Overview

The Loop Lab has partnered with the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture to deliver contracted media services to local artists living and working in the city of Boston. The Boston Media Arts Empowerment Award will uplift emerging artists from underestimated backgrounds by providing the film and/or audio services needed for greater exposure within the Boston arts community.

Recipients of the award will receive audio/video production support from The Loop Lab, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Womxn and People of Color in the media arts to develop careers in audio/video through job training and job placement. There will be 30 awards, each valued at $1,000.00 per service/artist. Any additional work over $1,000 will be at the expense of the artist awarded the grant. Recipients are expected to participate in showcases that we will be hosting with the City of Boston in 2024-2025.

This program is supported through American Rescue Plan Act funding received to the City of Boston and Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, and prioritizes artists who have been most impacted by COVID-19. 

Eligibility

Awards will be granted based on the following criteria:

• Your studio or residence is based in the city of Boston. Artists who live in Mattapan, Dorchester, Allston/Brighton, East Boston, Roxbury/Mission Hill, or the Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood will be prioritized.
• You specialize in one of the following mediums: Music, Dance, Theater, or Poetry/Spoken Word
• You are an emerging artist defined as any of the following:

1. working in your present art form for 1-3 years
2. Having a portfolio/compilation of work to share
3. Known only in your local community and/or close network 

• Priority will be given to those that identify as women, people of color, immigrants, and/or LGBTQIAP+ and without a postgraduate degree in their artistic medium.

We will use a priority scoring system for answers to the above questions to determine our selections.

Awarded Services include the following three options:

1. Mini-documentary (consists of max. 4-5 hrs recording, 12 hrs editing)
2. Video Recording: Live Performance (consists of max. 4-5 hrs recording, *editing optional)
3. Evergreen/Marketing (consists of max. 4-5 hrs recording, 12 hrs editing for <5 minute video)

Timeline

• This application will close at 5:00 PM ET on December 8, 2023.
• Awardees should anticipate pre-production, production, and post-production happening over the winter and spring of 2023/2024. The editing timeline will take approximately 6-8 weeks for each artist’s project. 

Questions?

The Loop Lab is managing this application process and the services awarded from this application. If you have any questions about this application, the award process, or the award itself, please reach out to: ops@thelooplab.org and studio@thelooplab.org. You may also contact us directly should you require accommodations or assistance with the application process.