Application deadline: Tuesday, May 31, 2022 by 11:59 PM

About Tacoma Studio Tour:

Are you a creative or an artist that lives in and has a working studio and/or a performance space in Tacoma? Help us advance the visibility of arts and culture in Tacoma by applying to participate in our 19th annual Tacoma Studio Tour! The Tacoma Studio Tour is an exciting opportunity to invite the public in to your working studio or performance space, give demonstrations of how you make your work, or host a hands-on or interactive activity with the community!

The Tacoma Arts Commission is seeking artists and creatives who are willing to open their studios and performance spaces to the public for the Tacoma Studio Tour, one of the features of Tacoma Arts Month this October. The emphasis of this tour is on raising visibility of artists and creatives and providing opportunities for the community to connect to the arts. While not required, we encourage you to have work for sale; no commission will be taken on any sales and you will handle any sale of your work directly. Studios will be open on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16 from 11 AM to 5 PM. You can choose to be open on Saturday, Sunday, or both days. The Tacoma Arts Commission will produce extensive electronic publicity materials including email communications, social media posts, and an interactive website and map. We will also produce a printed brochure for the Tacoma Studio Tour. Each participating artist and creative is required to actively promote the Tacoma Studio Tour to their own contacts; we will provide publicity materials for this use. There is no fee to apply and/or participate in the Tacoma Studio Tour.

The Office of Arts & Cultural Vitality will communicate with applicants along the way regarding any pandemic-related updates. Based on the unforeseeable state of the pandemic this fall, we will set and publicly share any health and safety requirements required to participate in the studio tour (such as a requirement for all participants to wear masks) in late summer. All participating artists, creatives, and attendees will be required to adhere to the set health and safety requirements. Artists and creatives cannot set their own specialized requirements for the public to enter their studio.

This year, we will be continuing the Studio Tour Passport program as an incentive for people to visit new and/or multiple studios. Each studio space will receive a unique stamp to indicate guests’ attendance. You are encouraged, but not required, to donate a small art item that can be included in the prize packages.

Deadline for applications is Tuesday, May 31, 2022 by 11:59 PM

Applicants will be juried in a competitive process by a sub-committee of the Tacoma Arts Commission and selected based on the quality of artwork and the overall diversity of the work presented, as well as geographic diversity of the studios. By applying for the Tacoma Studio Tour, and if accepted, you are making a commitment to participate in the event, short of extreme life circumstances.

Do you want to share your work with the public but don’t have a studio space you are willing or able to open to the public for the Tacoma Studio Tour? We will be hosting a second opportunity for Tacoma artists and creatives called Arts at the Armory on December 10 & 11, 2022. Arts at the Armory is an arts market and is a great option for Tacoma-based artists and creatives who would like to share and/or sell their work with the community, side by side with other creatives, all under the roof of the Tacoma Armory. No commission will be taken on any sales and artists will handle any sale of their work directly.

You can apply to participate in the Tacoma Studio Tour (October 15 & 16), Arts at the Armory (December 10 & 11), or both events. The application for Arts at the Armory will be available in summer 2022. There is no fee to apply and/or participate in these events.

Eligibility: 

• You must live within the Tacoma city limits and/or your working studio must be located within the Tacoma city limits
• Your work must be created, performed, and/or handmade by you; not commercially acquired and/or appropriated
• You must provide a demonstration of your art form and/or provide a hands-on or interactive activity for attendees
• You must actively promote the Studio Tour to your own contacts

If you would like to be a guest at another studio, the above guidelines still apply. A studio is defined as a location where artwork is created on a consistent basis.

Creatives and artists who identify as members of the Global Majority, Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color (BBIPOC)/ African, Latinx, Arab, Asian, Native-American (ALAANA) communities; economically or socio-economically marginalized communities; LGBTQIA+ communities, and people living with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

To Apply: 

Eligible artists and creatives interested in this opportunity must fill out the online application form and attach the following items via Submittable: https://tacomaarts.submittable.com/submit

1. Five Work Samples

• If working in visual art, upload 5 high quality JPEG files of your past work. If selected for the tour, we will use the images in materials produced for Tacoma Arts Month. Images must be at least 300 ppi resolution. Images smaller than 600 pixels per side are not recommended.
• If working in performing or media arts, upload any combination of 5 video files and/or URLs. We also recommend submitting at least 1 JPEG image that can be used in promotional materials.

2. Artist resume or bio (maximum of 2 pages)

Please note: each artist or creative in a group studio needs to submit their own application, work samples, and artist resume or bio.

Nomination deadline: Sunday, July 31, 2022 by 11:59 PM

About AMOCAT Arts Awards
The Tacoma Arts Commission is accepting nominations for the 2022 AMOCAT Arts Awards, which recognize the people, organizations, and groups that positively impact Tacoma with their passion, innovation and commitment to the arts. Nominations will be accepted through July 31, 2022.

