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Grants to USA Writers for Written Works Related to Contemporary Visual Art

Arts Writers Grant


Agency
Foundation

GrantWatch ID#
150417

Funding Source
THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS
Creative Capital
Array ( )

Geographic Focus
All USA

Important Dates
Deadline: 05/17/23 11:59 PM EST Save

Grant Description
Grants to USA writers for written works related to contemporary visual art. Funding is intended for the production of short-form writing, books, and articles for both general and specialized art audiences. The program also supports art writing that experiments with literary styles and engages criticism through interdisciplinary methods. Both established and emerging writers are eligible to apply.

The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant was founded in recognition of both the financially precarious situation of arts writers and their indispensable contribution to a vital artistic culture. 

The grant aims to give writers time to write and is intended to cover costs associated with research and writing, not design and production. In addition to project expenses, the Foundation suggests you pay yourself a “writer’s fee” for the period you will be working on your project. Grant money can only be used to cover expenses incurred after you have been awarded the grant.

You may apply for a grant in one of the following project types: Article, Book, or Short-Form Writing. Below are the project type descriptions; for more information, including eligibility requirements and writing sample instructions, please view the project-specific pages.

  • Article: The Article category supports essays, magazine features, and extended exhibition reviews. Catalogue essays will be considered, except for exhibitions held at commercial galleries. Articles may be published in print or online. A confirmed publisher for a proposed article is not a prerequisite to apply. 
  • Book: The Book category supports a broad range of books on contemporary visual art, from general-audience criticism to academic scholarship. Projects on work in adjacent fields—architecture, dance, film, media, music, performance, sound, etc.—will only be considered if they directly and significantly engage the discourses and concerns of contemporary visual art. Writers working on experimental or non-traditional arts writing are also invited to apply.
  • Short-Form Writing: The Short-Form Writing category supports the ongoing practice of writers who regularly produce short texts that respond to current exhibitions, events, and issues in contemporary visual art. By “short” we mean texts in the range of 250-1,500 words. By “writers who regularly produce” we mean writers who, on average, publish at least one text per month in print or online (magazines, newspapers, blogs, or other independent publishing platforms).

By “contemporary visual art,” the Foundation means visual art made since World War II. Projects on post-WWII work in adjacent fields—architecture, dance, film, media, music, performance, sound, etc.—will only be considered if they directly and significantly engage the discourses and concerns of contemporary visual art.

Expenses related to the realization of your project may include:

  • Writer’s fee;
  • Research;
  • Travel (airfare, car rental, ground transportation, lodging, meals, per diem);
  • Living expenses including child-care;
  • Image permissions and fees; reproduction and copying costs;
  • Costs related to editing, transcription, or translation.


Recipient

Additional Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for this grant, an arts writer must be
- An individual;
- Applying for a project about contemporary visual art;
- An art historian, artist, critic, curator, journalist, or a writer in an outside field who is strongly engaged with the contemporary visual arts;
- A U.S. citizen, permanent resident of the United States, or holder of an O-1 visa (if your application advances to the final round, you will need to submit current documentation);
- At least twenty-five years old by Oct 1 in the application year;
- A published author (specific publication requirements vary depending on grant category; see the project-specific eligibility requirements).

Ineligible
An arts writer is NOT eligible for this grant if they are
- Applying on behalf of an organization;
- Applying for a project in which their primary involvement will be as an editor;
- A full-time student in a degree-granting program (with the exception of those students who are simultaneously maintaining professional careers as arts writers);
- An artist, writer, or curator writing an interpretive essay on their own practice;
- Applying for a project that is primarily fiction, poetry (including ekphrasis), or memoir;
- Applying for a project based on a PhD dissertation or MA thesis;
- Applying to conduct a Q&A interview (or series of Q&A interviews);
- Applying to assemble an archive or database;
- Applying for a project on Andy Warhol;
- Applying for a project that will be published by a commercial gallery;
- Applying for a Creative Capital Award for any project in the same grant year (including as a collaborator);
- Applying with the same project for which they have received a Creative Capital Award (including as a collaborator);
- A grantee of The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant;
- A current employee, consultant, board member, or funder of Creative Capital or the Andy Warhol Foundation, or an immediate family member of such a person.

Funds cannot be disbursed to institutions such as universities.

Pre-Application Information
Timeline:
Apr 12: Application opens
May 17: Application closes 11:59pm EST
Oct 2: Finalists notified
Nov 30: Grantees announced

Applicants may submit up to three writing samples. The total of all three writing samples combined should not exceed: Book: 15,000 words; Article: 10,000 words; Short-Form Writing: 5,000 words.

Total word count for collaborative projects should not exceed 15,000 words. If you have co-authored texts with your collaborator, please include at least one such text as a writing sample.

You may only apply with a collaborator in the Book category. Only one application per collaboration will be accepted: collaborators must select one member to be the primary applicant and contact. Collaborators must meet the requirements for age and student status. However, only the primary applicant must meet the citizenship requirement.

Guidelines: https://www.artswriters.org/application/guidelines

Project Types: https://www.artswriters.org/application/project_types

FAQs: https://www.artswriters.org/application/faqs

2023 Application Checklist: https://www.artswriters.org/application/checklist

Writing Sample Instructions: https://www.artswriters.org/application/writing_sample_instructions

About/Mission: https://www.artswriters.org/about/mission

Estimated Size of Grant
- Article grants are $15,000 each.
- Book grants are $50,000.
- Short-Form Writing grants are $30,000 each.

Term of Contract
The grant period is one year, beginning in January. Short-Form Writing applicants are expected to publish regularly during this year. For Article and Book applicants, completion dates may extend beyond the grant year, and will vary depending on the project.

Contact Information
All applications must be submitted using SlideRoom: https://artswritersgrant.slideroom.com/#/login/

For general questions about the application, and questions regarding eligibility, please email: questions@artswriters.org.

For technical questions about the SlideRoom application you can email SlideRoom directly at: support@slideroom.com.

For all other technical questions email: tech@artswriters.org.

RFP & Supporting Documents
Full Grant Text RFP

Before starting your grant application, please review the funding source's website listed below for updates / changes / addendums / conferences / LOIs.


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