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Individual Guidelines

The Asian Cultural Council’s application deadline has now passed, as of 5:00p.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 16th. Please visit our website next fall in order to apply for the 2014 grant cycle. For information on the ACC’s application process, visit the Guideline and FAQ links to the right.

The Asian Cultural Council supports international dialogue, understanding, and respect through cultural exchange and nurtures the individual talents of the artists and scholars in Asia and the United States. The Asian Cultural Council grants are open to citizens and permanent residents of the United States or citizens and permanent residents of the countries of Asia, from Afghanistan eastward through Japan and Indonesia.

Our geographic areas of interest are:

Applicants from Hong Kong, China, Macau, Japan, Taiwan, or the Philippines should apply directly to our Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei, and Manila field offices respectively:

Applicants from Hong Kong, China, or Macau, please visit ACC Hong Kong’s website.

中國大陸、香港及澳門境內個人獎助金申請者，請瀏覽亞洲文化協會香港分會網站。

Applicants from Japan, please visit ACC Japan’s website.

日本から申請される方は、ACC日本オフィスのウェブサイトから申請ください。

Applicants from Taiwan, please visit ACC Taiwan’s website.

台灣境內個人獎助金申請者，請瀏覽亞洲文化協會台灣分會網站。

Applicants from the Philippines, please apply here. If you live in the Philippines, please submit your supplementary materials to our Manila office at: ACC Manila, Suite 504, National Life Building, 6762 Ayala Avenue, Makati City 1226, Philippines.

Please note that priority consideration is generally given to individuals who have not previously received funding support from the Asian Cultural Council.

Academic Support

Please note that the Council is unable to provide support for full tuition costs or undergraduate study. The Council will help cover living costs and international travel for students participating in graduate degree programs relating to the visual and performing arts. Students must apply for funding for each year of study. The ACC does not award multiple-year grants.

Projects Not Funded by the Asian Cultural Council

• activities conducted by individuals in their home countries
• capital campaigns
• commercial and industrial design
• film and video production costs
• general operating and administrative costs
• individual artist exhibitions or performance tours
• publications
• undergraduate and secondary school study
• youth training programs
• commercial or for-profit entities
• projects retroactively

Complete Application Materials

All applicants should submit a full and correct application before the deadline. Only one application per person will be accepted. The ACC will acknowledge the receipt of your application. ACC will not process late or incomplete applications and will not follow up on incomplete applications.  Please fill out the application to the best of your ability and to the best of your knowledge. The ACC may contact you for any needed clarification.

Please make note of the ACC office to which you have applied. This same office will be in touch with you regarding any questions about your application. After submitting the online application, email a photo of yourself (JPEG, not to exceed 1MB), and a copy of your CV/resume (in Word or PDF format) to the office to which you have applied.

Please make sure that the ACC email address is added to your safe list of emails so that you receive all pertinent correspondence.

Please note that you must fill out the entirety of the application in one session; your work will not be saved until it is submitted. We encourage applicants to first fill out the form offline before completing it online to ensure their complete application is saved and correctly submitted.

If you have difficulties submitting your application, please email the application department of the ACC office to which you are applying.

Because of the large volume of applications we receive, the ACC may not be able to respond to individual inquires.

Artist Residency Programs

Applicants interested in participating in an artists’ residency program as part of their fellowship program should explore different options online and list up to three residency programs in order of preference in their applications. The following link from the Alliance of Artists Communities’ website may be useful in helping find appropriate residency programs:

http://www.artistcommunities.org/residencies

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary materials that pertain to the applicant’s previous work must be submitted by November 16 of the calendar year for grants in the following year. Only one disk, in CD or DVD format, will be accepted. The ACC will not consider any other materials. Supplementary material will not be returned. Please do not send originals that cannot be replaced. Write your first name, last name, and the date on the CD or DVD, and mail to the ACC office to which you are applying.

Guidelines for Images

1. Up to 15 images of work completed within the last five years may be submitted.
2. Images should be in JPEG format, and should be approximately 2800 pixels on the longest dimension. Please select the highest quality and lowest compression possible for each image.
3. Each image should be titled as “your last name_your first name__#” (e.g., Smith_John_3.jpg)

4. Write your first name, last name, and the date on the CD or DVD.
5. Include an image list (saved onto the CD/DVD in Word or PDF format) numbered in the corresponding order images appear on CD
. This list may contain the title of work, date of work, media/materials, and dimensions
, as well as a brief description/explanation, if necessary.
6. Include an artist’s statement (saved onto the CD/DVD in Word or PDF format).

Guidelines for Videos

1. No more than one DVD (20 minutes total on one DVD, MPEG-4 format only) may be submitted.
2. DVD/video information must be included (title, date, length of work, production information-i.e., camera, editing, producer, director)
, either within the video itself, or saved onto the CD/DVD in Word or PDF format.
3. Only three- to five-minute excerpts of up to three works
 will be considered.
4. Include an artist’s statement (saved onto the CD/DVD in Word or PDF format).

Please do not send any additional materials; the Advisory Committee will not review unsolicited material.

Reference Letters

You will be requested to submit two reference letters, which evaluate your past work and the potential impact of your proposed project. Reference letters MUST be submitted by email to the ACC office to which you will be submitting your application form.