In the weeks leading up to the application deadline for the 2025 Queer|Art|Mentorship program, Queer|Art hosted its sixth annual Mock Panel series, inviting artists, curators, writers, editors, filmmakers, and grantmakers to offer artists a peek behind the veil of mystery surrounding review panels. Following LJ Roberts’ Mock Panel model, our eight panelists offered feedback on artist statements, work samples, CVs, and overall application narratives to tell artists directly what would make their applications stand out in a crowded field—all in a closed, supportive setting.
This year’s panelists were: New Museum curator Vivian Crockett and transdisciplinary artist Creighton Baxter (Visual Art); musician and Artistic Director of Performance Space Taja Cheek and QA’s Programs & Operations Manager Reya Sehgal (Performance); new media artist and educator Mev Luna and film consultant and festival programmer Lucila Moctezuma (Film); and writer, visual artist, and editor Jaye Elizabeth Elijah and poet and Editorial Director of the Poetry Project Kay Gabriel.
Here are eight standout pieces of advice that you can use to continue strengthening your applications this year—and beyond!:
Give us the sensory details—and teach us about your process. Reviewers unfamiliar with your work are excited to hear about your motivations and the stories you seek to tell—but they also want to know what your work looks like, reads like, sounds like, feels like. Creighton Baxter (Visual Art) wants to know how the work is made, especially when its material conditions are not obvious. Reya Sehgal (Performance) said, “don’t be afraid to be a little didactic about how you make what you make,” and suggested treating an artist statement or project statement the way you might approach a brief studio visit. In film and literature, or other narrative-based forms, using present tense to explain your stories makes them feel more urgent for a reader; but make sure to share not just plot points, but also what the final product will look like.
Ease the experience for your reviewer. The people reviewing your work are likely looking at a sea of applications, so you want to do whatever you can to make the reading/viewing experience as clear and simple as possible. Taja Cheek (Performance) reminded folks that, as silly as it may sound, “sometimes reviewers want to know that you can follow instructions, so respecting the criteria and requirements is important.” Check those word counts on your end before you hit submit! Really answer the questions you’re being asked! Some quick tips to better direct your reviewers: set start and end times on film clips (you can do this on Youtube); name yourself consistently across your application materials; check your PDFs across multiple readers for accessibility; format your CVs with clear headlines, clickable press links, and put your most recent achievements (publications, performances, exhibitions, etc.) first!
Straightforward language sings. Apply easefulness to your language, too. “Artspeak” and jargon often leave your readers wanting more clarity, especially if they come from a different field or set of references—what do you really mean with the language you’re using? Break down big terms and speak plainly. Vivian Crockett (Visual Art) recommends reading your text aloud, or getting other people to read your writing to make sure you’re conveying clearly what you want to be saying. When she finds herself going too far in artspeak, Creighton Baxter smokes a cigarette and comes back to her writing, saying, ”do a palate cleanse and refresh.”
Tell us where you are in the work. When applying to work on a specific project, make sure to clarify what’s happened, what’s now, and what’s next. Even for applications meant to support an ongoing artistic practice, Jaye Elizabeth Elijah (Literature) wants to know, “What are you working on next? Is there a direction that you’re headed? Is there more specificity available to what would support your practice? What would having institutional or interpersonal support mean for your writing?” Kay Gabriel (Literature) added that clear direction “allows evaluators to know there’s a further creative process that they can help with.” If you’re applying to work on a project that’s currently in flight, Lucila Moctezuma (Film) suggests stating directly what is missing from the project—whether a film, a photo series, an installation-based performance—that you are seeking support to complete, or expand upon.
Tell us where you are in the work. Artists create their work in rich context, invoking legacies, addressing disciplinary standards, responding to movements, conversing with contemporaries. If you’re feeling stuck when writing your artist statement, Kay Gabriel offers the following questions: “Who are you writing for? Whose work are you trying on? In whose tradition are you writing? Who are the [artists] that you’re like “‘hat’s my ride or die’? Whose ideas formally are you building on?” Jaye Elizabeth Elijah reminded applicants that reviewers want to know what artists know about what they’re doing, and addressing a project’s lineage can lend a seriousness of thought to an application. Tell your reader how you’re adding something new to the field(s) in which you’re working, or the discourses in which you want to intervene.
Use your budget to tell a story. A budget is not only a moral document, but also a narrative—so if you have the chance to include a budget, take the opportunity. And don’t forget to include your own labor as a budget line! Lucila Moctezuma and Mev Luna (Film) stressed that reviewers want to know what a project will really cost, and especially when you’re talking to funders, they want to know how their support will make a difference. As Taja Cheek asserted, “organization’s want to be part of an artist’s moment. Advocate for why this is your time!” Clear and detailed line items are highly appreciated. Often, you’re piecing together funding from multiple sources, so communicate in your budget narrative when possible where else you’re seeking funding, or have funds secured.
Balance your application holistically. An application is more than a sum of its component parts. Mev Luna likes to map out their applications, asking what each section is doing and if, together, they paint the most complete picture possible. They said to “think about every material in the application allowing you to create a more spherical version of yourself; if the moving image is one plane, and the statement is another plane—if you can separate these out, the more dimensional your application will be.” This also means: avoid redundancies; if you have something in your artist statement or CV, it doesn’t need to be restated elsewhere. In your most spherical application, relationships between the sections are essential, both in content and in style. Jaye Elizabeth Elijah noted the importance of tone: “if it sparkles in the description and we don’t see those glimmers in the work, that’s a mismatch.”
Stick it out! Rejection is never fun, but Taja Cheek reminds us not to take it personally because “it’s not about deservingness.” If you’ve done your job as an applicant, whether or not you are selected is about individual reviewers’ perspectives, organizational goals, timing, and all kinds of things that are not your responsibility to know. Lucila Moctezuma explained, “I’ve seen many people who after a second or third round get the grant. Always keep applying! Along the process of making a film, so many things can happen and so many years can go by.” That said, she warned artists to “never submit the same thing twice in different years—you’d be surprised what people remember!” And while you may not always get it, you can always ask for feedback on your application.
If you’re looking for more application tips, check out our blog posts from previous editions of the Mock panels in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019, featuring writing from current and former Queer|Art staff members Andrius Alvarez-Backus, Dani Brito, greer x, Kris Grey, and Reya Sehgal. Best of luck, and happy applying!