Apply for Individual Artist Grants – Art is an outlet for expression particularly during times of emotional turmoil, hardship and stress. There’s no doubt that the world needs art more than ever and so there is no shortage of art being made physically or digitally by talented artists across the globe. Making a living as an artist is sometimes challenging. How will you complete your photography or sculpture project if you are worried about paying for the next month’s rent?
Fortunately, there are generous agencies, foundations and arts organizations that are supporting artists through art grants and fellowships for their work. If you’re looking for ways to fund your artistic passion then you can apply for tons of individual grants that are available throughout the United States of America. This guide will throw light on a list of individual grants that you can apply for to launch your art career.
Highlights of this Post
What Are The Eligibility Criteria To Apply For Individual Artist Grants?
Following is the list of general eligibility criteria that you need to fulfill to apply for individual artistic grants.
- Must fulfill the age limitation of the program
- Applicants must be citizens of the United States or lawful residents of the state or 0-1 visa holders
- Applicants must demonstrate robust financial need
- Must submit their portfolios or pictures of their work with descriptions
- Must prove they have done specialization in any medium of art
- Must submit a resume, application form, work samples and artist statements displaying your recent work
- Must make sure your proposal aligns with the objectives and goals of the program
- Few projects will require candidates to provide a detailed proposal about how their project will impact the community positively
- Must make sure you belong to the art discipline that is covered by the artist grant
- Must fulfill the criteria set by the program about the artist’s stage of career.
How To Find And Apply For Individual Artist Grants?
Following is the step-by-step process that you need to know to apply for an art grant and secure funding.
Step 1: Define Your Project
The first and foremost step is to be specific and have clear goals in your mind for instance knowing what the funding is and what the goal or purpose of your project you wish to fulfill.
This will help you to apply for an appropriate grant and make an impactful application. Also, put together your project budget to give an accurate estimate of the cost.
Step 2: Research For Funding Sources
Every funding opportunity or grant focuses on a different discipline, research area and location. You need to research thoroughly about the different opportunities and organizations available and apply for the ones that align with your needs.
Step 3: Write Your Application
While few programs require candidates to submit a general artist statement or project proposal, some require them to answer a set of prepared questions in the application form.
Demonstrate how your proposed work impacts your professional career, community or field where you’re working. Do not forget to add your experiences, accomplishments and skills to your application.
Step 4: Get The Relevant Documents
Once you have completed writing the application, supported with relevant documents and work samples including a CV and references make sure to prepare high-quality and impactful work samples that can appeal to the judges.
Step 5: Submit The Application And Follow-Up
The final step is to submit the application form and your work samples within the submission deadline so that you do not get disqualified from the grant opportunity. You can follow up with the program or organization if you’re planning to apply for assistance in the future.
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What Are The Available Individual Artist Grants?
Multidisciplinary Arts Grants
Few grants target the specific art disciplines that candidates can apply to. However, multidisciplinary arts grants do not limit applicants to one specialty. These types of grants accept applications from different artists who work in almost any medium.
Creative Capital Award
Artists who are at the top of their fields or the ones with concepts that could advance their artistic practice can receive up to $100,000 from the Creative Capital Grant.
Sustainable Arts Foundation
The objective of the Sustainable Arts Foundation is to encourage people to pursue their artistic passion with the grant award. This financial award is available to artists in different specialities including drawing, writing, photography, fiber arts, painting etc.
The foundation provides a $5000 grant to 20 artists. The foundation covers parents who have at least one child less than 18 years of age with a portfolio of their artistic work. You need to pay an application fee of $20 to apply and this fee will go to the writer and artist jurors who are also parents.
Right Of Return Fellowship
The Right Of Return Fellowship is another generous financial award that supports formerly incarcerated artists. The grant award provided by this fellowship includes a group to encourage growth and development in addition to political advocacy skills. The fellowship offers assistance in a range of $20,000 for six artists who are formerly incarcerated.
Visual Arts Grants
The following is the list of options that are limited to visual artists from digital work, painting and jewelry.
The Harpo Foundation
Over the age of 21, self-proclaimed underrated visual artists working in any medium are eligible to receive up to $10,000 from the Harpo Foundation. Funds are given to artists to help them develop their work. A beneficiary can use their money for specific projects as well as professional development.
The Art + Technology Lab Grant
The Art Plus Technology Glab grant provides support for visual artists who leverage technology to create innovative artistic work. Artists need not use advanced technology however must apply technology to secure funding.
The grant assists up to $50,000 and you can apply for the program through the portal with a bio, a detailed budget for the project proposal for the visual art project and five images displaying your recent work.
