The Connecticut Commission on the Arts in partnership with The Institute for Community Research is now seeking applications from eligible artists, community-based organizations and schools in New London County interested in taking part in a 3-year arts training program of the Urban Artists Initiative (UAI) in this area, with a focus on the cities of Norwich and New London. UAI has been providing training, school and community-based residencies, mentorships, and performance, literary and exhibit opportunities to over 175 artists and arts organizations in 8 cities throughout Connecticut since 1992. This fall, UAI is searching New London County for 30 talented and community-minded artists across all disciplines; 16 cultural clubs and/or social organizations committed to strong arts programming; and 2 elementary schools. Participants accepted into the innovative program train with UAI at no cost. Applications are due November 26, 2001 for the program. Training will begin for New London County in March 2002.
A site coordinator will be hired in both Norwich and New London to manage the program and provide technical assistance to applicants. UAI staff will be working alongside these site coordinators between now and November to conduct outreach and recruitment – visiting organizations, community centers, schools, storefronts, churches and other areas where artists may be found who have limited knowledge of or access to arts resources.
“New London County-based visual artists, writers, musicians and performance and multidisciplinary artists – as well as organizations geared to community-based arts programming and elementary schools – can now join other UAI participants across Connecticut who have trained to embrace concrete goals in the arts and to help others do the same,” said Colleen Coleman, UAI Program Coordinator.
The UAI training, which consists of three-hour weekly seminars conducted over a period of 16 weeks in the first year, is designed to help participants effectively present and market their work to local, state and regional audiences, as well as deepen public participation in the arts. After the intensive training, participants will be matched with mentors and provided with small grants for career and project development.
UAI began the process of welcoming New London County into the Initiative at its Fifth Biennial Conference, “Working Artists: Energizing Communities Through the Arts,” held this June in New London. The conference successfully increased public awareness of the ways in which UAI participants are building cultural resources through sustaining a network of artists, arts organizations and educators in communities throughout Connecticut.
“We’re delighted and proud to be able to train artists and organizations from New London County with the potential to stimulate and enrich the arts there as so many UAI participants are already doing elsewhere in the state,” said David Marshall, UAI Program Director. “UAI is known for the collective talent and experience that make it what it is – collaboratively instilling in participating artists and organizations a high standard for their work, helping them develop their ability to increase public participation in the arts, and building with them their capacity for career or organizational success.
“We have the same expectations of professionalism and leadership potential for the individuals and groups in New London County who would like to train with us. The selection process is competitive in this way – incorporating a peer review panel – because we want to maintain the character and excellence for which UAI is already widely respected,” he said.
Artists and organizations in the New London county areas interested in applying to the new program and/or receiving additional information should contact Lourdes Rivera at the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, 860-566-4770 or UAI Program Coordinator Colleen Coleman for technical assistance at 860-278-2044. You may also download all necessary forms on the Internet at www.ctarts.org/uainews.htm.

The Urban Artists Initiative is a program of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in partnership with The Institute for Community Research. The program was designed to address the unique needs of emerging urban artists and organizations that produce or present cultural events. UAI’s over 175 artists and organizations represent more than thirty different cultural and ethnic groups. The Urban Artists Initiative is funded by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, and has received additional grant support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, and the Waterbury Foundation.

The Connecticut Commission on the Arts is a state agency which supports artistic excellence and fosters cultural development through the arts and works to increase public understanding of, participation in, and support of the arts in Connecticut. The Institute for Community Research is an independent non-profit research organization with expertise in fieldwork, training and program administration in multicultural urban and nontraditional settings. ICR promotes dialogue about the diversity of cultures, community issues and art forms found in Connecticut and New England.