Art Financial Resources: some tips from a professional

There seems to be an underlying struggle among artists to find the financial means to fund their work. Some believe the only way to raise money is through traditional gallery sales, but that is not necessarily the case. In fact, producing enough sales to make any kind of profit is not necessarily a realistic expectation, at least, not at first. So it is important to find alternative means to fund your work.

The most common way is through artist grants. One misconception is that grants are for professional artists only. Luckily, that is not true, as there are a variety of different types of grants that range in target from high school students to professional artists.

The Internet is one of the best ways to search for artist grants, but asking other artists and art professionals only increases your chances of finding out about opportunities that may not be well advertised. Don’t limit yourself to local opportunities; be sure to search locally, nationally, and internationally. The potential network that outreach creates is what will allow the Phoenix art community and its artists to expand and flourish.

There are several different kinds of grants available to artists, but I’m going to focus on the two biggest local ones.

Most common are project grants designed to assist an artist or artist team to work towards the completion of a specific project. There must be an outlined budget as well as a requirement at the end of a given time period to produce a finished product. The written proposal is the key component of these grants. Usually the proposal is evaluated before any work samples are reviewed, so make sure your ideas are well thought out and articulate. Also, when developing a budget, be realistic about the costs of materials and your timeline. There are several helpful web sites that will walk you through the grant application process including, [url]www.artsresourcenetwork.org[/url].

The Phoenix Arts Commission is an incredible resource and advocate for the arts. They have several grants available, most popular being the artist project grant. The project grant is available in order to help fund specific projects and or research with budgets of up to $5000. At the end of 12 months the artists and teams are required to hand in their budget and present a sample of the completed project. The Arts Commission also offers the career advancement grant, and the professional development grant, which are both designed to financial assist artists attend workshops and seminars that will advance their careers. The web site offers all the information you will need, as well as the listing of previous grant awardees. This gives you an idea of what projects they have funded in the past, and it’s a good thing to look at for anything you are applying for.

[url]www.azarts.gov[/url]

For those who may not have a specific project in mind there are also material grants available. These are designed specifically to fund artists to continue working, based on the merit of their present work. This kind of grant gives you the freedom to use the funds for materials, workshops, travel, or anything that will help aid in the advancement of your work. The Contemporary Forum Material Grant is an excellent one available to Arizona residents. CF is part of the Phoenix Art Museum and awards $1500 to seven emerging artists every year. The application process is much simpler than other grants, in that you submit only a small work sample, resume, and artist statement.

There is also a professional artist grant which was just developed this past year, as well as the Scult Studio Art Scholarship award for ASU art students. [url]www.contemporaryforum.org[/url]
Remember when your searching for grants not to limit yourself to only local opportunities.

Some national web sites that may be of interest are [url]www.creative-capital.org[/url], [url]www.artheals.org[/url], [url]www.nyfa.org[/url].