THE BOSTON ARTS ACADEMY SENIOR PROJECT
“The experience of bringing art to the community is a gift.”
-Nicole Weser, Former Senior Grant Recipient
What is the Senior Project?
The Senior Project Grant Proposal is the capstone experience of all graduates of the Boston Arts
Academy. The Senior Project allows students to integrate their arts and academic training with a servicelearning proposal. This experience is an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and passion
toward a practical cause, at once proving their graduation credentials and gaining experience as
independent artists.
When does the Senior Project happen?
Starting in the junior year, students begin writing their grant proposals in their Junior Advisory. They
create needs-assessment documents for their neighborhoods and engage in action research of non-profit
agencies. They explore the literature of these agencies and conduct interviews with staff members.
Students finalize their ideas in connecting their art major with an identified community issue and
complete their proposals in their Senior Advisory classes, finally presenting their work at the “Senior
Project Fair” in October. University representatives, community organizers, and artists are among the
members of the Grant Review Committee, a body that reviews student projects and allocates funding for
those that score within the top 20%.
Students that accept funding and successfully complete their projects become “Senior Project with
Distinction” graduates. They are our honor graduates. Funded projects in the past have included original
choreography concerning the theme of eating disorders presented to young girls, a publicly designed
mural project, a monologue created and performed to raise awareness of homeless teens, an intensive
modern dance program for adolescents, and a steel drum workshop series at a local hospital.
How will students be graded?
All students must score “Proficient” (3/4) in order to graduate. Projects are evaluated by using a rubric
that contains the following criteria:
 Artistic Rigor
 Feasibility & Supportive Materials
 Mutual Benefit
 Senior Project Fair Presentation
 Writing Technique
“Art is the most effective and humane weapon to fight injustice.”
-Erica Cesar, Former Senior Grant Recipient
For more information contact:
Beth Balliro
Senior Institute Coordinator/
Visual Arts Instructor
(617) 635-6470 ext. 440
bballiro@bostonartsacademy.org
Written Grant Proposal Guidelines

All papers must be:
Single-spaced


Single-sided


12 point “Times New Roman” font

Approximate
Length
Date Due
(not in
chronological
order)
9/19
4 sentences
9/19
2 sentences
9/21
4-5
paragraphs
9/22
4-5
paragraphs
9/26
4-5
paragraphs
9/27
2-3 sentence
description of
each staff
1-2
paragraphs
9/15
9/28
1 page
(see advisor
for template)
1 –2 pages
9/28
1 page
10/3
Misc. items
9/15
10/4
Draft Due
Paragraphs should be divided by a space
only, not an indentation.
Justified (flush) left
Unless you see a * next to the item, the item should not
have its own page.
Each of the items should be numbered in the order below and begin
with a bold-faced title.
*Cover Page
List only the following in the center of the page.
Title of Project
Presented by ___________________(your name)
(your major here)
Class of 2006
1. Title & Project Summary
Give your project an interesting and relevant title and write a two-sentence summary of your
project.
2. Description of the Project.
This is the “who, what, where, when, how” of your project.
What are the “nuts and bolts” of your idea? What are your objectives for this project? This is
where you “sell” the idea.
3. Community Description and Service Provided
What community have you identified that you would like to work with (must be outside BAA)?
Why? What do you know about this community?
How will this project benefit that community?
How will this project benefit your growth?
4. Personal Mission Statement
How does this project idea demonstrate what you have learned in your art major over the past
four years? How will your project show a high level of artistic rigor? What is unique about your
work as an Artist/Scholar? How does this project connect with your future goals as an
Artist/Scholar?
5. Staff, volunteers, and collaborating organizations (if applicable)
Describe your staff/volunteers and their qualifications. Describe the organization(s) you will
collaborate with to implement the project.
6. Artist Bio
This is a brief (no more than two short paragraphs) description of your artistic credentials,
your training, and your accomplishments. It must be written in the 3 rd person voice.
7. Updated Resume*
It should be written in the style of your major (see your advisor for examples.) It should show
credentials that match your project.
8. Timeline/ Schedule*
This is a weekly breakdown of your project. List the activities and accomplishments that will
occur along the way to completing your project. All projects must be completed by the end of
May.
9. Budget Sheet*
Use the required format.
10. Appendices*
Include optional supportive materials such as slides, lesson plans, (required of all teaching
proposals) agency literature, recordings, photos.
