Artist Eligibility

Individual artists, ensembles, and arts organizations are eligible to apply. Artists must:

• Have either a BA or BFA in theatre, dance, music, or visual arts OR the equivalent in training or experience. Writers must have a college degree and evidence of professional writing experience
• Be active in a professional community and regularly perform/exhibit/publish in their discipline
• Demonstrate ability and skills to work in an educational setting with K–12 students
• Be an adult; have only adult group members

Returning artists must have satisfactory evaluations from past participation in Artists in Schools.

Program Criteria

Categories: Applications are accepted in one of four categories:

• Performance
• Five Day Writer Residency
• Workshop/Residency
• Workshop/Residency designed for Students with Disabilities

Disciplines: Programs should qualify in one or more of our approved disciplines:

• Dance
• Literary
• Music
• Storytelling
• Theatre
• Visual Arts

Strong connection to a non-arts disciplines (e.g. history, languages, STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Math]) is encouraged but not required. Programs focusing on areas such as acrobatics, aerobic dance, art therapy, clowning, cosmetology, juggling, karaoke, magic, and martial arts are not eligible to apply.

Requirements: Programs must meet certain requirements to be accepted. To be successful, performances, workshops, or residencies must:

• be of high artistic merit
• reflect the artist’s professional training and experience
• place primary emphasis on teaching students about or through an arts discipline
• offer more than what a classroom/arts teacher could provide
• be appropriate for students in the grade levels that participate
• support educational guidelines as set forth in the Common Core curriculum and North Carolina Essential Standards. These curriculum standards can be found at https://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/
• have supplementary educational materials (study guides, teacher guides, lesson plans, etc.) provided to the school before the program
• occur on school premises
• occur during a school’s regular hours
• have set rates for ALL related expenses (either folded into fee or listed), including travel, food, lodging and supplies.

• Chinese Arts
• Native American Music and Dance
• Mexican Dance
• Middle Eastern Arts
• STEAM
• Visual Arts Legacy Projects
• Writers