I had the opportunity to participate in the reviewing panel of 2008 Cultural Equity Grant of The San Francisco Art Commission. It was for Individual Artist Commissions. I was really lucky to do the work, since I could understand how thoroughly they had crafted the reviewing process to make it fair, accountable and measurable. Panel had 5 panelists, René de Guzman, Lisa Dent, Michelle Mansour, Ramekon O’Arwisters and I, and each of us write a “score sheet” for each application. The score sheet has the total of 8 criteria in 3 categories, Project Merit (4), Artist’s History and/or Promise (2), and Public Benefit (2). The number of criteria in each category reflects how they weigh each category. And each criterion is scored by a choice of 1, 4, 7 or 10. These criteria are so helpful for other grant applications also, even though the requirement is always unique in each grant-maker.
Project Merit
- The project demonstrates originality, clarity and depth of investigation of concepts and ideas:
- The plan is sound, and the artist has the ability to develop and to publicly present the work:
- The degree to which the project has the potential to further the artist’s creative exploration and growth:
- The degree to which the project has the potential to further the development of the art form:
Artist’s History and/or Promise
- The applicant’s artistic history and accomplishment is strong and relevant to the proposed project:
- Apparent artistic potential of the applicant:
Public Benefit
- The potential of the project to reach a targeted audience (a new, sizeable or critically underserved audience), and/or to enrich the experience of the target audience:
- The potential of the project to stimulate understanding and appreciation of the art form:
The process was very interesting and our discussion was always critical but constructive and respectful. Those four panelists are so great. They are much much more experienced art professionals than I am and it made me a bit intimidated, but I was really honored to sit with them.
