On February 1st I went to Casselberry Art House (127 Quail Pond Circle Casselberry, FL) to learn about the Artist in Communities Grant. Mary Giraulo outlined how to apply for a grant from United Arts. Several thousand dollars could be made available for individual artists who submitted community service projects in literature, media arts (film and digital), performing arts or visual arts in Lake, Orange, Osceola or Seminole counties. I was in the process of spending over $5,000 to frame work for a retrospective show. I hoped that a grant might help with the cost of showing my work to the community. I quickly learned that this years grants would not cover such expenses.
The Artist in Communities Grant insists that artists find a community organization like Community Centers, Social service, Main Street organizations, hospitals or schools to partner with. The grant is for a maximum of $2,500 and the grant award must be matched dollar for dollar by cash income from other sources. The artist project must be open to the public and must offer a service to the community and or involve community Collaboration..
I considered the idea of using a grant to expand the LifeSketch project I had started several years ago. That project involved going to retirement homes with an author and interviewing people to learn from their life experiences. While the interview was conducted, I would sketch. I had been working with an author but she commuted suicide. I would have to sketch and conduct an interview myself moving forward. Perhaps I should consider that option. The deadline for the grant application came and went however. I was so wrapped up in all the plans to mount the exhibition and I couldn’t find the time to fill out all the grant forms. United Arts has $25-30 thousand dollars allocated to fund 10-12 artist proposals. Perhaps I’ll apply next year.