Part of the reason I started this grant was to show others that small grants were possible. If we could build a community of people starting grants on either a local or wider level we could cause this to become a type of perpetual art movement. Everyone contributing to helping each other. We’ve seen similar ideas with larger organizations like Kickstarter, which I love, but it works differently than a grant. And unfortunately The Xeric Foundation no longer awards grants to comic book creators and instead focuses on non-profit organizations. But I wanted to have something smaller and more personal, an idea that could be artist funded rather than crowd sourced. So far the response has been good, I’ve received some great submissions and the personal letters about this grant have been encouraging. Many have written to me saying they would like to do the same thing someday.
But sometimes starting is the hardest part.
So to help others in creating their own grants I am starting the Art Exchange Program Affiliate Series.
Submit your ideas for your own small grant, $150 minimum cash prize. Your grant, promoted under the banner of the Art Exchange Program, can be whatever you’d like it to be. You supply the grant money, you judge it, you run it. I will also donate what I can to the printing and assembly if your grant is print related. I will also operate and update the website and help you out however I can, including assistance with promotional flyers, business cards, and posters.
Independent music grants, zines grants, poetry, novels, movies and short videos, arts and crafts, sculpture, performance art, painting… any art related field that you are interested in and want to encouraging the growth of on an independent scale. It’s up to you, it’s your grant.
This is the first time I’ve tried something like this and I’m not sure how it will work, so lets give it a try and work out the bugs together.
artexchangeprogram.wordpress.com 