Dear 4C:
I recently applied to 4Culture for funding. I read through the guidelines and am now wondering, who are these people that will judge my artwork and accomplishments? 4Culture staff told me that artists and arts administrators often serve as jurors, but how are they selected? Why does 4Culture fund this way?
Applicant
Dear Applicant:
4Culture is a proud proponent of a “peer-panel review process.” Jurors, also referred to as panelists, are selected by the staff members managing a program. They are selected based upon numerous criteria, the foremost being expertise in their discipline. In addition, we also seek panelists offering diversity including: ethnic diversity; geographic diversity (where they live or work); stylistic variety (traditional, contemporary etc); and organizational scale (from small budgets to large), interest and availability.
4Culture funds many programs this way because, much like the judicial jury process, it often results in a fair, well considered, review. Panelists are often required to do a large volume of reading prior to the actual panel meeting and then they meet to discuss all applications as a group.
It is a lot of work, but an amazing way to see what is going on in our community. 4Culture welcomes panelist recommendations. If you would like to suggest yourself or someone you admire in your field, please send their name, area of expertise and contact information to i...@4culture.org with “Panelist Suggestion” in the subject line.
We tell applicants who are not selected for funding one year to apply again. The panelists change each year and, therefore, so does the configuration of entire panel. Different people make different choices. Our advice: apply!
