Deadline: 1-Dec-21
Wagner Foundation invites Letters of Inquiry for VIA Art Fund with the aim to build a robust and inclusive national arts ecosystem by awarding unrestricted funding to small nonprofit visual arts organizations throughout the United States, with a particular focus on regional diversity.
VIA Art Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit philanthropic arts organization founded by an international coalition of individuals and private foundations who believe in the central role art plays in society.
VIA’s activities support innovative, ambitious and rigorous works of art and endeavors with far-reaching public impact realized in various forms including institutional production and acquisition, exhibitions, public installations, curatorial research, publications and symposia. Funding artists, curators and arts organizations around the world, VIA Art Fund awards grants in three categories – Artistic Production Grants, Incubator Grants and an annual Curatorial Fellowship grant – that exemplify VIA’s core values of Artistic Production, Thought Leadership, and Public Engagement.
They believe that:
- Art has the power to engage, challenge, inspire, and transform individuals.
- Local arts organizations play a critical role in creating inclusive and supportive communities, and expanding access to creativity and well-being through engagement with the arts.
- A geographically diverse and programmatically dynamic network of small arts organizations cultivates innovative and creative artistic voices, and is vital to the overall health of arts in the United States.
- Small arts organizations face considerable challenges in attracting and sustaining both capital and human resources.
Funding Information
The VIA | Wagner Foundation Incubator Grant Fund provides two-year general operating support (that may also be directed towards a specific initiative) for small visual arts organizations across the United States. Each year, five organizations will receive a grant of $40,000, which will be disbursed in equal installments of $20,000 per year over the two years.
What they Fund
Proposals considered for the Fund include local art spaces focused on:
- production and exhibition;
- artist residency programs;
- online or print discursive platforms; and
- curatorial or artists’ initiatives.
They seek to support small visual arts organizations whose activities are rooted in programs, platforms and/or initiatives that embrace innovation, progress, and risk; who champion new, diverse and/or overlooked artistic voices; who attract and serve expanded audiences; and who cultivate new avenues of thought leadership.
Eligibility Criteria
- Incubator Grants may be awarded to U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit visual arts organizations. Organizations or artists’ initiatives that do not have 501(c)(3) status may submit an application through a fiscal sponsor.
- The fiscal sponsor must submit the grant application.
- VIA does not award grants to international entities within the Incubator Grant Fund.
- In some cases, VIA will consider grant requests for funding from start-up organizations, or artists’ initiatives at a nascent stage of development. However, the organization must demonstrate clear objectives and robust engagement with diverse constituents.
- Organizations with an annual operating budget of up to $2.2 million are eligible to apply for a grant.
- Incubator Grant Fund recipients may not apply for renewed funding at the conclusion of their grant period.
- Organizations that were invited to submit an application, but were unsuccessful in a previous cycle must wait two years before submitting another LOI.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3he79vT
