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All artists listed on a NEST application must complete and maintain an up to date profile in CreativeGround, NEFA’s free regional arts and culture directory, to be NEST-eligible. Follow the instructions on CreativeGround and pay attention to the specific guidelines below to clearly demonstrate your work for NEST-eligibility.
An artist requesting NEST-eligibility must maintain a permanent residence in one of the six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont) and spend at least half of the year living in that state.
An ensemble must be artistically led by an artist based in New England, and at least 50% of the performers must live in New England. Ensembles incorporated in New England but who are not made up of performers primarily based in New England are not eligible for NEST.
Go to www.CreativeGround.org and click ‘GET LISTED,’ and create a user account or log in if you have a CreativeGround account. (Reset your password if needed.)
Go to your 'My Dashboard’ page. There you will see all public profiles that are associated with your user account. If you do not see a profile listed on your Dashboard, do a quick search in CreativeGround to see if it already exists in the database. If it does and you would like to manage it, click Claim this Profile' at the top of the page.
If the profile for you/your artist group does not exist yet, Create a new public profile from your CreativeGround Dashboard.
Once you have access to edit your public profile in CreativeGround, please complete all the recommendations listed here to ensure you have a robust profile that allows presenters to search for and see your work easily.
Make sure you have filled out these specific fields with the additional requirements for being a NEST-eligible artist:
NEFA grant staff review the NEST eligibility queue weekly, and sometimes more often as NEST deadlines approach. If any of the above information is missing or incomplete, NEFA staff will follow up directly via the internal contact email used in your profile. A lack of response by you may result in a delay or decline in your CreativeGround NEST eligibility.
After your profile has been approved by NEFA grant staff, the phrase “NEST eligible Artist” will appear in the Touring Artist section on your CreativeGround profile indicating that you are eligible for NEST funding.
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