The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is pleased to announce the next cycle of its prestigious City of LA Independent Master Artist Projects (COLA-IMAP) and Cultural Trailblazers programs. These linked programs honor artists who have a distinguished record of independently producing and presenting avant-garde works and support each applicant\u2019s ability to forecast their next solo project for a panel of knowledgeable experts to assess and compare to proposals by other applicants.<\/p>\n
This COLA-IMAP and Cultural Trailblazers RFP seeks to qualify a spectrum of mid-career graphic-design, literary, performing, and visual artists who will create new solo works between Fall 2027 and Spring 2029 (note as the City of LA considers changing from a one-year to a two-year budget cycle, the COLA IMAP selections from this RFP may take the form of one- and\/or two-year allocations).<\/p>\n
Artists who are selected as COLA-IMAP grantees will have their career accomplishments promoted by the City via a printed and\/or online catalog, with likely opportunities for selections from each artist\u2019s new solo work to be premiered in an online expo, a gallery exhibition, and\/or a performance showcase.<\/p>\n
This cycle, artists whose practice bridges the visual arts and graphic design are especially encouraged to apply within COLA-IMAP\u2019s new Graphic Design <\/em>category, as DCA seeks to recognize three or more artists with 15 or more years of experience creating innovative books, typefaces, and\/or logo-graphics (text-image mixtures). If DCA receives a sufficient number of eligible proposals, DCA would convene a special, separate panel to specifically jury this new category dedicated to artists whose work combines graphic-design talent and conceptual art skills.<\/p>\n Each category of COLA IMAP and Cultural Trailblazers is juried by new panelists each year. Hence, applying multiple times over many years is encouraged.<\/p>\n Please note COLA-IMAP Grants cannot support proposed projects that are interactive, collaborative, or sited in places selected by the applicant-artist. If your project involves groups, interactivity with specific types of persons, or sited in a self-selected place, then you should be crafting your proposal in the DCA\u2019s NEAR (Neighborhood Engagement Artist Residency) category where you can receive $12,000 for 11 workshops and a culminating event at the non-traditional venue of your choice.<\/p>\n DCA has a limited budget to present proposed artworks, therefore priority will be given to proposed projects which are easily pre-arranged (projects such as unrestrained installations and complicated performances are not a priority in the COLA programs since they require the applicant-artist to pay for rehearsal or installation, rather than paying themselves for less complicated presentations). Furthermore, DCA\u2019s traditional affiliates (Grand Performances and the LA Municipal Arts Gallery (LAMAG) have limited budgets to present proposed artworks. Therefore, priority within COLA-IMAP will be given to proposed projects which can be previewed in the applicant-artist\u2019s personal studio or rehearsal space, and which are 12 feet or smaller, or 30 minutes or shorter in duration<\/strong>. This recommendation is not made to limit creativity but to balance it against feasibility. A proper mix of innovation and risk is welcome, so you can pay the best percentage of the grant-honorarium for a project that is both accountable and wonderful.<\/p>\n We encourage you to enroll in an informational webinar (see Training tab) in order to best understand how to upgrade your COLA-IMAP proposals each year. Proposals should include images\/videos of recent works from the past 3 years (and shorter selections of older relevant-work when applicable). Please do submit one or more letters of recommendation from academics, curators, or colleagues who have very insightful things to say about the significance of your work. Please do not submit collaborative artworks unless you are a duo.<\/p>\n