Artists of all ages who work in various mediums have multiple grant opportunities.
The term "starving artist" was coined in an earlier age when artists weren't valued for their work. Today, the National Endowments for the Arts provides grants to organizations and individuals in a variety of art disciplines. These grants include National Heritage Fellowships in the folk and traditional arts, the NEA Opera Honors program, NEA Jazz Master Fellowships and literature fellowships. Other national foundations provide grants to artists as well.
The Adolph and Esther Gottleib Foundation
Offering individual grants to artists in need since 1976, the Adolph and Esther Gottleib foundation provides emergency and individual support grants. Artists must work with painting or sculpture and possess a body of work that goes back 20 years. The deadline for the individual support grant is December 15 of each year, and up to 12 artists receive grant awards in undisclosed amounts to help support the artist in his work. Artists must show a financial need, provide detailed financial information and submit applications in writing. Award recipients include artists committed to their work, who may hold other jobs because of the lack of commercial success. For the emergency support grant, which can be used for most any emergency financial need, there is no deadline. The Adolph and Esther Gottleib Foundation only provide grants to individuals. Award amounts and the number of grants provided each year are decided on a case-by-case basis by the foundation's board of directors, according to the website.
Black Rock Arts Foundation Grants
The Black Rock Arts Foundation funds community-driven works of art accessible to the public that prompt viewers to engage with the art. Experiential art meant to be heard, experienced and touched as well as viewed receives prioritized funding. The Black Rock Arts foundation previously funded work such as the publicly engaging art provided at the annual Burning Man event. Applications for the grant cycle occur in the fall of each year and are available on the foundation's website. For 2011, grants were made to 12 artists in amounts ranging from $2,000 to $6,000 for interactive public art. Criteria for submission includes public art that physically engages the user and encourages him to reflect on the larger community as a whole.
Kickstarter
An innovative funding platform that supports creative projects through the Kickstarter website, individuals pledge dollars to fund projects ideas by artists in the realms of publishing, food, design, technology, art, music and film. Artists submit videos describing their projects for the website's visitors to vote on through the act of a donation. Kickstarter itself does not lend or invest in an artist's work, as donations come from visitors to the website who wish to fund the individual project. Creators keep 100 percent control and ownership of their work. To encourage donations, artists offer experiences and products unique to each product. For instance, one artist, in putting together a multiple book project, offered donors at different donation levels individual gifts that included a thumb drive containing some or all of the books and a special mention in the book's foreword. Donation levels determined the type and amount of the gift received for donating. For an artist to receive the funding, a project must meet a minimum of 100 percent of the funding goal. Projects funded included amounts from $297 to upward of $10,000.
Joy of Giving Something Artist Award
At the end of each year, photographers who collaborated with Joy of Giving Something Inc. and the Forward Thinking Museum are eligible for an annual $15,000 award, including those photographers from around the world, age 18 and older who exemplify "forward thinking." The Joy of Giving Something Inc. also provides a virtual exhibition of the artist's works at their Forward Thinking Museum. Artists considered for the award are selected from a pool of photographers who have participated in the previous year's programs. JGS does not allow an application for the annual award, however; photographers must enter one of the four quarterly photo contests for consideration of the annual award. Contest entry requirements include three photos and an 800-word statement from the artist uploaded at the site.