10/11
Second Draft
and Visuals Due
10/12
All visuals due
Presentation
note cards due
10/25 The Big Day” Graded Presentation
10/27 4-6 pm Senior Project Fair
10/18
Final Grant Due (5 copies) to Ms. Balliro on the 4th Floor at 5:00
sharp!
Absolutely NO exceptions will be made.
Senior Grant Project Description Worksheet
Feel free to use the following suggested structure for your project
description.
Opening Paragraph:
Start with a “sales pitch” for your project. General statement of what active
verb you will do (ie: advocate for, teach, expose, raise awareness, explore,
raise resources, invent, explain, create, produce, bring together).
Paragraph 2:
State your outcomes: What will happen? What general impact will you
have? What will be accomplished at the end of your project?
Paragraph 3: Basic plan of action and general summary of the timeline and
schedule. When, how often and with whom will the project take place?
Paragraph 4: (optional)
Further outline the logistics of the project.
Closing Paragraph:
A summary of why the project is necessary and what you will gain in carrying out the project.
Date Due
Approximate
Length
1a.Presentation “Visuals”
This should highlight your project goals and “sell” your idea to the grant review committee. Include
supportive materials that prove your credentials. (Think beyond cardboard visuals, multi-media,
interactive presentations are encouraged.)
10/13
10/13
Presentation Materials
20 notecards or a
2 page script
2a.Prepare a 5-minute “Verbal” Presentation for the grant committee, outside evaluators, faculty
and students.
3a.Have all materials (video, sound recording, etc.) prepared for the Big Night.
Your artist bio should look like these, or be shorter. For other examples see the faculty bios on the school
website.
Shimon Attie
After living and working in Europe for seven years,
Shimon Attie relocated to New York at the invitation
of Creative Time to Work, in the fall of 1997 for his
first public art project in the U.S. Renowned as a
photographer and public installation artist, Attie’s
work is documented in two monographs: The Writing
on the Wall (1994) and Sites Unseen (1998).
Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones began his dance training at the State University of
New York at Binghamton, where he studied classical ballet and
modern dance. He later founded the American Dance Asylum
there in 1973, and performed nationally and internationally,
both as a soloist and in duets with his late partner Arnie Zane.
He formed the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in
1982.
Attie has exhibited widely across the United States
and Europe and his work is in such prestigious
permanent collections as the Museum of Modern Art
(NYC), the Berlinische Galerie (Berlin), and the
Jewish Museum (NYC).
In addition to creating over 40 works for his own company,
including commissions for Cal Performances, The Brooklyn
Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival, Saint Luke’s Chamber
Orchestra, and Lincoln Center’s Serious Fun Festival, Jones has
created dances for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Boston
Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet, and Diversion
Dance Company.
The following students have been funded to complete their senior projects. They will
consider their other senior year commitments and decide if they will implement their
projects.
Dan Acuna & Marvin Balan: Music Fundamentals
This program will provide free music training for teens in the Dorchester community and
will culminate in two public performances.
Alicia Anzaldi: Technically Women
This project will introduce a team of women to technical theatre and the necessary steps to
enter the workforce in this field.
Jessica Batista: Stepping Up the Game; The Boy’s and Girl’s Club
This project will enhance the existing arts programs at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club in
Manchester, NH.
Taronna Billingslea: Coping with Stereotypes: Today’s Urban Kids
Taronna will lead students from the Mary Lyon School in creating a public service
announcement on the theme of urban stereotypes that will be broadcast on the Boston
Neighborhood Network Channel.
Lionel Blaise & Philip Cadet: Dorchester Community Comix (DC Comix)
This ten-session workshop will teach the four essential steps in making comic books to
eighth grade students at the Citizen’s Schools.
Tia Brookens: B3 Harmony: Reaching Out
This program will allow girls at the Blackstone Community Center to learn music and writing
while building their identity as good citizens.
Francesca Caruso: Music from the Streets, For the Streets
This project is a benefit concert to help the Harvard Square homeless shelter. All
performers will be street musicians who will be able to help the people who live on the
streets that they perform in.
Lauren Clark & Felicia Pagan: Confidence CDs
This project will help young women use music as an outlet to release depression. The
students will record their music that will be made into a compilation CD at the end of the
project.
Ramona Coleman: Vocal Skills for Young Musicians
This project will teach young people at the Citizen’s Schools the anatomical process of
singing and give them a chance to perform for a live audience.
