Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Am I Qualified to Apply for a Grant?

"Am I Qualified to Apply for a Grant?"

It's a question I hear a lot and it is a great question to ask yourself before you invest the time in filling out an application.


The first step is to actually read the guidelines for the grant, fellowship or residency you're interested in. Some have age or geography restrictions. Others are looking for specific types of artists or artwork. Once you have determined that you meet the qualifications you can move forward.

Just because you haven't had a ton of exhibitions or reviews doesn't mean you can't apply. Speaking from my own experience I know for a fact that you don't have to be an art star to get a great fellowship or grant. In fact many institutions are looking for artists who they haven't seen before or who haven't received a grant or residency yet. Never count yourself out because if you don't apply you definitely won't get it.

In my role as a reviewer and juror for fellowships and contests I can tell you that there are a lot of people with terrible, awful work out there who do apply. And I know there are lots of people out there who don't apply who have great work. My advice if you have any doubt about whether you should apply for a particular grant or fellowship is to look up the past winners and/or jurors for that award and ask their advice. Most are usually happy to give it and can provide you with some real insight into what you should do to improve your application.

Most of all just throw your hat in the ring. Do the best job possible on your application but always apply because you just never know!

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