Flawless: A Premiere Stages Theatrical Premier!

Free Friday, September 4th? Looking for a date night excursion? 

Don't miss a very special offering from our friends at Premiere Stages at Kean University -- Flawless, written by John Wooten. For tickets, visit this Kean University site.

Web Site Redesign Request for Proposal

Greetings!

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation is issuing a Request for Proposal for a web site redesign. Those interested, please follow the instructions below. 

Thank you!

Issuing Organization: The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

Primary Contact:

Todd Whitley, Executive Director

Email: tmwusa@gmail.com

Key Dates & Deadlines

• RFP Announcement: August 17
• Question Submission Deadline: September 7 
• Proposal Submission Deadline: September 21
• Vendor Selection & Award Announcement: October 5 

Submission Instructions: Please submit all questions and final proposals via email to Todd Whitley at tmwusa@gmail.com.

Organization Overview

For over 60 years, The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts. Our primary initiatives include issuing three distinct grants and awards, as well as hosting an ongoing multimedia series:

• Premier Award: Funds new original works across four distinct arts disciplines.
• Community Arts Awards: Supports local arts programming within the community.
• Emerging Artist Award: Celebrates and supports promising young artists.
• A Life in the Arts: An interview series celebrating individuals who have dedicated their lives to artistic pursuit.

The Foundation operates with two part-time staff members and a 13-member Board of Directors, making us an agile, largely volunteer-run organization.

 

Project Summary & Objectives

The Foundation is seeking proposals from qualified web design and development freelancers or agencies to overhaul and redesign our web presence.

Our current site is hosted on Wix (www.masterworkarts.org). We aim to transition to an easily manageable, modern, and mobile-responsive website that better highlights our award programs, integrates our existing multimedia content, and streamlines donation workflows.

Project Scope & Technical Requirements

Core Site Requirements

• Mobile Responsiveness: Seamless layout and UI across mobile, tablet, and desktop views.
• Content Management: An intuitive backend that allows non-technical staff to easily update pages and post news/announcements.
• Homepage Hero/Feature Area: A flexible lead visual section capable of highlighting multiple key initiatives or featured projects simultaneously.
• Navigation Architecture: Updated primary navigation structure, explicitly expanding to highlight A Life in the Arts.
• Board Access Portal: A secured, password-protected page or link allowing Board members easy access to internal Google Drive materials.
• Engagement Tools: Lightbox pop-ups and top site banners to feature upcoming events, special offerings, and time-sensitive announcements.

Third-Party Integrations & Social Channels

• Donation Processing (Aplos Integration): Robust donation capability integrated with our Aplos platform. Must support diverse payment methods, including major credit cards, digital wallets (Apple Pay/Google Pay), and Venmo.
• Blog Solutions: Integration or seamless migration options for our current Blogger presence (masterworkarts.blogspot.com). We welcome contractor recommendations on optimal blogging platforms/architectures.
• Video & Social Media Integration: Visual embeds and feed connections for our YouTube Channel (@masterworkarts5965), Facebook, and Instagram accounts.
• Email Marketing: Form connections feeding directly into Mailchimp (replacing legacy Wix email forms).

Design & Future-Proofing

• Branding Flexibility: While maintaining our existing branding today, the design must accommodate future visual changes.
• Four-Color Hierarchy: The design schema should establish a distinct four-color hierarchy corresponding to our four core arts disciplines, enabling a potential transition to a four-color logo/rebrand down the road.

Budget & Proposal Requirements

Project Budget

• Estimated Budget Range: $3,000 – $5,000
• Note: Software/platform hosting fees and third-party licensing should not be included in the project proposal cost. Foundation staff will assist with manual page and content migration if needed.

Proposal Deliverables

Interested vendors should submit a proposal containing:

1. Proposed Approach: 1–2 potential design/development approaches or recommended CMS platforms (e.g., WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace).
2. Fee Structure: Clear cost breakdown detailing platform development and design costs. Please clarify whether pricing is structured as a Fixed Project Fee or Time & Materials.
3. Portfolio/Examples: Links to 2–3 relevant projects completed recently.

About Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation, a non-profit educational organization, promotes, presents, and supports fine and performing arts, including music, dance, theater and visual arts. The Foundation's purpose is dedicated to the advancement of cultural and educational pursuits demonstrating the high standards which have become associated with the name, "Masterwork." The Masterwork Foundation gives grants for new works, community based programming and emerging artists. For more about the Foundation, visit www.masterworkarts.org 

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Masterwork Arts Grants $15,000 Premier Award to Premiere Stages

Madison, New Jersey  –  August 2026

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation is pleased to announce that Premiere Stages at Kean University is the recipient of our Premier Award in Theatre!  This year’s award has been expanded from $10,000 to $15,000 in the interest of supporting four new works, all top finalists from Premiere Stages’ Play Festival. 

 

Premiere Stages is the professional Equity Theatre in residence at Kean University. In a unique partnership with Kean, Premiere Stages contributes to the academic curriculum of the University as well as offering professional programming on the campus.  Premiere’s Play Festival has developed over 60 news plays since its inception with this year’s Festival generating nearly 900 submissions. 

 

Masterwork Foundation’s President, Tony Javed, remarked on the strategic partnership with Premiere Stages, noting “What a privilege and treat it has been to collaborate with the passionate, smart and delightful team at Premiere Stages led by Producing Artistic Director, John Wooten and Managing Director, Nick Gandiello! It’s been a most rewarding reminder that provocative, entertaining and inspiring art is all around us and it’s with deepest pride that the Masterwork Foundation team has the opportunity help bring such works to fruition.”

 

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation applauds Premiere Stage’s commitment to providing excellence in the arts with this year’s award and the following beneficiaries: 

 

Everything’s Going My Way

by Sophie Boyce

The winner of this year’s festival will receive a $10,000 award along with a full production of the play to run from July 15 through August 1, 2027.

 

Play Description:

Colin is a psychotherapist assigned to work with the volatile, complicated 17-year-old, Noah. As Noah rebels against the sessions, his mother clings to a belief that he can get better while Colin is drawn into a dangerous paternal protectiveness. Everything's Going My Way compassionately explores masculine intimacy, the ferocity of motherhood, and connection in its most fragile and complicated forms.

Red Bell

by Katherine Swan

The runner up for this year’s festival will receive a $3,000 award as well as two staged readings of the play on December 4 and 6^th, 2026. 

 

Play Description:

When ex-dancer Rina shows up at Hank's gym wanting to learn how to box, she triggers a past trauma that she has struggled to leave behind. As she hurtles towards her first fight, Rina embarks on a journey that will forever transform who she is and who she will become. Red Bell is a wise, provocative play with a startling spin on the underdog narrative.

 

Next Life

by Matthew Capodicasa

Next Life has been awarded $1,000 and a public reading at Premiere Stages with professional actors in June 2026.

 

Play Description:

In this surprisingly humorous and deeply sensitive play, Elise is facing the end of her life. That is, until an experimental drug trial puts her cancer in remission and reverses the aging process. Newly youthened, she sets out to build a new life for herself in this rapidly changing world, even as the things she knows and the people she loves begin to disappear.

 

Biting the Hand
by Deneen Reynolds Knott
Biting the Hand has been awarded $1,000 and a public reading at Premiere Stages with professional actors in June 2026.

 

Play Description:

Chanelle grew up in Ready & Rising and proved the program had the power to change lives. When a public letter throws the organization into crisis, Chanelle finds herself caught between her mentor and maintaining her values. Biting the Hand is an urgent play about the coexistence of gratitude and grievance when trying to be a force for good.

 

Todd Whitley, Executive Director of The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation, offered that,

“Theater arts matter because they possess the unique ability to build community, enlighten minds, initiate conversations, and heal spirts. We recognize the potential for all of that across these remarkable awardees. On behalf of the Board, congratulations!”

 

 

About Premiere Stages

Created in 2004, Premiere Stages is the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University. Through its unique partnership with Kean, Premiere’s play development programs, educational initiatives, and professional development opportunities actively embrace the university's academic curriculum while expanding the scope, accessibility, and prestige of the professional programming on campus. For more information, please visit us online at premierestagesatkean.com  

 

About Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation, a non-profit educational organization, promotes, presents, and supports fine and performing arts, including music, dance, theater and visual arts. The Foundation's purpose is dedicated to the advancement of cultural and educational pursuits demonstrating the high standards which have become associated with the name, "Masterwork." The Masterwork Foundation gives grants for new works, community based programming and emerging artists. For more about the Foundation, visit www.masterworkarts.org 

 

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