Grant Proposal for creating focus books on The Cockettes... 2015-2016

A.  Nature of the Request
B.  Project Mission
C.  Time Out of Joint... An introduction to the photographs by Steven Wolf 
D.  The Way I See It... An essay by the photographer Roger Arvid Anderson 
E.   Midnight and the Music... An interview with composer Scrumbly Koldewyn
F.   In Our Fashion...  An interview with costume designer Billy Bowers
G.  Work Plan, Budget and Staff
H.  Mission of NYFA

A.  NATURE OF THE REQUEST

Artspire, a program of The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) as a fiscal sponsor is seeking funding for the project STAGE STRUCK. The focus books will be based on photographs taken in 1972 by Roger Arvid Anderson on the costume dynamics of the theater group The Cockettes during the psychedelic era of the American counterculture. Also included in the project are photographs taken of the Cockette Revivals by David Wilson at the Hypnodrome in San Francisco from 2010 to 2015. The Foundation is a 501c3 corporation: under Internal Revenue Service regulations it qualifies as tax-exempt.

At this time we are seek funds for the production of artists books in a number of focus volumes, which will act as an educational and visual supplement to an exhibition created by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver called “West of Center, Art and the Counterculture Experiment in the America, 1965 – 1977.” The exhibition opens in November of 2011 in Denver and will travel to at least four venues over three years. The text will include original lyrics by two writers, Link Martin and Martin Worman. These limited edition focus books, as well as sets of master prints, will serve in a permanent format the documentary needs of university archives, museums and history centers.

B.  PROJECT MISSION

At this time STAGE STRUCK is a lost hoard of remarkable images documenting the theater troupe, The Cockettes, whose gender-bending antics and revolutionary sense of costume design have now found a place in the history of musical theater and the American counterculture of the sixties and seventies. The project’s mission is to make this important historical document available to the General Public and scholars through the following options.

1. The publication of ARTISTS BOOKS in a number of focus volumes based on the images taken backstage, on stage, or off stage by photographer Roger Arvid Anderson in 1972 during three shows: “Pearls Over Shanghai”, “Hot Greeks” and “Vice Palace”. The lyrics of the troupe’s two writers, Link Martin and Martin Worman will act as text for the books. These images will be supplemented by photographs of the Cockette Revivals at the Hypnodrome taken by David Wilson from 2010 to 2015. The revival images will be collected in a focus volume called Vice Palace.
   
   Note: The first focus volume, Stage Struck, The Cockettes at the Palace, Psychedelic San Francisco 1972, is available online at www.RogerArvidBooks.com.
   
2. The publication of additional texts or addendums in the form extended interviews with surviving members of the troupe including the composer, Richard ‘Scrumbly’ Koldewyn, and costume designer, Billy Bowers.
3. The creation of an IMAGE BANK with 250 images drawn from the slides and negatives. The Image Bank will be made available as a digital gallery, and will allow scholars and curators access to the images in depth for research and assessment for exhibition or publication.
4. MAKING A SET OF MASTER PRINTS available to museums, library archives and history centers.
   
   
5. The creation of STAGE STRUCK ARCHIVES at accredited institutions... Special Collections and Rare Books of the Andersen Library of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis has generously offered to be an archival home for the original negatives, digital files and any other materials generated by this project such as prints and galleys of the books. We also seek other regional archival homes.

C.  TIME OUT OF JOINT,

an introduction to the photographs by Steven Wolf 
          (See details on dedicated page)

D.  THE WAY I SEE IT,

an essay by the photographer Roger Arvid Anderson 
          (See details on dedicated page)

E.  MIDNIGHT AND THE MUSIC,

an interview with composer Scrumbly Koldewyn             
          (See details on dedicated page)

F.  IN OUR FASHION,

an interview with costume designer Billy Bowers
             (See details on dedicated page)

G.  Work Plan, Budget and Staff

Staff:

H. MISSION OF ARTSPIRE, a program of the New York Foundation for the Arts

Artspire is a program of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), which is the largest provider of funding, information and services to artists in the Untied States. It is the nation’s largest online directory of grants and services for artists, featuring over 9,000 opportunities. NYFA provides fiscal sponsorship for artist’s projects that make a difference in our cultural lives. Fiscal sponsorship means an approved artist’s project has access to funding from corporations, foundations, government agencies and individuals, utilizing NYFA’s tax-exempt status as 501c3 corporation.
                                  Reference website: www.nyfa.org