Isnard Dupoux: Breaking the Phase
Isnard will distribute his video about date rape entitled Phase One to various Boston Public
School guidance counselors to hold informational sessions with their students.
Shakora Fernandez: The Faces of Human Suffering
This project will bring economically diverse communities together through the creation of a
theatre piece on the theme of suffering.
Nick Hills: Comedy: The Academic Stress Reliever
Nick will create a series of humorous comics dedicated to exploring the pressures of school
life for seniors and post them on a website.
Alexia Johnson: Fashion through the Youth’s Beauty
This project will involve the creation of a fashion show that celebrates the diversity of style
and body types of young women.
Jerry Maghalaes: Teaching to See
Jerry will create an exterior mural that draws the public’s attention to the impact of domestic
violence on children.
Giovanni Montalvo: A Dance to Call My Own
This afterschool dance program for students in residential homes will help students channel
their anger and frustration into choreography.
Devin O'Leary: Deaf not Dumb
This project will bring together a small group of deaf teens to create a silent film that
expresses their daily experience. The film will then be distributed to hearing students.
Noelle Patten: When the Passion Was Remembered
Noelle will hold interviews of families affected by Alzheimer’s Disease and choreograph and
perform a piece telling their stories.
Katheryn Raymond: Artists at the Pond: Creating a Cure for Cancer
This arts festival will educate the Jamaica Plain community about various types of cancer and
raise money for cancer research.
Rachel Redd: Characters of the World
This project will allow a class of six students to learn how to develop theatrical characters
based on their own video research of the public around them.
Ricardo Rhodes: To Be a Ballerino
This project will profile young male ballet dancers through a video documentary and the
stereotypes that they face.
Jackie Ryan: Your Education, Your Art, Your Future
This project will allow the students at the St. Peter’s Academy to learn theatre and writing
skills and perform for their community.
Jermaine Tulloch: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges
This project will expose students at the New Boston Pilot School to a range of musical
genres. Jermaine will provide examples of musicianship by performing a recital program and
bringing students to the Boston Lyric Opera.
Senior Grant Proposal Rubric
Class of 2007
WRITING TECHNIQUE
Use of Vocabulary
Sentence Structure
Punctuation
Grant Writing
Conventions
uses professional vocabulary
to enhance tone, communicate
precisely and maintain control
over ideas
uses strong control
uses all punctuation
over language and
effectively and with no
free of major errors in serious errors
syntax and usage
uses conventions
persuasively
uses professional language and
strong verbs
uses varied sentence
patterns effectively
uses conventions
appropriately
makes an attempt to use
professional language and strong
verbs
uses words correctly
uses some varied
sentence patterns
uses end punctuation,
commas, semicolons,
and colons correctly
uses end punctuation
and commas correctly
uses complete
sentences
uses correct end
punctuation
makes an attempt to
use conventions
uses some conventions
FEASIBILITY & SUPPORTIVE MATERIALS
Timeline and Budget
Ability to Selfassess and
Troubleshoot
Scale of
Undertaking
Use of Sources
to Prove
Credentials
successful use of a
variety of sources
successful use of at
least one source
attempt to use
sources
sources not
provided
extremely efficient
strong
practical
adequate
precisely aligned with
project goals
appropriate
impractical
minimal
inappropriate
cannot finish project within
timetable and budget
not apparent
extremely
inappropriate
PRESENTATION
Explanation of Project
Use of Media
inspiring and professional
presents a variety of media to successfully
engage audience
compelling and professional
uses text and at least one other medium to
successfully engage audience
vague and marginally professional
attempts to use text and/or another medium to
engage audience
a confusing and unprofessional
explanation of project
media is poorly crafted and not engaging
COMMUNITY AND STUDENT MUTUAL BENEFIT
Project Impact
Need Project Addresses
addresses a researched,
genuine community need
addresses a genuine
community need
addresses a presumed need
without insight of larger
community
addresses no need
Connection to Student’s
Professional
and Educational Goals
has a strong impact
will advance student’s goals
has an impact
connects to student’s goals
starts to have an impact
connects somewhat to
student’s goals
has no impact
does not connect to student’s
goals
ARTISTIC RIGOR
Understanding and
Knowledge of
Artistic Discipline
Artistic Goal
Application of Learning
from
B.A.A. Experience
exceptional
synthesized
challenging
adequate
adequate
strong
some
some
evident
no knowledge
no learning
not ambitious