Deadline: 13-Jan-25
The Center for Craft is reactivating the Craft Futures Fund program to support and care for the artists and community of Western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
WNC Recovery is designed to assist regional craft artists and organizations in stabilizing and re-establishing new operating norms by investing in the critical community function of craft.
4 regional craft artists in the Cohort will also receive 6 months of free studio space in the Center’s Ideation Lab. Artists who lost their studio space during Helene will be given priority for the residency.
Goals
- Recovery: Help regional craft artists stabilize and rebuild their practice
- Community Vitality: Invest in the critical community function of craft; support craft artists as they enrich the health, well-being, and resilience of the communities where they live and work
- Peer-to-Peer: develop and strengthen networks of regional craft artists through peer-to-peer learning and mutual aid
Funding Phases
- Funding will be distributed in two phases:
- Phase 1: WNC Emergency Relief
- Phase 2: WNC Recovery
Funding Information
- WNC Recovery – $5,000 or $10,000 unrestricted grants to regional craft organizations impacted by Helene.
- WNC Craft Futures Cohort – approx. 35 regional craft artists will receive a $10,000 grant, participate in a group exhibition at the Center for Craft, and join a 6-month cohort experience that supports rebuilding their artistic practice and extends mutual aid through a peer-to-peer network.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be:
- 21 years of age or older ○ Eligible to receive taxable income in the U.S.
- Residing in Western North Carolina for at least a year before Helene and for the duration of the Grant Period (counties include Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Qualla Boundary, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yancey).
- Able to provide evidence of a continued studio practice for a minimum of three years
- Experienced at least one of the following due to Hurricane Helene:
- Displacement from your home
- Physical damage or loss to your home or studio
- Physical damage or loss to equipment, tools, inventory, or materials required for your artistic practice
- Studio Interruptions (e.g. temporary closure or limited access to your studio due to compromised access, lack of utilities, etc.)
- Loss of revenue
- Audience or market disruptions
- Other unexpected impacts directly resulting from Hurricane Helene.
- Applicants cannot be:
- Collectives, groups, partnerships
- A current employee, consultant, board member, or major funder of the Center for Craft, or an immediate family member of such a person.
Evaluation Criteria
- Panelists free of any conflict of interest will evaluate the applications based on the following criteria:
- Craft – Demonstrates an understanding of and continued investment in a craft-based studio practice
- Community – Interest in participating actively in the peer-to-peer cohort; a desire to build relationships, collaborate, share, and receive experiences, tools, knowledge, and best practices with others.
- Need – Desire and readiness to take advantage of the time, space, and resources to stabilize and rebuild their practice post-Helene
- Artistic Merit – Work samples demonstrate strong artistic innovation and make signicant contributions to their cultural ecosystem
Application Requirements
- Media and Uploads:
- A CV of relevant experience (no more than 4 pages).
- Please provide a portfolio of 10 images of your most current work (created within the previous 5 years). Please include title, date, medium, size, and a short explanation for each.
- Allowed Media Types:
- Images (up to 5MB each)
- Video (up to 250MB each)
- Audio (up to 30MB each)
- PDFs (up to 10MB each)
- 3D Models via Sketchfab
- External media from YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud
- You have the option of uploading any combination of images or video links (from hosting sites such as Vimeo, Flickr, or YouTube.) Only the rst 2 minutes of each video sample will be shown during the review process, so please edit your materials accordingly. Images should be in a JPEG format no larger than 1600 pixels or only size @72 dpi. Name each jpeg le with “LastNameImageTitleNumber.jpg” Each uploaded image or video link must be accompanied by a corresponding image description (up to 50 words). Please include title, date, medium, size, and a short description of each uploaded image or media file.
For more information, visit Center for Craft.
