Astoria-based arts organization brings back
program to fund artists and art commissioners
Artists & Art Commissioners mingling at Monthly ACP Event
Art
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I SEPTEMBER 2019 25
BY JENNA BAGCAL
An Astoria-based nonprofit is
once again funding local art-ists
and artist commissions.
The Queens Council on
the Arts (QCA) announced
that they are currently accepting
applications for its annual Artist
Commissioning Program (ACP) .
For the third year, QCA encourages
Queens-based creatives to apply for
a $10,000 artist commission.
Since the organization began the
program, its goal was to democratize
the historically privileged artist com-missioning
process. All Queens-based
or affiliated playwrights, choreogra-phers
or composers are welcome
to apply.
FUNDING
CREATIVITY
Photos courtesy of Queens Council on the Arts
ACP Awardee in Choroegraphy ’17-'18 Chuan Xie performing SHED
Each year, the QCA chooses two neigh-borhoods
on which artists can focus their
works. The 2019-2020 commissioning
cycle focusing on Flushing and Maspeth/
Ridgewood, which forms two seven-member,
community-based commission-ing
groups.
According to QCA, the program
enables community members acting
as “art commissioners” to “fill gaps in
American culture.” The program also
supports works that “tell untold stories
highlighting underrepresented pro-tagonists.”
During the yearlong program, both art-ists
and artist commissioners participate in
“monthly convenings.” The process includes
project updates, professional development
programs on commissioning art and other
collaborative arts events.
Artists work with an “advisory cohort”
of local art commissioners and produce a
world premiere of their project. All pieces
will premiere by Sept. 30, 2020.
QCA asks that artist commissioners
apply by Oct. 17 and artists apply by Nov.
14. For more information and to apply, visit
queenscouncilarts.org/acp.
/www.qns.com
/www.qns.com
/acp
