ASIAN CULTURAL COUNCIL

General Information

The Asian Cultural Council is a private, non-profit organization which supports cultural exchange in the visual and performing arts between Asia and the United States. The emphasis of the ACC's program is on providing fellowship grants to artists, scholars, and specialists from Asia for study, research, observation, and creative work in the United States. Some grants are also awarded to Americans for similar activities in Asia and to arts organizations and educational institutions for particular projects for special significance to Asian-American cultural exchange. In addition, the Council awards a small number of grants in support of cultural exchange activities within Asia. The Asian cultural Council's grant program was established in 1963 by John D. Rockfeller 3rd and was originally known as the Asian Cultural program of the JDR 3rd Fund. The Council began to operate as an independent foundation in 1980 and is funded by a variety of donors, including foundations, government agencies, corporations, and individuals in the United States and Asia. In 1991, the ACC became an affiliate of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The Council's main office is in New York, and regional office are located in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Taipei. The Asian Cultural Council established a grant program and an office in Taiwan in 1995 to develop more opportunities for artists from Taiwan to participate in its activities. This Taiwan Fellowship Program has been created in partnership with the Sino-American Asian Cultural Foundation, a new foundation formed in Taiwan to collaborate with the ACC.

Field of Award

Through its Taiwan program the ACC awards grants to individuals and institutions for international arts exchange activities. Fields of award include archaeology, architecture(design, history, and theory), arts administration, art criticism, art history, conservation, crafts, dance, design, film and video, museology, music, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and theatre. Applications are not accepted for studies in arts education, commercial design, mass communications, landscape architecture, or urban planning. In addition, the ACC does not provide support for film or video production.

Types of Grants

Fellowships:The major focus of the ACC's Taiwan Fellowship program is to award grants to artists, scholars, and arts specialists from Taiwan for study, research and observation, creative exploration, participation in conferences and seminars, and related activities in the United States. Fellowships are awarded for periods ranging from one to twelve months and provide for round-trip international transportation, travel and living expenses, medical insurance, and miscellaneous grant-expenses. Priority consideration is generally given to applicants with little or no previous opportunity for research and study in the United States. Because the purpose of fellowship grants made by the Asian Cultural Council is to provide training or experience which will be of value in fulfilling professional responsibilities in the grantee's home country, grant recipients are expected to return to Taiwan at the conclusion of the fellowship period. The Council is unable to consider requests for the following: Projects Grants:A limited number of grants are awarded for institutionally sponsored projects involving international exchanges in the arts. Since the ACC's program resources are focused on fellowship awards to individuals, the Council's grants for projects are usually modest in size. Institutional grants are generally awarded to support the participation of individual artists, scholars, and specialists from Asia or from the United States in project activities in Taiwan. The Council is unable to consider requests for the following:

Application Procedures

Individuals and institutions wishing to apply for grant support should send a brief description of their project to the ACC's Taipei office by February 1:
Asian Cultural Council
6th Fl. 261 Nanking E. Rd, Sec. 3
Taipei, Taiwan
Tel:886-2-718-5185
Fax:886-2-718-5169
If the proposed activity falls within the Council's guidelines, application materials requesting more detailed information will be provided. Applications to the ACC's Taiwan Fellowship Program are reviewed each year in May or June by the Board of Trustees of the Asian Cultural Council in New York and by the Board of Trustees of the Sino-American Asian Cultural Foundation in Taipei. Applicants are notified by the ACC whether their proposals have been approved or declined.

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