Acra, NY—Wave Farm announced today twelve grantees for the Fall 2022 round of the MAAF Forward Fund for Organizations, a regrant partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts. MAAF Forward Fund grantees: Allied Productions, American Documentary, Aubin Pictures, Blank Forms, CultureHub, Film Forum, Franklin Furnace Archive, La Kaje, Maker Park Radio, Stockade Works, The Center for the Holographic Arts, and The Picture House Regional Film Center.

The Media Arts Assistance Fund (MAAF) supports electronic media and film organizations, as well as individual artists, in all regions of New York State. For organizations, MAAF Forward Fund provides funds to support technical strategies for online development as well as to hire outside consultants to support organizational and professional development. Eligible organizations have missions specific to the media arts, dedicate the majority of their programming to technology as an art form, and are current NYSCA grantees. Organizations are eligible to receive a maximum of $2,500. The biannual application deadlines for the MAAF Forward Fund are May 1 and October 1.

Information about the twelve 2022 Fall MAAF for Organizations funded projects is available below.

GRANTEES AND PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS

Allied Productions (New York County) - Implementation of Live-Streaming Technology for Allied Production Events in 2023
Allied Productions will purchase the remaining audio and video equipment needed to complete a comprehensive live-streaming station that will be used to broadcast live performances, panels, and other in-person events. This live-streaming station will be used in 2023 for presentations of over 55 interdisciplinary events including outdoor film screenings, live and virtual music performances, multimedia installations, and gatherings that seek to engage local arts communities within Lower Manhattan and the greater NYC metropolitan area.

American Documentary (Kings County) - Increased Organizational Capacity in 2023
American Documentary (AmDoc) will hire an HR consultant to support their internal team in providing direct services, training, and coaching on a range of human resources and employee relations such as staff onboarding, senior team consulting, preparation for performance reviews, reference checks, and exit interviews.

Aubin Pictures (New York County) - Website Upgrades
Aubin Pictures will use MAAF funding to support an updated infrastructure for their website. They will work with a consultant who will advise Aubin Pictures on UI and UX throughout the organization’s website, with a focus on better showcasing each film project to engage audiences to learn more about the independent filmmakers and grassroots organizations that Aubin Pictures collaborates with. Aubin Pictures will also complete an accessibility audit to improve accessibility features throughout the site.

Blank Forms (Kings County) - Web Architecture Consultation for an Entangled View of Time-Based Art Practices
Blank Forms will work with a consultant to advance the second phase of a web development project that will evolve their website into a broader resource for artists and audiences. This project will allow Blank Forms to more fully engage the multifaceted practices of the artists they serve while drawing out the critical interconnection of their programs across commissions, performances, exhibitions, publications, archival and legacy initiatives.

CultureHub (New York County) - Experiments in Digital Storytelling
CultureHub will work with a developer in support of LiveLab+, CultureHub’s open-source media router for collaborative performance. The organization aims to streamline the LiveLab+ code base to make it easier for other artists and organizations to customize the open-source platform. The consultant will work with CultureHub’s in-house technical team to strengthen and diversify the skillset of the organization’s staff.

Film Forum (New York County) - Capacity Interactive Boot Camp 2022
MAAF funds will support staff Professional Development through the boot camp hosted by digital marketing and consulting firm Capacity Interactive. Film Forum aims to gain the tools and resources to keep up to date with digital marketing through workshops including: the obsolescence of third-party cookies; developing a first-party data strategy; creating a social media audience through user-generated content; and leveraging existing patron data to optimize campaign performance with new Google tools.

Franklin Furnace Archive (Kings County) - Digital Accessibility
Franklin Furnace Archive (FF) will use MAAF funds to support technical assistance to upgrade their website and publicly released images with Alt Text. FF aims to refine its accessibility strategies by establishing protocol for Alt Text use, ultimately increasing accessibility to their website and accompanying digital platform for media performances, the FF Loft. FF will produce an in-house How To Deploy Alt Text guide/manual, with a working template and assessment rubric.

La Kaje (Kings County) - Guidance Around Organizational Strategy and Sustainability
La Kaje will engage a non-profit consultant to help evaluate their current management and governing structures, administrative systems, and business model. As an emerging organization, La Kaje aims to design a 12-18 month strategic plan for organizational development and advancement.

Maker Park Radio, Inc. (Richmond County) - Developing Online Access
Maker Park Radio will engage a web developer to better design closed captioning for the audio player on their website and app. Maker Park Radio aims to increase accessibility to their website and app with better navigation features, increased text visibility, and more responsive playlist and schedule loading.

Stockade Works (Ulster County) - Stockade Works Professional Development: Communications
MAAF funds will enable Stockade Works to hire a communications consultant to support organizational growth and professional development of its staff. The consulting firm will lead Stockade Works staff in digital communications workshops and provide staff with training to build their audiences, provide greater access to programs, and foster inclusion.

The Center for Holographic Arts (Ulster County) - Strategic Planning Assistance for the HoloCenter Programs
The Center for Holographic Arts (The HoloCenter) will work with a development consultant to research and identify major development opportunities to support the building of the organization’s studio space for the holographic arts and their online Virtual Museum of Holography. The consultant will help create the HoloCenter’s plan for funding projects that include capital and capacity building, education, programming, general operations, and exhibitions.

The Picture House Regional Film Center (Westchester County) - Major Gifts Strategy Development with Coaching for Board and Staff
The Picture House Regional Film Center will work with a development consultant to create a major gifts strategy and train their Board of Directors and staff in best practices. The Picture House aims to build donor relationships and multi-year sustainable gifts as the backbone of their fundraising portfolio.

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The New York State Council on the Arts is dedicated to preserving and expanding the rich and diverse cultural resources that are and will become the heritage of New York’s citizens. The Council believes in artistic excellence and the creative freedom of artists without censure, and the rights of all New Yorkers to access and experience the power of the arts and culture, and the vital contribution the arts make to the quality of life in New York communities. http://arts.ny.gov

Wave Farm is a non-profit arts organization driven by experimentation with broadcast media and the airwaves. A pioneer of the Transmission Arts genre, Wave Farm programs provide access to transmission technologies and support artists and organizations that engage with media as an art form. Major activities include Artist Residencies and Fellowships; a Public Transmission Art Park; Wave Farm Radio, including WGXC 90.7-FM: Radio for Open Ears, a creative community radio station based in New York’s Upper Hudson Valley; a Fiscal Sponsorship program; and Regrant Partnerships with the New York Council on the Arts. https://wavefarm.org

MAAF Forward Fund is a Regrant Partnership of NYSCA and Wave Farm, made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For more information about the The New York State Council on the Arts in Partnership with Wave Farm: Media Arts Assistance Fund (MAAF) visit https://wavefarm.org/grants/about.