Overview
The Media Arts Assistance Fund (MAAF) for Artists provides grants of up to $7,500 to individual New York State artists for the completion and public presentation of new work in sound and moving image art. Wave Farm administers the program as a regrant partner of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). For the 2026 cycle, 15 grantees were selected from 233 applications through a competitive panel process.
Wave Farm is a transmission arts organization based in Acra, New York, in the Upper Hudson Valley. The center operates interdisciplinary outdoor installations, residencies, fellowships, a research library, FM radio station WGXC, and online radio channels. MAAF is one of several NYSCA regrant programs that Wave Farm administers.
MAAF supports two tracks: Completion Support and Public Presentation Support. Both address the gap between a work's creative completion and its public life. Standard production grants rarely cover finishing costs or distribution expenses, and MAAF fills that gap for New York State media artists.
History
NYSCA established the Media Arts Assistance Fund to support electronic media and film artists across all 10 New York State regions. Wave Farm became the regrant administrator for the artist track, building on its existing infrastructure as a media arts center.
The program has run annually since at least 2009, with grantees announced each spring. Over its history, MAAF has supported hundreds of individual artists, including established experimental filmmakers like Ken Jacobs and emerging artists alike. The 2024 cycle selected 17 grantees from 222 applications; the 2026 cycle selected 15 from 233.
NYSCA expanded its overall arts funding significantly in recent years, awarding over $161 million in FY 2026 across all programs. MAAF remains a small but consistent component of that statewide investment in media arts.
What It Funds
MAAF supports two tracks. Applicants can apply for one or both:
Completion Support funds artists in the final stages of completing new work across all genres of sound and moving image art, including emergent technology. The project must be at least 75% complete at the time of application and ready for completion within the calendar year. Eligible costs include final editing, color correction, sound finishing, mastering, accessibility elements, and distribution preparation. Applicants must demonstrate how the grant will lead to future distribution or exhibition.
Public Presentation Support funds artists to distribute or exhibit completed work. This track covers festival submission fees, shipping and handling, digital delivery costs, venue presentation expenses, and community screening costs. The project must have been completed in 2025 or will be completed in 2026.
Eligible Project Types
- Experimental video and film
- Sound art (not music projects)
- Installation and expanded cinema
- Emergent technology and media art
- Individual artist-made experimental documentary
What MAAF Does Not Fund
- Feature-length narrative documentary (team-driven nonfiction). Individual artist-made experimental documentary remains eligible.
- Music projects, including electronic music. Sound art is eligible.
- Unlimited episodic work (ongoing web series or podcasts)
- Travel outside New York State
- Student works (thesis projects or exhibitions)
- Meals and hospitality
Typical Award Size Range
| Track | Minimum | Typical | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completion Support | $1,000 | $3,000 to $5,000 | $7,500 |
| Public Presentation Support | $1,000 | $2,000 to $4,000 | $7,500 |
Applicants may request up to $7,500 total, whether applying for one track or both. The typical award falls below the maximum. Panelists consider the scope of the proposed activity and the budget justification when determining award size. Smaller requests with clear, realistic budgets tend to compete well.
Eligibility
Who Can Apply
- Individual artists who reside in New York State
- The applicant must hold all rights to distribute and exhibit the work as proposed
- Media art must be the core discipline of the submitted work
- Full-time enrolled students are not eligible, with case-by-case exceptions for career artists in postgraduate study
What Disqualifies You
- Applicants who applied to NYSCA Support for Artists for the June 26, 2025 deadline are not eligible for MAAF 2026, regardless of funding outcome. Applicants may not apply for both programs in the same funding year.
- Recipients of a NYSCA Statewide Community Regrant from another center in the same funding year are not eligible
- NYFA Fellowship recipients may apply to MAAF in the same year
- Public presentations must serve New York State audiences
Fiscal Sponsor and Rough-Cut Requirements
MAAF does not require a fiscal sponsor. The grant goes directly to the individual artist. There is no formal rough-cut requirement, but applicants must submit a work sample that demonstrates the current state of the project and its readiness for completion within the calendar year.
Payment Structure
MAAF disburses funds as a single lump sum after the grant agreement is signed. The project period runs from April 1 to December 31, 2026. Grantees must submit a final report by January 31, 2027. The grant does not pay in installments tied to milestones. Wave Farm sends the full award once the grant agreement is executed, typically in spring 2026 after the public announcement.
