[Nettime-bold] An interview with Paul Seesaquasis about the Canada Council's Spokenand Electronic Words Program

[Jim Andrews <jim@vispo.com>]

THE CANADA COUNCIL'S SPOKEN AND ELECTRONIC WORDS PROGRAM

An interview by Jim Andrews with Paul Seesaquasis, Writing and Publishing Section Officer of the
Canada Council. The interview outlines the Canada Council's Spoken and Electronic Words program
that awards grants to Canadian artists and encourages them to apply.


ANDREWS:
What is the Spoken and Electronic Words program at the Canada Council, Paul?

SEESAQUASIS:
It's a relatively new program - in existence since 1999 - that supports innovative literary
projects that are not based on conventional book or magazine formats. This is a diverse
program - eligible projects include literary performance, rap poetry, storytelling and poetry
videos - as well as digital literary creation such as web sites and CD-ROMs. To apply to the
program an artist needs to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada; the program
does support collaborative projects between, say, a Canadian artist and an American, as long as
the application comes from the Canadian artist.

Grant amounts range from $1,000 to $20,000 and are for creation, production, performance, or
dissemination of the literary creation. It is an annual program, meaning it has one deadline per
year - June 01, 2002 is the next - and applications are downloadable off the Canada Council web
site (http://canadacouncil.ca). Applications to the Spoken and Electronic Words program are
submitted to a peer assessment committee comprised of spoken and electronic word artists who are
not applying. Based upon their assessment of each project and the budget available, grants are
awarded. The success rate is roughly one in four applications.

I should also mention that for digital literary projects, priority is given to projects that
involve literary innovation and a creative use of the medium.

If an artist is interested in applying to the program, I suggest they call me (or Carole Boucher
for French language projects). As a program officer I am here to answer questions regarding the
program. My number at the Canada Council is 1-800-263-5588, ext. 5482 or e-mail at
paul.seesequasis@canadacouncil.ca

ANDREWS:
Electronic and spoken word projects tend to be very different from one another. Does the same
jury work on both types of projects?

SEESAQUASIS:
There is quite a difference between spoken word projects and electronic words projects. Spoken
Word projects are most often focussed on literary performance or recording literary work onto CD
or CD-ROM. In contrast, electronic words projects are digital in nature, have a high integration
of technology and art, and there is often an element of experimentation in them. For this
reason, in the English language competition, there are now seperate peer assessment committees
for electronic and spoken words.

ANDREWS:
What are the elements of a good proposal to your program? I realize that you have covered that,
to some extent, in what you've said above. But are there some general categories, including
things like a budget, proposed venues for the finished project, and other elements not directly
concerning the nature of the work itself, that are important?

And how about the discussion in the proposal of the work itself--what sort of topics should be
addressed? I think a lot of artists lack a sense of what a good proposal should cover.

SEESAQUASIS:
Describe what you want to do. Present your plan in such a way that someone who has never heard
of you can understand your vision. Pass it on to a friend for a read and listen to your friend -
if something doesn't make sense to him or her, it likely won't make sense to the jury (peer
assessment committee). Write about how you intend to organize your time to carry out the
project. Present your plan clearly and succinctly, allowing the peer assessment committee to
grasp the nature, intent and relevance of your project in relation to your artistic approach.
State what you will accomplish with the grant. Remember, you are writing for artists who work in
electronic literature.

The peer assessment committees appreciate clear and concise résumés. List the locations and
dates of a) your art training (professional experience, university, college, or workshops,
etc.), and b) your professional public presentations (exhibitions, screenings, publications,
etc.). Clearly indicate the relevant information for the digital works that you have created in
your professional (non-student) art practice. You may wish to include other activities relevant
to your artistic practice, or activities that demonstrate the recognition of your peers. Make
sure your résumé does not exceed three pages, and that the most recent activities are listed
first. Remember that information that does not relate to your career as an artist is not
required.

The support material you should submit should reflect the nature of your artistic work. Insure
that you have clearly indentified what you want to be seen - for instance, if it a web site,
include a path of direction so that the peer assessment committee sees exactly what you want
them to see. Also, if at all possible, enclose a copy of your site on CD-ROM - in case your site
happens to be down on the day of the jury. Remember that the peer assessment committees have a
limited time in which to study each grant application so don't expect them to spend hours
searching through your work.

Your budget should be clear as to what expenses you are requesting and those items should be
necessary to complete your project. Subsistence costs are fine but cannot exceed $2000 per
month. You do not need to include quotes or receipts, but remember that the peer assessment
committee will have experience in costing so your numbers should be accurate. Purchases of
software or other items must be absolutely necessary for your work. Do not expect the peer
assessment committee to support "buying a new computer" or something that vague. Finally, if you
have other sources of revenue - including in-kind, donations or coporate/private/public support
do include that in your budget.

ANDREWS:
I imagine that some people might tend to put in great proposals but when you compare the
proposal with the previous work, they don't fit together? Does that happen much?

SEESAQUASIS:
Yes it does happen. It's important to be realistic in your project and impress upon the peer
assessment committee that you are fully capable of fulfilling your goals. Your previous work
should inspire confidence in the committee that your work is capable of progressing to the stage
that you are proposing. A "great leap forward" may be met with skepticism by the committee. And,
as always, bear in mind that the electronic word competition is very competitive so put your
best foot forward, so to speak, but do not try and do a long jump.

ANDREWS:
Yet the Electronic and Spoken Word program puts an emphasis on innovation. So that's a tough
one, because if you're going to be innovative, that requires a long jump, so that unless you
have a history of innovation, or have gone very far over a few years, it would be natural for a
jury to be skeptical that you are going to do it now. In such case, I suppose there are various
ways to support one's claims. Like if you're in mid air, send a photo?

SEESAQUASIS:
A good point. If you are in mid-air show it. In the end it may not turn out exactly as you
envisioned but you can show, at least, that you have done the training to get there. The program
welcomes innovation but there are two important points you need to convey to the committee. The
first is your project desciption and that you have a clear idea of your project and are able to
explain clearly and, ideally, excite the committee about it. Also, if you have a demo or
prototype or whatever you want to call it ready to show then the committee gets a better sense
of what the end result may be.

ANDREWS:
Thanks, Paul.

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