164. How to Secure Grants for Your Art - Martine Severin

Have you ever felt like artist grants are just mysterious pots of money reserved for a select few? It’s a feeling so many of us in the creative world know all too well. In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on the world of grant funding to show you that it’s not about luck or secret connections. 

Being awarded a grant has everything to do with understanding the system. I’ll walk you through the essentials: what grants are, where to find the right opportunities for you, and how to strategically prepare yourself for success. 

If you're ready to stop throwing applications into the void and start intentionally building a path to fund your creative practice, this conversation is your first step.

Chapters

00:00 - Welcome to the World of Artist Grants.
01:03 - What Exactly Is an Artist Grant?
02:47 - From Local Councils to "Genius" Grants: Understanding the Money
04:22 - Where to Find the Right Grants for You
05:40 - The Strategy That Works: Why Starting Local Matters.
06:37 - The Most Important Work: Figuring Out What You Truly Need.
07:50 - How to Move from a Vague Wish to a Specific Plan.
09:05 - The Power of Tracking and Timing.
09:47 - Don't Overlook This Funding Gem: Residencies.
10:20 - A Little Homework to Get You Started.

 

Check out the full Video Podcast on our YouTube Channel!

https://youtu.be/HiigpPmF7oQ

 

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Website: www.martineseverin.com

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This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin. This episode was edited by Daniel Espinosa.

 

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to This is How We Create, a show that digs deeper into the creative life ofcontemporary artists of color.
Discover what feeds their creativity and how they found or are finding their artisticvoice.
Through these intimate and candid conversations, you'll gain insights into the lives ofcreative professionals of color that are hard to find anywhere else.

(00:22):
Hey, welcome back to This is How We Create.
My name is Martine Severn, your host, and today we're going to talk about artist grants.
and how to get them.
So this is going to be a two part series on how to actually prepare for a grantapplication.
We're also gonna talk about, well, I mentioned this, how to identify it.
Today we're going to start with just the basics, ma'am.

(00:45):
What exactly is an artist grant?
We're gonna also talk about where to find them and how do you figure out which grant isactually worth your time and right for you?
I've talked to so many artists over the years who've been on This Is How We Create.
Some of them have received grants and some of them have actually received residencies.

(01:11):
There are other artists, of course, who think that grants are mysterious and possible toget pots of money that only go to artists with MFAs or gallery representation.
Now, this isn't exactly true.
But what you do need to know and what you do need to understand is how the system works.

(01:32):
And I'm here to share with you.
We'll start with the fundamental questions.
What's an artist grant?
Well, simply put, an artist grant is funding that you can use to put towards your artisticpractice or to create work.
So you get anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars to do this.

(01:53):
They're given to artists to support their
creative practice, their research, you name it, it supports it.
Unlike loans though, you don't have to pay the grants back.
And unlike commissions where a funder wants you to create a specific piece, that's not it.
That's not what's going on.

(02:13):
You're actually being given money to pursue your vision.
Now some grants are unrestricted, which means that you can do whatever you want with themoney.
However, you do need to use it to support your practice.
Other grants are very, very specific about what the money can be used for and what itcan't be used for.

(02:38):
In terms of grant amounts, the amounts vary so wildly.
You have local art
councils that might offer anywhere from $500 to $5,000 as a grant.
There are state agencies that often give either $1,000 to $2,500, and national foundationscan award $25,000 to even $100,000 or more.

(03:05):
Then there are the prestigious fellowships like the MacArthur Genius Grants, and we've hadpeople on the podcast who've won that, where they have been given
artists over $800,000 over five years to support their artistic purpose, their practice,and so on.
Now these big huge grants, they're really rare because you have to put in the work waybefore in order to qualify.

(03:31):
And with the MacArthur Fellowship, also known as the Genius Grant, you don't apply.
They just give it to you.
They choose you.
Most grants require for you to be an individual artist, though there are some for
that exists for art organizations.
Some have geographic restrictions.
You might need to live, in Kalamazoo if you apply for a grant in that city.

(03:56):
Or you might need to live in Alabama or in Michigan.
You might need to be a U.S.
citizen.
There are requirements that you need to meet.
And what's even great is that there are grants that exist for emerging artists, grantsthat exist for
mid-career artists and grants that also exist for really established artists.

(04:18):
Now where do you find those grants?
I got you.
This is where many artists get lost and overwhelmed, but I'm going to give you some of thelist, what I use specifically to start when I'm thinking about artist grants.
I want you to head over to Substack to our newsletter Creative Matters because we createda post that it's an extended

(04:41):
version of this episode where you'll be able to use the list that I created that I keepupdated.
You'll be able to access it there.
The information is in the show notes for you.
Now, before you start applying, here are some tips.
You want to start thinking about applying to grants locally before going nationally.

