Submit Applications for the Democracy Cycle Program

Over a five-year period, The Democracy Cycle will commission and develop 25 new performing arts works across the fields of theater, dance, music, opera, and multi-disciplinary performance.

Purpose

• Their hope is that the commissioned projects will enrich and expand discussion of and participation in democracy – be it in the national, state, regional, or hyperlocal community realm – as it is practiced within the United States and worldwide. The Democracy Cycle project is inspired by the following beliefs:
  • Democratic values are a global expression of humanity’s striving to live with one another with respect and in peace.
  • Democracy, as practiced in the United States, includes a history of founding exclusions. It has been, and must continue to be, the ongoing work of our society to expand upon the ideals of inclusivity embedded in the founding documents.
  • Democracy faces significant perceived and actual threats in the current moment, both domestically and internationally.
  • The Intersection of capitalism and democracy creates both opportunities and tensions.
  • Artists are the beating heart of democratic values because of their ability to imagine new worlds, envision new possibilities, and provoke meaningful discourse across divides.

Themes

• The commissioned works will explore themes relating to the nature, practice, and experience of democracy.

Funding Information

• Each selected artist will receive $60,000 in support, consisting of a commission of $30,000 to create the new work as well as an additional $30,000 in support of the work’s development process (research, readings, workshops etc.).

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible applicants must:
  • Be generative artists who are currently creating new work in theater, dance, music, opera, or multi-disciplinary performance
  • Have created, completed, and premiered at least 2 full-length prior works of live performance publicly, as evidenced by their bio, CV and/or work samples (Note: Staged readings and/or workshop showings are not premieres.)
  • Propose a new live performance work which may be at any stage of development, but may not be planned to premiere before May 1, 2026. (Remounts of previously completed/premiered works are ineligible.)
  • Propose a new live performance work which is planned to be completed in 2026, 2027, or 2028.
  • Be prepared to manage the income-tax implications of accepting a commission from a U.S.-based arts organization. (U.S. citizenship is not a requirement, this is a national and international open call.)

Ineligibility Criteria

• Proposals are not eligible if:
  • The lead artist is enrolled as a full-time student in a degree-granting program. Ph.D. candidates need to have completed their course work by the application deadline to be eligible
  • The lead artist is under the age of eighteen
  • The main purpose of the project is the curation or documentation of existing work(s)
  • The proposed work advocates by name for the success or failure of a current partisan candidate for office or a political party
  • The lead artist or any of the main collaborators are employees or immediate family of employees of PAC NYC or Galvan Initiatives.

Selection Criteria

• Readers and panelists will consider the following in selecting the commissioned projects:
  • How does the proposed work expand, critique, or celebrate democracy, the practice of democracy, and democratic ideals?
  • Does the work demonstrate clear potential for generating meaningful reflection and discourse on democracy as demonstrated by project narrative, samples of prior work, and artistic history of its collaborators.

For more information, visit PAC NYC.