SPACES invites Cuyahoga county artists, creators, and curators to apply to The Urgent Art Fund!
SPACES offers project-based support through The Urgent Art Fund to Cuyahoga County artists, in partnership with Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. This support may go toward production expenses and artist commissions for the creation of “urgent art” that is socially, politically, or culturally responsive.
A jury of 3 artists and arts professionals will select 12 projects to receive grants of $4,000 to be distributed throughout 2023—SPACES will provide recipients with access to our on-site artist workshop and will help in securing a public exhibition or display spaces in Cuyahoga County (outside of SPACES). Grantees will receive an artist level SPACES Membership (ArtsPass), which gives them free access to networking and artist professional development opportunities throughout the year.
Artists/collectives will have the opportunity to apply to three cycles. Each cycle, our jurors will select 4 artists to receive The Urgent Art Fund grant who will then have the remainder of 2023 from awarding to complete and display their project. Artists/collective can apply to the following cycles:
- Cycle One: Applications accepted from January 23 – March 20, 2023
- Cycle Two: Application accepted from April 3 – May 8, 2023
- Cycle Three: Application accepted from May 30 – June 20, 2023
ELIGIBILITY
The Urgent Art Fund is open to artists, curators, and other kinds of cultural producers. We accept applications from creative professionals at all stages of their careers who engage in experimental practices. The projects for which The Urgent Art Fund is distributed must be created and displayed in Cuyahoga County. Artists who have confirmed exhibitions scheduled at SPACES in the future, SPACES staff (and relatives), SPACES board members (and relatives), and SPACES contractors (and relatives), or 2022 (The Satellite Fund + Urgent Art Fund) Regranting recipients may NOT apply to The Urgent Art Fund. Artists cannot apply for The Urgent Art Fund with a project that is funded by another CAC grant or has already been funded by SPACES, however the artists themselves may be the beneficiary of a different CAC project.
Applicants must:
- Live in Cuyahoga County
- Apply with projects that are based in visual arts
- Be 18 + years of age at the time of applying
- NOT be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program during your program year
APPLICATION PROCESS
Artists are required to submit the following materials:
- Project Title
- Biography
- Project Statement
- Timeline (Download + Complete Template)
- Budget (Download + Complete Template)
- Work Samples + Descriptions
SELECTION PROCESSES
Applications for the Urgent Art Fund will be accepted on a quarterly basis until all 12 project support grants in 2023 have been awarded. Applicants who do not receive a grant in a quarter may apply at the time of another quarter. SPACES will retain a 3-person jury to review all applications, consisting of two arts professionals living and/or working in Cuyahoga County and an arts professional who lives and works outside of Cuyahoga County. (Those serving as a juror will be ineligible to apply) Jurors will independently review each application within two weeks of submission, and will score the application based on the project’s feasibility, artistic quality, ability to create an exchange of ideas and perspectives, and alignment with the purpose of The Urgent Art Fund.
Questions? Visit Urgent Art Fund FAQ
For additional questions, contact SPACES Artist Initiatives Coordinator Cierra Rembert: [email protected]