Saturday, April 20, 2013 – 4 Finalists announced, Finalists meet with coach to prepare final 15 minute pitch

Friday, April 26, 2013 – Final round live competition in Arts Enterprise class, 2:25pm Grainger #1295

The UW–Madison New Arts Venture Challenge is a campus-wide competition to encourage new thinking and innovative ideas. Entrants will develop and present a thorough proposal that will result in an arts event, exhibition, series or project. Proposals should demonstrate creativity, innovation, added value to the arts, and potential for success. Potential proposals could be a new kind of gallery show, a series of performances, an online course, an outreach program, or anything else your creative mind can devise—the sky is the limit! The winner will be able to present his or her event or exhibition to the public or even launch a new entrepreneurial venture.

Entries may be from individuals or from teams of up to three students. All proposals will be evaluated in a preliminary round by a panel of judges. Four student entries will be invited to participate in the final round, where each proposal will be evaluated on both the written plan and an oral presentation. Finalists will be matched up with a professional mentor to help prepare for the final presentation. The final round (open to the public) will take place on the UW–Madison campus at 2:30 PM, Friday, April 26, 2013, in #1295 (ground floor) of Grainger Hall in the UW-Madison School of Business.

Awards

First prize: $2,000* to produce your arts event, exhibition, series or project during 2013-2014 academic year in Madison. You will also be matched with a mentor in your chosen field, an artist who has particular knowledge of your type of work and who will advise you during its creation.

THREE  Second Prizes: $500* each

Timeline

Proposals due 5 PM, Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Deliver to Stephanie Jutt’s office or mailbox, #4411 Humanities Building
Tuesday, April 16, 2013: Proposals due—6 copies!!!!
Saturday, April 20, 2013: Announcement of Four Finalists

April 20-April 26: Finalists prepare final 15 minute live presentation
Friday, April 26, 2013, 2:30-3:30 PM: Final Round of Competition, #1295 Grainger Hall, 975 University Avenue

What to Submit

A venture plan that includes:

• Executive Summary
  This is an overview of your project, in 500 words or less.  Say what you want to do, the general time frame for your project, who you will be working with, why you think it’s important, how you’re going to get the word out, and what kind of impact it will have on the university and/or community.
• Event or Exhibition Plan
  What is the actual production plan?  Please include any or all of the following:
  What facilities or city agencies might be involved?
  Who do you need to partner with to make your project happen?
  What kind of equipment do you need and how will you get it?
  What are your current resources and opportunities?
  How will you integrate these elements into your project?

• Audience Analysis
  Who’s going to your event and why will they come?
  Why do you think that there is there a need for it? (even if you are inventing the need)

• Timeline for your project, including planning and implementation
  Have you started your project already?  What’s happened so far?
  Depending on the length of your project, tell us the monthly plan, at least, between now and the completion of your project.

• Key Personnel (just the key people on YOUR team, up to three total people) – include bios or CV’s of all key personnel
  Only the LEAD person on the project has to be a UW-Madison student
  Assisting artists do not have to be named and numbers of those assisting artists (like orchestra or cast members) numbers of personnel and their jobs
• Financial Plan/Budget (List income, expenses, and explanation – no spread sheets necessary)
  Are you paying people?  How much?
  Are you renting space?  How much does it cost?  How many alternatives do you have?
  How much income do you expect to have and how will you get it?
  Are you applying for other grants?
  What are ticket prices, if any?
  How about in-kind donations?  A lot of arts events are created through great in-kind donations.

• Marketing:
  How do you plan to reach your audience and what innovative, cheap, effective (i.e. free) tools can you use to reach your audience?  Will you be taking out any ad space?  Will you be printing flyers or anything else?  Is postage involved? Bulk mail? Email newsletters, social media, etc?

• Troubleshooting:
  What are your challenges now and what do you foresee your challenges will be over the course of the project?

• Recent Work Sample: DVD, CD, Portfolio, etc.

Applications (excluding attachments) should not exceed 6 pages, with a minimum point size of 10. Submit six copies of your written proposal and include only one set of supporting materials.

Eligibility

• The contest is open to all students who are enrolled full-time in a UW–Madison degree program and are in good academic standing.
• Entries can be by individuals or teams of up to three members (supporting team members are not required to be full time UW-Madison students)
• Proposals must be of original work.
• Proposals will be returned to all entrants with comments and suggestions from the judges.
• The winning proposal’s event/exhibition/project must be presented to the community no later than May, 2014.

Judging

• Judges will be selected from prominent members of the professional arts and business community.
• The UW–Madison New Arts Venture Challenge reserves the right not to select a winner.
• More than one second prize may be awarded.
• Entrants are encouraged to seek advice from UW–Madison faculty and staff.

Five independent judges will review the proposals and choose four finalists. They will attend the competition finals and chose the first and second prize winning proposals.

*Prize money may be taxable. Entrants should consult a tax advisor.

Proposal must be submitted (or postmarked) to:

Professor Stephanie Jutt
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music
Office #4411 Mosse Humanities Building
455 N. Park St.
Madison, WI 53706