DaNY Arts

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In 2005 the Danish Arts Council launched DaNY Arts. The aim of the project was to create opportunities for artists and art institutions in Denmark and New York to establish new connections, explore the process of artistic collaboration, and mutually benefit from each other’s background and experience. By december 2008 the project was succesfully ended and evaluated.

Read more about the Danish Arts Council

General information on DaNY Arts
The purpose of DaNY Arts has been to foster new ways to approach and implement international cultural exchange. The goal is to create opportunities for artists and art institutions in Denmark and New York to establish new connections, explore the process of artistic collaboration, and mutually benefit from each other’s background and experience. Although new works of art were certainly a notable result, the focus of DaNY Arts was on the collaborative process itself.

Funding
DaNY Arts supported a number of arts projects, small and large, throughout 2006 and 2008. Grants were made, for example, for productions that implement meaningful ways to join Danish and New York artists; for collaborations leading to the creation of new work; for professional training that illuminates common practical and aesthetic issues; and for other efforts that promise to stimulate artistic synergy between Denmark and New York.

Application process
A two-step application process was held in 2006:

In the first round (deadline March 10 and May 1, 2006), a number of artists and cultural organizations in Denmark and in New York applied for the support needed to formulate their projects. Grant funds, which could not exceed $3,200, was used for research and travel to locate and communicate with suitable partners in Denmark or New York, or to carry out other relevant research needed in the formulation of the final proposal.
The second round of applications, due September 1, 2006, required a more extensive and detailed description of the proposed project, including identification of the Danish/NYC partner; a schedule and work plan for the creative process; locations to be used; an explicit budget; and an indication of how the project might remain influential beyond the life of the initiative. The grantees may use grant money for travel, location rental, honoraria to participating artists, professional advisers’ fees, technical assistance, shipping, public relations and other costs related to carrying out the project. Grants were not awarded for projects focused on teaching, or touring the final productions.

A Danish Selection Committee appointed by the Danish Arts Council evaluated the applications. Furthermore, the Council named an American Advisory Group with participants from each eligible discipline to assist the Danish panel in the evaluation of the proposed projects.

Evaluation of DaNY Arts
In November 2008, The Danish Evaluation Institute evaluated DaNY Arts and produced a thorough evaluation report named 'Networks, knowhow and visibility'. The report focuses on strengths and weaknesses in DaNY Arts as a project method and explores how the project method has helped achieve the goals set for networks, know-how, and visibility. The full report is solely published in Danish, but a comprehensive resume consisting of translated excerpts is available in English.

Read a resume of the evaluation report