunity to illustrate your vision to the fullest extent in all its glory. Do all that you can in the space that you have to help them indulge in your practice with you. Of course, rejection is tough, but keep in mind that application selection is a subjective and relative process. As a final note, remember the labor of compiling an application is still a valuable exercise in self-knowledge and self-presentation, and accomplishes the task of extending your work to new audiences. If you hold onto those rewards as motivation, every complete application can be viewed as a small victory in and of itself.
Good luck!
P.S. For more tips, read our previous blog posts from past editions of Mock Panels: "How To Sharpen Your Application Skills," by former Queer|Art|Mentorship Facilitator, Kris Grey; and “Six Ways to Make Your Application Shine,” by Programs & Operations Assistant, Dani Brito.