Knight Arts Challenge winner Ranjana Warier reinterpreted Western classics through Indian dance.

We’re days away from opening applications for the 2014 Knight Arts Challenge, which funds the best ideas for the arts in South Florida. (Update: applications now open.) 

This is our seventh edition of the challenge. And over the past few years, we’ve increasingly seen great ideas, the kind of ideas you can’t wait to like, share and +1 about, coming from South Florida’s many neighborhoods. (Dance performance at the Miami Marine Stadium, anyone? How about Western fairy tales reinterpreted through Indian dance?)

So the first week of February, we’ll be traveling all around the region–from Marathon up to Fort Lauderdale—for Community Q&As to meet with everyone interested in applying.

This is your chance to find out how the challenge works, get tips on how to write about your project, talk to past winners about how they approached the application, learn about the challenge timeline and more. There will be tips for everyone—whether it’s your first time applying, or you have submitted several ideas in the past and want to get a leg up on the process.

Take a look at the schedule below. We hope you can join us. And don’t forget to submit your idea from Jan. 27 to Feb. 24 on this site, KnightArts.org.

Community Q&As:

• Monday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m.:  YoungArts, 2100 Biscayne Blvd., Jewel Box, Free parking in YoungArts garage
• Tuesday, Feb. 4, 7 p.m.: South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, Black Box Theater, 10950 SW 211th St., Miami
• Wednesday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m.: African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, 6161 NW 22nd Ave., Miami
• Thursday, Feb. 6, 7 p.m.: NSU Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University, One East Las Olas Blvd.
• Monday, Feb. 10, 1 p.m.: Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Hwy. (Mile Marker 48), Marathon
• Tuesday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m., Frost Art Museum at Florida International University, 10975 SW 17th St., Miami (free parking in the Blue Garage)

Thanks to our great co-hosts and former challenge winners:  Bas Fisher Invitational,Cannonball,Miami Light Project, Sweat Records, WPBT2,Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, ArtSouth, M Ensemble, Black Archives History and Research Foundation, Opa-locka Community Development Corp., Little Haiti Cultural Center, Miramar Cultural Trust,Broward Cultural Council,Art & Culture Center of Hollywood,Florida Keys Council of the Arts and Florida International University’s music, art, art history and creative writing departments.