May 1, 2026 deadline
General Expert Panel comments
The following comments provide a summary of the panel’s assessment and do not necessarily relate to every unsuccessful application submitted to this deadline. The panel felt the overall quality of the applications was high and appreciated the scope of arts activities proposed for residency projects in schools. The panel does not provide individual comments.
Panelists prioritized funding for projects where schools demonstrated:
- Activities acknowledged and researched appropriate and respectful cultural representations with strong intention;
- In the project; what connection does the art have on the school's experience and the learning outcomes;
- The specific barriers to schools, i.e. access to arts opportunities, lack of arts specialists on staff, socioeconomic factors, and language barriers that make it difficult for their students to experience the arts outside of the residency project; and how will they address these barriers through the arts;
- The challenges facing students participating in the arts, i.e. lack of budget, limited arts specialists on staff;
- Students were taught and involved in all aspects of the artistic and creative experience; giving the students a creative voice;
- Proposals were tailed specifically to address the unique benefits to the individual school and its students specific to each grade; how the artist differentiated each grade;
- Projects that emphasized the creative process and skill development;
- Schools in rural communities that had less access to art programming
Future applicants can strengthen and enhance their submissions by:
- Avoiding cut-and-paste applications. Panelists noted this can raise concerns about the authenticity of the proposal and the level of school commitment.
- Having an authentic voice that articulates the specific school's needs rather than solely using an AI tool.
- Demonstrate strong school commitment, including active involvement from teachers, administrators, and students, as well as support for scheduling and resources.
- Clearly defining the purpose of celebration-based projects. Panelists questioned whether these are student-focused learning experiences or primarily intended to promote or celebrate the school.
- Show how the project will engage students in a meaningful way, rather than being a one-time or passive experience.
- If schools are collaborating with a single artist, they should clearly outline how that artist will be supported by the school community and/or its teachers.
- Articulating the intent and outcomes of the artist residency with specificity; what will students gain for the arts experience.
- Being explicit about what you are requesting (e.g., scope of activities, number of sessions, artist involvement, budget use).
- Ensuring the goals and outcomes are realistic and meaningfully connected to the needs and context of the school community.
- Providing a clear company profile as well as the specific artist resume and/or bios that identifies the specific artists involved, their roles, and their relevant experience working in schools or communities.
- For cultural artists please include specifics of where their cultural ties and teachings are from.
- An artist's resume must clearly demonstrate their ability to successfully fulfill the proposed project.
- Ensuring the artist's fee aligns with the proposed activities and reflects thoughtful, appropriate use of funds.