Moving Toward Justice

The Cohort is a structured, six-month program for six New York City-based artists or collectives. Cohort members will each receive:

• Monthly ZOOM sessions for six months
• A $6,000 stipend to develop and incubate their projects
• Direct support from Gina Gibney and Gibney staff
• Support from a community of peers working to address change through the power of art

Cohort members will be required to attend all monthly group meetings, work individually for 2 months, and invest significant time outside of the focused sessions, engaging in active research, planning, and execution of their projects.

Each Cohort member will receive a $6,000 stipend to support the development of their project. The Cohort members will be encouraged to match their project budget by cultivating in-kind support, contributed income, earned income, and other resources.

Gina Gibney will facilitate with additional support provided by Gibney staff and guest artists.

Cohort members will work in concert with their peers, and directly with Gina Gibney. Additional support will be provided by Gibney staff and guest artists. Cohort members will be awarded a $6,000 stipend, to be allocated in increments throughout the project.

There is a 2-tiered application process including an open call for Letters of Interest, followed by an invitation to submit a full Project Proposal.

• Current Resumé or Bio
• Please share any background and experience that you feel would be relevant to this project. (Up to 150 words)
• Overview of proposed project, and it’s intended outcome. (Up to 250 words)
• Why do you want to participate in this project at this particular
• time? How does it fit with your developing goals or interests? (Up to 250 words)

15 applicants will be chosen to submit a second application with a full Project Proposal.

• Project Description – two page summary of project concept, purpose and anticipated outcomes/results
• Personal Statement – essay or video addressing why participation in the Cohort is important/urgent
• Proposed Project Budget – a preliminary outline of anticipated income and expenses
• Verification Form – signed confirmation of the artist/collective’s ability and commitment to meet time requirements
• Work Samples (Optional)
• Letters of Recommendation – 2-3 letters addressing the artist/collective’s past work and ability to achieve the stated goals of the project

Six Fellowships are awarded.

Emphasis will be made in the selection process to creating a community of participants diverse in gender, race, sexual orientation, age, economic status and ability.

• Hyp-ACCESS—a disability justice startup led by Audre Wirtanen & Laura Tuthall that centers hypermobility and care access. Their launch phase through MTJ 2.0 includes availability of their made-for-hypermobility somatic practice, ABNR, to the dance community, hypermobility-inclusive disability arts programming, and education about hypermobility as a disability.
• Our Voices, Our Songs (OVOS)—an advocacy and arts education partnership conceived and conducted by Eleanor Dubinsky aiming to amplify the voices of recently arrived unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America via autobiographical songwriting, foregrounding their lived experiences in a recorded and produced album of their original songs.
• In Liberated Company—a project by Joy Havens & Nehemoyia Young that focuses on the power of communal dance and music for ex-evangelicals and former fundamentalists to build friendships and support individual and collective healing through online forums, research, and the development of a movement model and methodology.
• AfroPeach—a series of free dance workshops by Ogemdi Ude & Rochelle Jamila Wilbun for Black postpartum people focusing on healing from the physical effects of pregnancy and birth, creatively processing birth stories, and building somatic relationships between new parents/caretakers and their babies.
• World Majority Free School —a partnership by Rania Lee Khalil in which Arab and Muslim high school youth participate in workshops that include historical education of radical and third world narratives, fieldwork that engages youth with nature and environmental practices, reflection, and sharing of concepts through art-making and dance.
• Dances for Solidarity—a project by Sarah Dahnke that facilitates artistic collaborations that reclaim dignity and humanity for individuals who have been marginalized by the criminal justice system by co-creating choreography with people who are incarcerated in solitary confinement, using these movement sequences to create live performances.