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Writer's pictureCreative Baggage

Guide to BIPOC Creative Opportunities: 2023

Updated: Feb 14, 2023

We've compiled a list of opportunities for BIPOC musicians, brought to you by our database of opportunities, For the Lost Creative. The guide is divided into 3 categories: Composers, Performers, & Interdisciplinary Creatives - AND all the opportunities can be found/saved on our database. Our database will be updated as more opportunities become available throughout the year, so once you're done applying to the opportunities below, be sure to check back and see what's new!


 

FOR COMPOSERS


The Dolphy Prize November 30th, 2023 Black composers are invited to submit an original work for bass clarinet solo or small ensemble.

Winners in each category will receive a $500 prize and publication of the work in the Alea Publishing catalog.

  • Composers are limited to one submission per year. Composers who have submitted in prior years, but were not awarded, are welcome to submit again.

  • Use of the bass clarinet is required, but any other instruments/voices (to a maximum of 5) are at the discretion of the composer.

  • Pre-recorded and/or synthesized sound may be included beyond the maximum of five performers.

  • Works may utilize any combination of traditional and/or modern techniques.

  • There is no minimum or maximum length for the piece submitted.

Rolling Deadline

Who: BIPOC Composers

What: Works for vocal soloist(s) and instrumentation

Deadline: Rolling application deadline

For: Inclusion in database and consideration for free demo recording program


Rolling Deadline

Responding to the fact that the vast majority of films are scored by white men, Reel Change is a five-year grants and mentorship program for composers of diverse backgrounds who have been marginalized in film composition. The five-year fund, established in 2020, accepts applications from US-based composers. It supports film projects currently in production, by providing additional funding, gear, and mentoring to assist composers at a pivotal moment in their careers. Four to six grants averaging $20,000 are allocated each year of the program. Supported expenses include composer compensation, musician fees, recording, sound mastering fees, studio expenses, orchestration, production equipment, and more. Sponsors for this initiative are Spitfire Audio, Steinberg, and Native Instruments. Spitfire Audio will donate $1K in software packages to each grantee and promotional support of the Reel Change program. Steinberg will provide hardware and software packages. Native Instruments will provide the flagship music production suite Komplete Collectors Edition for each grantee.

 

FOR PERFORMERS


February 13, 2023

The Paul J. Ross Fellowship Program is a two-year program designed to enable musicians identifying as Black or African American to dedicate themselves to the pursuit of an orchestral career. Fellows work closely alongside members of the Pittsburgh Symphony to train and prepare for professional auditions and opportunities, with substantial financial and professional development support, and robust mentorship in a welcoming and inclusive environment.


Rolling Deadline

he PMAY Artists’ Initiative offers students financial support to make lessons, music classes, youth orchestra participation, and summer music camps affordable. Students will be able to attend free college and career preparation workshops, and PMAY teachers and staff will work with each family to make sure each musician has a strong plan to be accepted into a music conservatory, college or university music school majoring in music. The PMAY Artists’ Initiative accepts applications from rising 5th through 12th grade students from backgrounds that are underrepresented within the professional orchestra field, including Black/African-American, Latinx, Native American, Alaskan Native, South Asian, Southeast Asian and/or Pacific Islander. Students who may identify differently may also qualify if they experience adversity such as economic disadvantages or will be the first in their family to attend college. This program is for the following orchestral instruments: violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, horn, trombone/bass trombone, tuba, & percussion, harp. Accepting Rolling Applications for Fall 2023

 

FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY CREATIVES


February 15, 2023

What we are looking for: We want to hear from artists, collectives, and curators who self-identify and find it useful to gather under a “Sino and/or Chinese diaspora” cohort. This is a time for research, exploration and learning. We are looking for openness to collective, intercultural and cross-border development and research. We welcome experimental, digital, and/or research-based practices, and people who feel an alignment with and interest in any or all of the host organizations’ networks and programming. We’re especially interested in ideas that explore diasporic cultures and spaces, flows of people, goods and capital, alternative community and kin-making, digital cultures, media arts, philosophies of technology and place-making—and any intersections of these.


About the residency: The remote, six-week-long online residency will be facilitated by three host organizations in May and June. Each resident or collective will primarily work with one host organization in Australia, Canada, or the United States and all residents as a cohort will be in dialogue with one another through convenings. Each resident or collective will be awarded an unrestricted stipend of AUD $10,000 for their participation (CAD $10,000 for the Gendai Resident). Each host organization will design a program of remote/online mentoring, networking, research and development for the resident they host.


February 20, 2023

What Can We Do? (WCWD?), presented by the Asian American Arts Alliance (A4), is a micro-grant ($500) opportunity for artists looking to support the AAPI community in NYC with engaging, creative projects rooted in care. Honoring the power of art as healing, WCWD? invites artists with a desire to affect change in their communities to carry out a project in a three-month period (March 1-May 15, 2023). What Can We Do? is seeking 30 participants with a range of artistic expression, social justice/social impact expertise, organizing frameworks, and lived experiences.


February 24, 2023

The Asian Women Giving Circle believes culture is an essential part of any strategy for social change. We support organizations led by Asian American women and/or gender-expansive people and individual artists in NYC who are using arts and culture to:

-Bring about progressive social transformation,

-Raise awareness and catalyze action around critical issues that affect Asian American women, girls, gender-expansive people and families, and highlight and promote women’s central role as leaders, creators, developers and managers of these projects.

-Highlight and promote women’s central role as leaders, creators, developers and managers of these projects.

Each grant is $8,000. We anticipate making 8-10 grants total, depending on how much we raise for our annual pot!


March 19, 2023

The Very Asian Foundation (VAF) Creators Grant is an exciting microgrant opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander individuals who have pivoted their careers toward their creative passions. Whether you’re a visual artist, a baker or chef, a writer, a podcaster, or a social media creator, the VAF Creators Grant program offers opportunities to amplify your voices and offer guidance or mentorship. The grant will be awarded to five individuals, each receiving $1000.


April 1, 2023

The Bayard Rustin Resident will be give up to one year of free room and board at the Penington Friends House which is collaborative living house on Manhattan Island in New York City. Here are a few types of artists and activists activities that we would be interested in considering. – An artist working on a body of art that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues. – A writer working on a new book, play, screenplay, or collection that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues. – A performer creating a new dance piece that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues. – A community based artist designing or carrying out a community based project that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues. – An activist organizing communities to address racism and/or intersectional issues. – A social entrepreneur that is starting a non-profit focused on addressing racism and/or intersectional issues. – An inventor or designer working on solving a problem associated with systemic racism and/or intersectional issues. – A graduate student that has a strong and well defined anti-racism project that needs support and time to launch.



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