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.