Chenven Foundation Award
Artists who specialize in fine crafts or visual arts can get assistance through the Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation.
Independent artists are eligible to apply for the grant if they have not won a grant previously and if they work with any medium except video, film, music, performance art etc. The financial award ranges up to $1500 and you have to submit images of your work and answer narrative questions.
Lillian Orlowdky and William Freed Grant
Annual awards are provided to painters over the age of 45 by the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Painters can work in any medium with few exceptions like digital collages and paintings. The grant assists $30,000 if applicants can demonstrate financial need and submit their portfolios within the deadline.
Performing Art Grants
A lot of multidisciplinary and visual art grants particularly exclude the performing artists. Following is the list of grants that particularly support dancers, musicians and many other performing artists.
South Arts Jazz Road Tours
Emerging or mid-career jazz musicians can take small tools with a grant award provided through this program. The money supports artists who perform solo or as a part of an ensemble of up to 10 musicians.
The grant assistance ranges between $5000 to $15,000. You must be 18 years or above in age, not a full-time student and be a professional jazz artist with US citizenship to receive this grant.
Jubilation Foundation Grants
Jubilation Foundation performing arts grants are provided to individual artists who belong to the music and dance industry and provide them assistance up to $5000 for two years. The goal of the foundation is to promote their well-being as well as the joyful side of human nature through dance and music.
Franklin Furnace Fund
The Franklin Furnace Fund has been helping performing artists with grants of up to $10,000 since 1985 and grant recipients have to travel to New York to present their work. Artists from anywhere can apply for assistance. The program covers emerging artists so that they can produce major performance artworks within New York.
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Grants For Jewellery Makers
Nina Berenato Making It Together Grant For Female Artists
The main mission of Nina Berenato is to support women in the jewelry industry by providing grants to female-owned American-made businesses.
The funding comes from sales of the ‘Making It Together’ necklace. For each sale of a necklace fund, $50 goes towards the fund. Female artists in the jewelry industry can receive assistance up to $5000
The Halstead Grant
The Halstead grant refers to an annual art program that is awarded to silvery jewelry artists who want to jumpstart their businesses. The winners of the grant receive monetary awards and feedback from the judges.
Nearly $7500 including $1000 in merchandise is provided to the winner while 5 semi finalists and finalists receive assistance up to $250 to $500 for promoting their artwork.
Women’s Jewelry Association Grants
The Women’s Jewelry Association Grants is an organization that provides a wide array of funding for women jewelry makers that range between $500 to $7000. The grant award help women to scale their business, purchase materials or towards their professional development.
Grants For Photographers And Emerging Artists
A lot of grants are aimed to support photographers including journalistic and artistic photography.
Emerging artist grants on the other hand are geared towards unrecognized or young artists so that they can take their career to the next level.
Burn Magazine Emerging Photographer Grant
The Emerging Photographer Grant supports photographers who belong to artistic and journalistic photography and helps them with $10,000. In addition to this grant, Burn Magazine provides a $10,000 award specifically for photographers who are below 25 years of age.
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Puffin Foundation Artist Grants
The organization Puffin Foundation aims to help emerging artists who are excluded from getting mainstream opportunities because of their gender communities or social philosophy and help them with assistance up to $2500.
Few more grants for photographers and emerging artists are as follows:
- Aaron Siskind Foundation Grants
- Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography
- The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant
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Artist Grants For Minorities
Some grants support minorities to support and encourage these underrepresented groups who do not get opportunities and privileges like others.
The Black Artist Fund
The Black Artist Foundation is a nonprofit organization that fights against systematic inequalities and funds black artists. Eligible candidates can receive assistance up to $10,000 and are nominated through the side by a third party.
Puffin Foundation Awards
The Puffin Foundation provides grants to eligible artists who cannot access mainstream grant funding due to their gender, race or social philosophies.
The awards are provided to artists in the fields of music, fine arts, theater, photography, and public interest, and those who specialize in film, video or radio. The program assists up to $2500.
JOANN Minority Creative Grants
Hispanic Creatives can apply for the JOANN Minority Creative Grants and can also become paid instructors with the Creativebug site of the company. The company promotes creativity across social media and marketing outlets and around 20 candidates receive store credit worth $5000 through this program.
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Project Development Artist Grants and Fellowship
A Blade of Grass Grant
This grant aims to support the artists who are determined to bring social changes in the world through their art. The artist will receive a $20,000 reward, along with a two-day orientation retreat in New York City to meet other artists and A Blade of Grass board members.
Few more grants are as follows:
Artist Grants For Painters and Sculptors
Even though sculpture falls under the visual art category it is a field in itself and there are a variety of funding options available to sculpture. The National Sculpture To Society provides competitions, scholarships and grants beyond those listed below.
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
This grant provides financial assistance to painters, printmakers and sculptors who are facing financial hardship, allowing them to continue their work. The foundation considers an individual’s financial need as well as the merit of their work before making a grant.
Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grants
This grant is open to painters and sculptors working in the United States and provides support to emerging, mid-career, and under-recognized artists. The grants are intended to provide financial assistance to artists to help them continue their work, and to enable them to purchase materials and equipment.
Stanley Bluefield Memorial Grant
Sculptors who specialize in sculpture and are inspired by nature can consider applying for this grant award and if approved you can receive assistance up to $5000. You need to submit 11 to 15 images of completed sculptures and be a citizen of the United States with the school security number.
Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant
The Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant provides this grant award to artists who specialize in animal sculptures and can get assistance up to $5000. You must show 7 to 15 images of your sculpture and prove your citizenship to qualify.
Few more grants for painters and sculptors are
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Arts Education Grants
National Art Education Foundation Grants
The National Art Education Foundation supports grants in different categories ranging from art educators to professional development to supporting different art projects in classrooms.
Based on the grant that educators can use the funding for purchasing materials for their school. The grant may vary and can range from $1000 to $10500.
The Judy Chicago Art Education Award
The Judy Chicago Art Education Award supports innovative scholars, students and educators in honor of Judy Chicago and provides them assistance with up to $1500.
Applicants must craft a proposal outlining women’s historical achievements and use extensive materials that will be available through the portal of the Judy Chicago research for you need to provide a proposal on how your budget can impact the community.
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Emergency Grants For Artists
If you do not have time to go through a lengthy grant application procedure you can apply for the following emergency artists that can help you if you need urgent funding.
Adolph And Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant Program
Sculptors, painters and printmakers can receive assistance for this grant program up to $15,000 if they are facing emergency events and going through financial struggles.
The Motley Foundation provides emergency art grants to help artists overcome all types of catastrophic events like fire, medical condition or flood. You must prove that you have been working on your art for a minimum of 10 years to qualify.
Few more grants are as follows:
Grants For Female Artists
Money For Women
Money For Women or Barbara Deming Memorial Fund is a feminist granting organization with more than 40 years of presence that helps feminist women in arts to complete their ongoing projects. They help artists from visual arts and literature disciplines up to $1500.
WSW Studio Residency Grant
Women artists from the following disciplines: screen printing, papermaking, intaglio, photography, ceramics and letterpress can receive an eight-week residency along with a $350 assistance per week stipend and money for travel and material for their work through this grant.
Few more grants for female artists include the following
Other General Artist Grants and Fellowships
Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program by Harvard University
Hosted by Harvard University in Cambridge, The Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program is for renowned visual artists. Here individuals are compensated with a stipend in addition to an additional $5,000 for project costs.
Lyndon Emerging Artists Program by Contemporary Crafts
Artists working with Ceramics, wood, metal/jewelry, glass, found materials, mixed media, fibers, or a combination of these materials are the focus of this grant. Artists whose work are exceptional but is not yet well-represented in conventional galleries are eligible to receive this award that includes a stipend of $1,000 and one year of marketing and promotion
The Hopper Prize
All artists, regardless of age or level of experience, are eligible to submit applications for consideration for the Hopper Prize. Disciplines that are eligible for consideration include painting, photography, sculpting, etc.
The Haven Foundation
Provided by The Haven Foundation this award works as an emergency fund to artists working in different mediums. This is eligible for the ones who have faced unforeseen circumstances or life altering trauma that have affected their ability to create art, perform and promote it.
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Conclusion
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to seeking grant applications for artists. Every grant opportunity is different with a different set of goals, eligibility criteria and areas of focus. That being said, this guide helped you to prepare for the application procedure for art grants and listed tons of grants for artists from different art disciplines. If you are looking to finance a new exciting art project then you can finance it easily by becoming eligible for the aforementioned programs.
Learn more about government assistance programs and grants at the Get Government Grants’ section today. We will provide you with suggestions about a variety of grants and programs tailored to your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any grants for individual artists?
Yes, there are individual artist’s grants for those who are struggling to get funds to complete their project. There are a lot of artists who are struggling because they are unable to pursue their career because of financial incapability.
What are project development artist grants?
Project Development Artist Grants include- A Blade of Grass Grant, Awesome Grant by The Awesome Foundation, ArtsLink International Grants by CEC Arts Link and many others.