Past Recipients and What They Made with the Money
2026 Cycle
The 2026 cohort of 15 grantees includes James N. Kienitz Wilkins, a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and 2022 and 2026 MAAF grantee. His MAAF-funded project The Misconceived is a 3D-rendered feature film that premiered at IFFR in the Harbour section. Monument Releasing acquired the film for US theatrical distribution, launching a 35mm run at Anthology Film Archives in May 2026.
Caroline Golum, a 2024 MAAF grantee, used funding for Revelations of Divine Love, a feature-length narrative film shot on handcrafted sets in Queens, New York. The film premiered at FIDMarseille 2025 and was acquired by Several Futures for US theatrical distribution, opening at Anthology Film Archives in March 2026.
Chris Gude, a 2023 MAAF grantee, received completion support for Morichales, an 83-minute experimental documentary tracing gold extraction in Venezuela. The film had its US premiere through Cinema Tropical and screened at the 64th FICCI Cartagena Film Festival.
Other Notable Past Grantees
Ken Jacobs, a pioneer of American experimental cinema, is a past MAAF recipient. His work spans 65 years and includes Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (1969), a landmark of found-footage filmmaking. Jacobs passed away in October 2025 at age 92.
Simon Liu, a 2018 MAAF grantee, is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker raised between Hong Kong and Stoke-on-Trent. His short film E-Ticket was nominated for a Tiger Award at IFFR and the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.
What Makes an Application Competitive
The MAAF panel evaluates applications on three concrete signals:
- Production readiness: For Completion Support, the panel wants to see that the project is genuinely 75% complete. The work sample is the primary evidence. A polished, coherent sample that demonstrates the project's final form scores higher than a rough assembly.
- Distribution plan specificity: For both tracks, the panel assesses whether the applicant has a realistic plan for reaching audiences. Named festivals, confirmed venues, or identified distribution channels carry more weight than generic statements about "seeking exhibition opportunities."
- Budget realism: The panel rewards budgets that match the scope of the proposed activity. A $7,500 request for a project that needs $3,000 of finishing work signals poor planning. A $3,500 request with line-item detail signals professionalism.
The panel also considers artistic merit, but the three signals above separate funded applications from unfunded ones more than any single quality judgment.
Application Process
Where and How to Apply
Applications are submitted through the Wave Farm website at the MAAF for Artists page. The application opens in fall of each year.
2026 Timeline
- January 15, 2026: Application deadline
- April 2026: Notification to applicants
- May 2026: Public announcement of grantees
- April 1 to December 31, 2026: Project period
- January 31, 2027: Final report deadline
As of August 2026, the 2026 cycle has closed. The next cycle is expected to open in Fall 2026. Subscribe to Wave Farm's newsletter for updates.
Required Materials
- Project description (what the work is, what stage it is at, what MAAF funding will support)
- Work sample (for Completion Support: current state of the project; for Public Presentation: the completed work)
- Budget with line-item detail
- Distribution or exhibition plan
- Artist resume or CV
- Proof of New York State residency
What Filmmakers Should Know
The $7,500 ceiling makes MAAF most useful for short-to-mid-length works and for artists whose primary needs are finishing costs or distribution expenses rather than full production budgets. If you are making a feature-length narrative documentary, MAAF is not for you. The program explicitly excludes that format for FY2026.
Plan your NYSCA funding applications across years. If you applied to NYSCA Support for Artists for the June 2025 deadline, you are locked out of MAAF for 2026. This is the most common disqualification and the one most applicants overlook.
Contact Wave Farm directly at info@wavefarm.org if your work sits at the boundary between experimental documentary and narrative documentary. The eligibility line is not always obvious, and a quick email can save you from wasting an application cycle.
The 2026 cycle had a 6.4% acceptance rate. Treat the application with the same rigor you would bring to a major foundation grant.
Watch
See Also
For post-production budget and storage planning, use the Storage and Footage Calculator. For building a distribution strategy for a completed experimental or documentary film, see Distribution Deals: What Filmmakers Need to Know. For layering small grants into a broader financing strategy, see Documentary Financing: Building Your Stack.
