Emergency Working Artist Project Grant FY22

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2022 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$2,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Alexa Carson
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
Completed
Start Date
August 2021
End Date
November 2021
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
St. Louis
St. Louis
Project Overview

Emergency Working Artist Project Grant FY22

Project Details

Expansion of Motherhood Series. I would like to expand my latest project of depicting powerful birthing and breastfeeding mothers, by creating paintings that acknowledge other aspects of the feminine body's power, replacing shame with joy.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Kris Nelson: artist, teacher; Roxann Berglund: musician; Bill Payne: Professor of Theater at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Skye Fiedler: gallery owner

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Kris Nelson: artist, teacher; Keiko Satomi: librarian; Alyssa Johnson: writer, photographer; Sarah Lawrence: opera singer, director of Lyric Opera of the North

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2021, First Special Session, chapter 1, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage

2022 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$2,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$2,000
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

This funding will help cover my living expenses during this artistic project and aid in navigating these uncertain times.? Completing my project will result in a scalable product (6.5hr audiobook) that can sell into perpetuity and boost my credibility. During covid, audiobook sales/popularity have soared. Especially sci-fi/thriller. Readers of this genre have a voracious appetite, and indie authors like me can achieve great success. Once my audiobook is done, it can be a calling card for: -My voice acting/narrating. -Renting out my recording booth. -Editing audiobooks. I built the recording booth in my home/studio, so this work will require no commute. On top of the money the audiobook can make, this project will further my main artistic goal? cinema. I wrote this book to pitch to producers and show that it already has an audience. TV shows/movies based on books are much more likely to be funded. This audiobook will help me grow my audience and give me a leg up pitching to producers. I learned every step of the audiobook recording, publishing, and promotion process by doing it on a longer book, so this project will be easier in comparison. Also, as stated in his letter, Sumner Matteson will walk me through the process. I have experience with each aspect of this project. In college, I studied acting/voice acting. A voice actor I consulted told me, ?You are the best narrator for this audiobook. Your authentic writer's voice really comes through, so you narrating it is exactly what I would recommend.? I own the equipment necessary and can do the project in my home studio. Any correspondence for the project, including marketing and news interviews, will be virtual. The mentorship will take place via zoom. My reputation for commitment and consistency in my art has engendered the trust of many supporters and collaborators, including Mark Eveslage (Emmy Winning Filmmaker), Philip Gilpin (Catalyst,) and my test readers, including Noah Benjamin (Actor ?Yu-Gi-Oh!? app)Mile markers on the road to success for this project are: -After each recording session, backing up the audio files on my computer and naming each file the chapter it represents. -Pressing the ?Share? button on the edited 6.5hr audiobook complete with beginning and end credits and watching the finished MP3 file appear on my computer desktop. -Uploading the 6.5hr audiobook to audible.com. -Receiving an email from my publishing mentor that I've properly completed the upload process, and he's confident I should publish. -Pressing the ?Publish? button on audible.com and receiving an email that it is available for purchase by the public. -Receiving the first email sales notification from audible.com as the first sales of my audiobook come in. -Seeing the notifications come in as people like the audiobook on social media. -Sending the press release about my audiobook to my new email contacts. This is not in my control but, another success marker will be when I sell my first 100 audiobooks.

Project Manager
First Name
Alexa
Last Name
Carson
Organization Name
Alexa Carson
State
MN
Phone
(614) 592-8233
Email
alexa@alexacarson.com
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency