FINE ART AWARDS/GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS/ETC.
Please let us know if you spot any errors/broken links/or opportunities we should add—thank you!
The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes
Region: New York State
$100,000+ for all grants
Annually, The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes distributes funds from New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes to local and statewide artists and organizations in New York for community-focused arts and cultural activities, professional development opportunities, and project completion support. The ARTS Council administers grants to primarily Chemung, Steuben, Schuyler, and Tioga counties. Visit the NYSCA Decentralization site list to see which arts organization administers grants in your county.
Artslink
Region: Worldwide
$2,500 to $10,000
Artslink is now entering its 28th cycle of exchanges, though the organization has been around for more than 50 years. Artslink promotes international citizen diplomacy through innovative arts projects. Grantees work on proposed projects that build relationships, share ideas, and explore cultures. Want to take on an art project while building relationships between international communities and seeing the world? See if you qualify below, and then give it a shot!
Art Works
Region: United States
Matching grants from $10,000 to $100,000.
A minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount is required.The mission is to support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts.
Asian Cultural Council
Region: United States and Asia
Up to $10,000
The Asian Cultural Council is by far one of the most dedicated organizations giving to Asian artists who are looking for funding an opportunity to conduct research, study, receive special training, and pursue art in non-commercial settings, either in the United States or countries in Asia. The council gives money for anyone in the fields of Archaeology, Art History, Crafts, Dance, New Media, Painting/Sculpture/Installation, and more.
Awesome Foundation
Region: Worldwide, various local chapters
$1,000
A micro-granting organization, funding “awesome” ideas, The Awesome Foundation sets up local chapters around the world to provide rolling grants of $1000 to “awesome projects.” Each chapter defines what is “awesome” for their local community, but most include arts initiative and public or social practice arts projects. There are also a few worldwide grant chapters that give a pretty succinct summary: “We give no-strings-attached weekly grants to awesome initiatives which solve a problem, cultivate community, and spread joy.”
The Betty Bowen Award
Region: Washington, Oregon, or Idaho
$15,000
Administered by the Seattle Art Museum, the annual Betty Bowen Award honors a Northwest artist for their original, exceptional, and compelling work. The winner is awarded an unrestricted cash prize of $15,000, and a selection of his or her works is shown at the Seattle Art Museum in the fall of 2017. In addition, up to two Special Recognition Awards in the amount of $2,500 are often granted at the discretion of the Betty Bowen Committee.
National Endowment for the Arts: Challenge America
Region: United States
Matching grants for $10,000
A minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount is required. The mission is to support projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations.
College Art Association
Region: United States
Up to $10,000
One award will be presented to a practitioner—an artist, designer, and/or craftsperson—and one award will be presented to an art, architecture, and/or design historian, curator, or critic. Fellows also receive a free, one-year CAA membership and complimentary registration to the Annual Conference. Honorable mentions, given at the discretion of the jury, also earn a free one-year CAA membership and complimentary conference registration.
Creative Capital
Region: United States
Up to $25,000
Creative Capital invests in artists that shape the future. They were founded by the Andy Warhol Foundation after the NEA decided not to fund individual artists. Creative Capital is committed to funding artist projects that are catalysts for change, and is the only national grant-making organization with an open application process that has such a wide variety of grantees from different areas. The program is multi-year and also provides advisory support designed to see proposals through to their end successfully. The grant cycle is every three years, rotating the fields it funds annually.
Elizabeth Green Shields
Region: Worldwide
Variable
Always accepting applicants in the early stages of their career.
Varies, but generally includes round trip ticket to the host country and funding to cover room, board, and cost of living for the duration of the project as well as health benefits. Depending on the scope of the application, tuition and educational courses may be available.
Perhaps the most established and well-recognized of the grants, the Fulbright Program has been sending students, academics, and professional across the world to conduct research, study, teach, and act as ambassadors to the US since 1945. A rigorous process of securing recommendations, outlining a proposal, and finding a host sponsor, it’s best to get started on this application early. But with approximately 8,000 grants annually awarded, it’s worth the time to see if you can’t be one of the artists who embark on international adventure while doing some good.
The Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant
Region: Worldwide
$25,000
For painters, sculptors, and printmakers who have been creating mature art for at least 20 years and who are in current financial need. Grants are available through an open application process, and they have been distributed to artists worldwide.
Guggenheim Foundation
Region: United States, Canada, Latin America, Caribbean
Varies, last year’s average was $50,000
The Guggenheim Foundation, founded by Senator Simon Guggenheim in memory of his son, John, who died as a teenager, awards fellowships to artists and intellectuals who have “demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.” Out of the 3,500 to 4,000 applications they receive per year, the foundation doles out approximately 220 fellowships.
Harpo Foundation
Region: United States
Up to $10,000
Funding decisions are made by the Board of Directors, following review of applications by independent professional advisors. Awards are made of up to $10,000. The number of awards is determined each year by the annual granting budget. Grants are made to support the development of artists’ work and a grantee may use their award to support any activity towards that purpose.
Applications are evaluated on the basis of the quality of the artist’s work, the potential to expand aesthetic inquiry, and its relationship to the foundation’s priority to provide support to visual artists who are under-recognized by the field.
Mid Atlantic Arts
Region: Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and U.S. Virgin Islands
Creative Fellowships
Through ongoing partnerships with the Millay Colony for the Arts (Millay) and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) annually supplements the cost of residencies for a limited number of artists residing in our nine state and jurisdictional region. The Creative Fellowships are sponsored residencies.
National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures
Region: United States
Scholarships and Grants, Varies
Emerging to established Latino artists.
Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
Region: United States
We support Native artists in the United States with innovative and multifaceted approaches to literature, dance, visual arts, film, storytelling, music, and traditional arts.
The Parent Grant at the Women’s Studio Workshop
Region: Worldwide
$1450 childcare stipend, up to $250 for travel costs, free onsite housing, and 24/7 studio access
The Parent Grant—made possible by new support from the Sustainable Arts Foundation—is a four-week residency for an artist with a dependent child(ren) under the age of 15. Artists may choose to work in any of our studio disciplines: intaglio, letterpress, papermaking, screenprinting, photography, or ceramics.
PKF Grant
Region: Worldwide
$5,000 to $30,000
Established as part of Lee Krasner’s legacy, the Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant was set up to support and strengthen the creative lives of artists. Since its start in 1985, the foundation has granted over 65 million dollars in award money to artists in over 77 countries. A competitive grant for artists with extensive exhibition records, this grant has a long list of impressive alumni.
The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
Region: New York City
$2,500 to $50,000
The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation was founded in 1995, and is primarily committed to providing grants and programmatic support for:
Access to art for a broad audience
Art in the service of social justice
Art in the service of social change and discourse
Under-recognized artistic practice
The Foundation supports arts and cultural organizations through grants to catalyze collective action, promote equality, contribute to advocacy and policy change and develop capacity for greater civic engagement. The Foundation is also interested in supporting organizations outside of the arts whose programs seek to engage communities through cultural activities.
USArtists International
Region: United States
USAI provides grants of up to $15,000 towards the support of artist fees, travel, accommodations, per diem, shipping, and visa preparation.
USArtists International supports performances by American artists at important cultural festivals and arts marketplaces around the globe. Committed to the presence of US-based artists on world stages, USArtists International provides grants to ensembles and individual performers in dance, music, and theater invited to perform at significant international festivals.
Vermont Arts Council
Region: Vermont
Amount Varies
The Vermont Arts Council supports the work of artists through professional development, funding, and other resources. The Artist Development Grants support artists at all stages of their careers by providing matching funds for activities that serve to enhance an artist’s career through arts skills training and business development.
Women’s Studio Workshop: Artist’s Book Grant
Region: Worldwide
The grant includes a stipend of $350/week, up to $750 for materials, up to $250 for travel within the Continental US, free onsite housing, and 24/7 studio access. WSW can provide technical advice; training on new equipment, techniques, and materials; and production assistance.
The Artist’s Book Grant is a six- to eight-week residency for artists to produce a limited edition book work. Working intensively in our studios, artists print and bind their own books, and are encouraged to create an edition size no larger than 100 and no smaller than 50.