Arts International has announced 2002-2003 application deadlines for the Artists Exploration Fund. They are September 23, 2002, and April 7, 2003.    

The Artists Exploration Fund, made possible by a generous grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, is designed to enable individual U.S.performing artists to pursue opportunities abroad that further their artistic development. Grants, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000, support a variety of activities including the development or expansion of creative relationships with artists and arts organizations, the exploration of artistic forms, or creation of new work, either individually or in collaboration with
artists abroad.

Eligible expenses may include international and in-country travel, food and lodging, and other essential costs. Travel to any country outside the United States and its protectorates is eligible. Applicants must be individual performing artists who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Applications will not be accepted from  students, scholars, curators, presenters, administrators, and critics.

Earlier this month, Arts International announced the recipients of the third round of grants awarded in 2002 through the Artists Exploration Fund.

In this round, the 11 Artists Exploration Fund recipients are:

• _Yacub Addy (NY)
  $3,000 to travel to Accra, Ghana to collaborate with Ga artists to in the ground work for THE KOLO PROJECT
• _Alexandra Beller (NY)
  $2,900 to travel to Hong Kong and Guangdong, China to collaborate with the City Contemporary Dance Company, DanceArt Hong Kong, and the Guangdong Modern Dance Company.  
• _Nikos Brisco (NY)
  $2,500 to develop relationships with Russian theater actors, directors, & dramaturgs through the American Center at Moscow Library of Foreign Literature's 2002 CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PLAY READING SERIES & SYMPOSIUM ON NEW OPERA
• _Beth Cohen (MA)
  $2,600 to travel to Turkey to study traditional bowed instruments for use in her solo show THE ART OF THE BOW
• _Eric Dyer (NY)
  $2,500 to conduct research for a new theater piece based on murders that took place amongst the Inuit living on the Belcher Islands in Canada's Hudson Bay in 1941  
• _John Jasperse (NY)
  $3,000 to study with Butoh masters, Kazuo Ohno, his son Yoshito Ohno, and Akiko Motofuji in Japan
• _Roko Kawai (PA)
  $3,000 to travel to Japan for training and research with master artist Hanayagi Kazu, head of the Hanayagi Kazu Japanese Classical Dance Research Institute
• _Joseph Lin (NY)
  $3,000 grant to support a four-month exploration of Chinese traditional and contemporary music
• _Eliza Miller (NY)
  $1,850 to travel to The Hague, Netherlands to collaborate with composer Oscar Bettison at the Koninklijk Conservatorium
• _Jennifer Monson (NY)
  $2,650 to support a research trip to Cuba to develop performances and workshops as part of her ongoing project exploring the theme of migration.  
• _Ralph Thomas (France)
  $3,000 grant to travel to study with master drummers of Nepal at the University of Kathmandu

Arts International is an independent, not-for-profit contemporary arts organization dedicated to the development and support of global cultural interchange in the arts and to educating audiences and the public about the richness and diversity of the arts worldwide. Arts International carries out its work through member networks, national and international convenings, joint programs with collaborating institutions, and public-private partnerships. It is headquartered in New York City.  

Guidelines and application forms for the Artists Exploration Fund are  available on the ARTS INTERNATIONAL website at http://www.artsinternational.org  

Questions? Email gwangung@u.washington.edu