Inter-grant Festival

Inter-grant Fest *An annual platform at Arts On Site celebrating the voices of international artists who have successfully navigated the US immigration process.

Venue: Arts On Site: 12 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003

Inter-grant Fest is…

*A platform where international freelance artists are supported to create and share their works without hazardous application processes

*Inter-grant Festival comes from the words "international" and "immigrant", combined to play words that are juxtaposed to the United States in various landscapes.  Dancemaker Ching-I Chang, originally from Taiwan, created the festival after navigating 7 different visa applications and 20 years of dance-art making in the United States.

Inter-grant fest is multi-fold in mission. Some goals for the longterm (5-6 years) are to raise awareness within the art community that we share a strong capacity for support. The work is not monetarily initiated, but through study and action. It is an act of healing by investing in relationships with artists from the international immigrant community.  Most importantly, the goal is to reserve a sacred space to CELEBRATE the unique artists which navigate between the membranes of the U.S. socio-political-economic climate, enriching the conversation and above all, the creative process.

Ching-I would like artmakers from the diverse communities to make art for the inter-grant Festival in the years to come. We curate works by prioritizing international artists from Caribbean, Middle East, Latinx-America, indigenous communities and Asia. The unique multi-dimensional lens that our artists display for each festival will give the audience a chance to witness artmaking from different cultures, appreciate the wisdom of shared history, and consider the lessons that come from further meditation thereon.  When the festival is funded by proper grant support, the inter-grant community will be better appreciated. We want this festival as a space for their art to grow, bathe, and breathe in care.

—

Huiwang Zhang on his process for the festival in 2024, "As the lead tank maneuvered to pass by the man, he repeatedly shifted his position in order to obstruct the tank's attempted path around him, and forced the tanks to halt to avoid running him over."  – “The repeated shifting of positions and obstructing the impossible is the metaphor I am grappling with for the performance with Ching-I at Arts on Site. I want this work to heal generational political trauma caused by unforeseen historical forces.”

2024 Artists

2024 Sponsors

Highlights

Criteria for the 2025 invitees

Check out our 2024 Inter-grant Festival

We are seeking 2025 Inter-grant artists…

Inter-grant Fest is taking place in NYC on Oct 2-4, 2025.  Our team is actively seeking artists to showcase their works for the festival at Arts On Site, East Village, NYC.  The ideal candidates are dance and music makers who are interfacing with the US. immigration process, and make works in New York City, though artists do not need to live in NYC.

Our admin team, Ching-I Chang and Penelope J. Armstead, will curate 6 international artists of the following origin for the 2025 festival. We are looking for 2 artists from the Caribbean and 2 artists from South Asian Diaspora, along with our 1 past inter-grant artist and 1 mentor artist.  Inter-grant fest cherishes the inter-grant artists who make art in US communities, and we humbly offer a  platform where international freelance artists are supported to create and share their works without hazardous application processes.

The following criteria are general for artmakers interested in the festival:

Welcome International Artist Collaborators

Artists from the hundreds of Caribbean inhabited islands, including Afro-Haitian artists, Afro-Cuban artists, Puerto Rico, Dominica, Domincan Republic, The Taino People, Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamian, Baijan, & Antigua and Barbuda peoples, peoples from Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Anguilla, Aruba, Virgin Islands, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, US Virgin Island, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Indigenous peoples from the region surrounding/surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and The Atlantic Ocean's Tropic of Cancer…who are interfacing with U.S naturalization process and creating art…

AS WELL AS…

Artists from the hundreds of ancestral communities of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indigenous peoples from the region surrounded by the Himalayas, the Indian Ocean and Arabian Seas…who are interfacing with the U.S naturalization process and creating art…

• Invited only, no hazardous application needed. *2 Afro-Caribbean and 2 South Asian artists/makers who create works in NYC.  Artists don't have to live in NYC. 

• Must be engaged in the process of  O-1B artist visa, green card holders, or newly naturalized Americans. 

• Using dance and music as their primary creative source, and are versed in multi-disciplinary work. 

• Each work should be no longer than 20 mins. (Split bill with one other Inter-grant artist.)

• Open to dream about your work as a valuable addition to the inter-grant community care network.  Our play on the words “international” and “immigrant” feels like a way for inter-grants to be heart-centered and honest about their dreams, frustrations, wit, and accomplishments within the intersection of U.S. naturalization and international art-making.

• $500 for 2 total performance fees. This festival is mutually produced as an act of care for the inter-grant community . Due to the limited fee, we recommend the artists to show a solo work.  Inter-grant Fest will cover your show day rehearsal space, tech and admin for the festival, as well as cover videographer and professional photos from the performances. 

• The Inter-grant Festival this year will be on Oct 2-4, 2025 at Arts On Site. 

• Benefit: Inter-grant Festival will provide recommendation and 1:1 mentorship throughout the festival and in the future. 

• The selected artists will be informed by the end of March 2025.

*We recognize that “Caribbean and South Asia” is not an inclusive term, but we are limited in language and want to welcome all of you who identify as international artists from the above-mentioned communities

We encourage the artists to express interest as soon as possible. 

Send a message here.

Please share this to whoever would be interested and best fit for this festival. 

Many thanks,

Ching-I + Penelope