The Tacoma Arts Commission will review all nominations and select one finalist in each award category based on the breadth and depth of the nominee’s community impact as well as the quality of the work being done by the nominee. The 2022 AMOCAT Arts Awards will be presented at Kaleidoscope, the Tacoma Arts Month opening party on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at STAR Center, 3873 S 66th St, Tacoma, WA 98409.

All 2022 AMOCAT Arts Awards nominees will be shared publicly on the Tacoma Arts Month website.

Award Categories:

1. Community Outreach by an Individual – Community outreach, engagement and involvement in the arts in Tacoma by an individual
2. Community Outreach by an Organization – Community outreach, engagement and involvement in the arts in Tacoma by an organization
3. Arts Patron – A community partner who significantly supports or contributes to the arts in Tacoma
   

To Make a Nomination
Fill out the online nomination form via Submittable: https://tacomaarts.submittable.com/submit. You must create a free Submittable account in order to complete the form.

Past Award Winners
In the category of Community Outreach by an Individual, past winners include: Aya Hashiguchi Clark and Randy Clark, Jackie Fender, Michael Haeflinger, Christopher Paul Jordan, Connie K. Walle, Jessica Spring, David Domkoski, Katy Evans, Stella Haioulani, Oliver Doriss, William Kupinse, Linda Danforth, Lance Kagey & Tom Llewellyn, Laura and Matt Eklund, Jared Pappas-Kelley & Michael S. Lent, and Lynn Di Nino.

In the category of Community Outreach by an Organization, past winners include: Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center (T.U.P.A.C.), Tacoma Little Theatre, Monkeyshines, Tacoma Youth Symphony Association, Tacoma Public Library, Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Puget Sound Book Artists, The Grand Cinema, D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts, Fab-5, Hilltop Artists, King's Books, Victory Music, Barefoot Studios, Tacoma School of the Arts, Tacoma Art Museum & Museum of Glass Education Programs, and Arts Impact.

In the category of Arts Patron, past winners include: Tacoma Creates Campaign, MultiCare Health System, Tacoma Housing Authority, Metro Parks Tacoma, University of Washington Tacoma, ArtsFund, Erivan and Helga Haub and Family, Key Bank, The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, Urban Grace Church, City Arts, Hotel Murano, The Weekly Volcano, 6th Avenue Business District, Pierce Transit, and Sound Transit Art Program.

More Information
More information about the AMOCAT Arts Awards is available at https://tacomaartsmonth.org/amocat-arts-awards/.

What is a Panel?

A panel is a group of individuals pulled together by staff to review applications or nominations for Office of Arts & Cultural Vitality managed programs or opportunities. Panel members use published review criteria to evaluate applications and make recommendations about who gets grant funding, public art projects, roster appointments, etc.

Panelists are selected for a variety of reasons which can include: their connection to community, knowledge of relevant subject matter, and the diversity of perspectives and experiences they bring to the group overall. For each opportunity, we assemble a unique panel of three to nine people to make collective recommendations about which applicants should receive funding or commissions through our office. Those recommendations generally go to the Tacoma Arts Commission or the Tacoma Creates Advisory Board for final approval.

Why be a Panelist?

The Office of Arts & Cultural Vitality (OACV) is deeply appreciative of the time and expertise community members invest in serving on panels. Serving on a panel is a proactive way to impact how public funds are spent in Tacoma, and panelists receive valuable professional development as well as insight into how the application review process works from the inside.

OACV provides panelists with free parking and food during meetings, in addition to offering a monetary stipend.

The length and number of meetings needed for a selection process vary based on the project. Depending on the application, some panels will require a small amount of prep work in advance, one to two hours, and some panels may require extensive reading and evaluation work in advance of the in-person panel meeting, anywhere from 10-50 hours. Community members will be offered a stipend for their service as follows:

• $50 – quarter day meeting (1 – 2 hours)
• $100 – half day meeting (3 ‐ 4 hours)
• $200 – full day meeting (6 – 9 hours)
• $100 – pre‐meeting work to digitally read and score applications (only when requested)

Members of a City‐appointed commission or board are volunteers and are not eligible to receive a stipend for their service on a panel. City of Tacoma employees and project staff are not eligible to receive a stipend for their service on a panel.

Submit a Panel Interest Form

Please complete the online form to be considered for a position on an upcoming OACV panel: www.surveymonkey.com/r/tacomapanels 

Staff will take into account many factors when putting together panels, and may not be able to use the services of all qualified individuals who submit. If an individual is offered a position on a panel but is unable to participate because of scheduling or conflict of interest, OACV will continue to consider them for future panels. Panel Interest Forms will be saved and reviewed periodically for up to three years from the submission date.

Questions