Specifications include, but are not limited to: Neighborhood Engagement Artist Residency (NEAR) grants support individual freelance teaching artists who serve as project-leaders to design and manage a series of community-relevant workshops that culminate in public, community presentations. Creative Optimism-Uplifting Promises (CO-UP) grants foster similar teaching artist led creative collaborations at social justice organizations throughout the city. In contrast to NEAR projects, a CO-UP proposal should be submitted by nonprofit social justice organizations who seek to employ a freelance teaching artist to carry out a project at a social justice organization. Grants for NEAR/CO-UP projects can range up to $12,000 or $15,000, and must take place in facilities that are *not* conventional arts spaces, such as product-design galleries, theater lobbies, museums, arts venues, etc.