(05:01):
It's kind of like all of those dance shows, you know, the dance movies where they firststart locally, then they go to
regionals before going to nationals.
This is exactly the same thing that's going on here.
You want to get on every mailing list that you can find for your city's arts organization.
That's the easiest way to start.

(05:22):
You can look at your professional organization, for example, a cheat sheet forphotographers.
American Photographic Artists has a grant that they often give out.
So you can look over there as well.
The easiest grants to get are going to be the ones that are local ones because whileyou're going to be competing against a much smaller pool of artists than you are for the

(05:47):
national ones.
And these local organizations specifically want to support artists in their communities.
So it's really a win-win.
Start locally, get working, get networking.
But before you start applying and researching
opportunities, here's something else that you might consider.

(06:09):
You need to do the most important work.
That work is figuring out what you actually want.
You want to think about what works for you and not necessarily what sounds impressive, notwhat you think you should want, but what would genuinely move the needle, what would move
your practice forward to help you reach that next level.

(06:30):
Maybe you really need to dedicate time
and space to your work, to complete a body of work.
Maybe that's really what you need to do.
Maybe you want to learn a very specific technique and you need to do a lot of research.
You need to spend time learning that technique.
Maybe you're ready to produce that installation you've been sketching for, let's say, two,three, four years, however long.

(06:56):
Or maybe you need to travel somewhere for research.
You want to be specific here.
You can't start by thinking, oh, I need money for my art.
Well, that's a little too vague, my friend.
You might want to think about, well, I need $3,000 to attend a printmaking workshop inAlabama this summer, specifically Mobile, Alabama.

(07:21):
And here is what I'm going to learn, hoping to learn at that workshop.
Well, that's really much more specific.
You have the amount of money that you need.
You know what it is that you're going to learn.
You know where you're going to go and you are really intimately um aware of whateverprogram it is that you're hoping to apply for.

(07:45):
That is specific.
Once you're clear on what you want, you can start matching your needs to what is availablein terms of opportunities out there.
This is going to be the difference between strategic grant seeking and just, you know,throwing applications at the wall, hoping that at some point something is going to stick.

(08:09):
We want to move with intention, right?
So here's a list that I want you to create, specifically three lists.
What do you want to accomplish in the next year?
What are the local grant opportunities that match those goals?
And what are the regional and state opportunities that fit within your goals?

(08:31):
You see where I'm going there?
You see?
Be specific and think about what it is that you want.
We're still not going to worry about national grants yet because you want to build yourfoundation first, right?
You want to pay attention
to the timing too, because there are many, many grants out there that have annualdeadlines.

(08:52):
Those deadlines are consistent year after year after year.
Start tracking these patterns, have a Google sheet, have a calendar where you workbackwards.
So instead of scrambling at the very last minute, ah you have a timeline and you'refollowing that timeline so that you're prepared when it comes time.

(09:14):
to applying for the grant.
Don't forget about residencies.
There are residencies out there too.
Residencies don't just offer you the space to work.
What they also do is they come up with stipends too, right?
So you're working and you're getting some money.
Some of my best funded opportunities have actually been residencies and those residencieshave included time, space and money.

(09:42):
I want to give you a little bit of homework.
I want you to pick one of the resources that I mentioned and I want you to spend an hourexploring it.
So for example, I want you to spend an hour going on your local city uh arts page and seethe opportunities that are listed there.

(10:04):
ah What are the requirements look like for
uh being able to apply to that grant.
When is the deadline?
Did the deadline pass already?
Identify three opportunities in your area.
Just three opportunities.
Get familiar with their missions.
Get familiar with their deadlines.

(10:26):
Get familiar with their requirements.
And do not apply just yet.
I want you to just research.
Okay.
That's a lot of talking.
In the meantime, stay creative and I'll see you in part two, which will only be shared.
have to say part two will only be shared on Substax.
So head over there, head to Substax so that you can receive the list of grants.

(10:48):
Part two will talk about the application stage of getting the grant and what you do onceyou've been awarded the grant.
Okay.
There, I have a quick favor to ask you before you go.
If you're loving this show, would you mind taking a quick second to leave us a five-starreview on your favorite go-to podcast app?

(11:13):
Here's the thing.
Those reviews are like magic fairy dust.
They help other creatives of color discover our show and tap into their own artisticsuperpowers.
While you're at it, why not subscribe to our sub stack
newsletter Creative Matters.
Creative Matters is like a weekly dose of inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.

(11:38):
You can find the link to subscribe in the show notes.
Alright, that's all that I have for you today.
I can't wait to see you on the next episode.
Bye!