Archiving the Arts Initiative
We are inviting applications from South Asian American arts organizations for SAADA’s Archiving the Arts initiative, which will take place from August 2024 to July 2025.
SAADA is at the forefront of advancing a community-driven approach to archival collecting, where archival work is done by, with, and for our community.
In Archiving the Arts, SAADA will partner with three South Asian American arts organizations. Each will be paired with an archival fellow to collect oral history interviews with leaders, members, and constituents and document significant moments from their organizational histories.
In this first phase of the process, we are inviting applications from South Asian American arts organizations. Once the organizations are selected, we will then conduct an open call for archival fellows, who will each be paired with one of the three organizations. Arts organizations will have a role in helping to select their fellow.
This yearlong program is part of a research study supported by a grant from The Wallace Foundation and in partnership with the UCLA Community Archives Lab to help us understand how to best address the relative lack of archival representation for arts organizations that serve communities of color. SAADA’s research also aims to help funders and policy experts understand how to better support organizations like ours. Through this work, we hope to create useful knowledge about how BIPOC arts organizations can engage in documentation practices that ensure that their stories are preserved, included in mainstream narratives about arts communities, and given the prominence they deserve.
Selected arts organizations will each receive a $5,000 stipend, travel expenses for an in-person convening in Philadelphia to kick off the program, and archival training on how to continue documenting and sharing your stories.
Timeline
August 1, 2024 - July 31, 2025: One-year organizational commitment, which includes monthly calls with SAADA staff and your archival fellow.
Organizational Eligibility
This program is open to all U.S.-based South Asian American arts organizations that are incorporated, with a governance board. Eligible organizations should be designated as a non-profit with 501(c)(3) status, or have a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) status.
Organizations must be currently active, with at least ten years of operational history.
Application Timeline for Arts Organizations
January 10, 2024: Call for applications is made available online
Sunday, February 18, 2024: Organization application deadline
Week of February 26, 2024: SAADA phone interviews with finalist organizations
Mid-March 2024: Partner organizations are announced to the public
Organizational Commitment
During the fellowship period, organizations will be responsible for:
Organizational Support
Organizations will receive:
If your organization is interested in participating in this opportunity, eligible, and able to meet the requirements of the program, submit the application form below by Sunday, February 18, 2024 by 11:59pm (your local time zone). Please direct all questions and inquiries to fellowships@saada.org.
Please note, as the application form will not automatically save your information while in progress, we encourage you to enter application information into the Word version and copy that over to the live application form below when you are ready to submit.
Please ensure that the individual completing this application form holds the highest leadership position within your organization. This may include individuals serving in roles such as President, Executive Director, or any equivalent position that signifies the highest decision-making authority within a non-profit, collective, or volunteer-led structure. The applicant will be the primary point of contact for SAADA and the archival fellow.
To demonstrate organizational buy-in to this program, please also provide a letter of commitment from the board of your organization. This letter should be uploaded in the application form below.
We are inviting applications from South Asian American arts organizations for SAADA’s Archiving the Arts initiative, which will take place from August 2024 to July 2025.
SAADA is at the forefront of advancing a community-driven approach to archival collecting, where archival work is done by, with, and for our community.
In Archiving the Arts, SAADA will partner with three South Asian American arts organizations. Each will be paired with an archival fellow to collect oral history interviews with leaders, members, and constituents and document significant moments from their organizational histories.
In this first phase of the process, we are inviting applications from South Asian American arts organizations. Once the organizations are selected, we will then conduct an open call for archival fellows, who will each be paired with one of the three organizations. Arts organizations will have a role in helping to select their fellow.
This yearlong program is part of a research study supported by a grant from The Wallace Foundation and in partnership with the UCLA Community Archives Lab to help us understand how to best address the relative lack of archival representation for arts organizations that serve communities of color. SAADA’s research also aims to help funders and policy experts understand how to better support organizations like ours. Through this work, we hope to create useful knowledge about how BIPOC arts organizations can engage in documentation practices that ensure that their stories are preserved, included in mainstream narratives about arts communities, and given the prominence they deserve.
Selected arts organizations will each receive a $5,000 stipend, travel expenses for an in-person convening in Philadelphia to kick off the program, and archival training on how to continue documenting and sharing your stories.
Timeline
August 1, 2024 - July 31, 2025: One-year organizational commitment, which includes monthly calls with SAADA staff and your archival fellow.
- The program will have a required in-person convening in Philadelphia, August 3-4, 2024.
Organizational Eligibility
This program is open to all U.S.-based South Asian American arts organizations that are incorporated, with a governance board. Eligible organizations should be designated as a non-profit with 501(c)(3) status, or have a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) status.
Organizations must be currently active, with at least ten years of operational history.
Application Timeline for Arts Organizations
January 10, 2024: Call for applications is made available online
Sunday, February 18, 2024: Organization application deadline
Week of February 26, 2024: SAADA phone interviews with finalist organizations
Mid-March 2024: Partner organizations are announced to the public
Organizational Commitment
During the fellowship period, organizations will be responsible for:
- Appointing a primary point of contact for your archival fellow.
- Participating in monthly calls with your fellow and SAADA staff.
- Working with your fellow to identify ten individuals to interview, such as organizational leaders, members, and constituents.
- Maintaining open lines of communication.
- Sharing materials for digital preservation that reflect critical moments in your organization’s history.
Organizational Support
Organizations will receive:
- A stipend of $5,000 (paid in four installments over the fellowship period).
- An archival fellow who will gather ten (10) oral histories and corresponding archival documents that will be digitized and preserved in SAADA’s publicly accessible archive.
- Training and best practices from SAADA on archival documentation to help build capacity within the organization to continue documenting and sharing your stories.
- Support and guidance from SAADA staff throughout the duration of your project.
If your organization is interested in participating in this opportunity, eligible, and able to meet the requirements of the program, submit the application form below by Sunday, February 18, 2024 by 11:59pm (your local time zone). Please direct all questions and inquiries to fellowships@saada.org.
Please note, as the application form will not automatically save your information while in progress, we encourage you to enter application information into the Word version and copy that over to the live application form below when you are ready to submit.
Please ensure that the individual completing this application form holds the highest leadership position within your organization. This may include individuals serving in roles such as President, Executive Director, or any equivalent position that signifies the highest decision-making authority within a non-profit, collective, or volunteer-led structure. The applicant will be the primary point of contact for SAADA and the archival fellow.
To demonstrate organizational buy-in to this program, please also provide a letter of commitment from the board of your organization. This letter should be uploaded in the application form below.