Announcing Artwork Archive’s Art Business Accelerator Grant

Artwork Archive | March 1, 2021

Artwork Archive’s Art Business Accelerator Grant is now accepting applications!

Artwork Archive’s Art Business Accelerator Grant provides visual artists with unrestricted funds, resources, and a curriculum to help establish, grow and manage their art careers. The grant is designed to arm artists with the necessary business skills to succeed as artists and entrepreneurs—and to make a living through their artwork.

Open to both emerging and established artists, the Art Business Accelerator grants resources to invest in your art business as well as six weeks of career-building modules that increase business skills, economic proficiency, marketing knowledge, and more.

Ten visual artists will receive an unrestricted grant of $2,500, a lifetime account to Artwork Archive, and one-on-one access to expert career guidance. However, what makes this grant unique is that all applicants will receive free educational materials to grow their art career through self-guided worksheets, guides, and webinars. 

 

Why this grant? Why right now?

While creativity is at the core of every art profession, the business side of being an artist is just as important to a successful career. Many art schools and traditional art education programs may not provide artists with the tools they need to make a living once they are out of the program. 

As an artist, you are an entrepreneur and a small business. The Art Business Accelerator Grant focuses on the business of art and provides funding, tools, and education meant to establish and grow your career as an artist. 

What’s more, COVID has had a significant impact on artists and the arts. In a recent study of over 5,000 artists conducted by Artwork Archive, over half of the artists surveyed had lost 50-100% of their expected income. The survey also revealed that financial stability is one of the biggest challenges facing artists. 

“We hope that by providing funds to artists that are working to make an impact, we can offer a small sense of stability as well as an opportunity to grow their career through educational resources and support," said Artwork Archive co-founder Justin Anthony. "The Art Business Accelerator Grant is different in that this free, self-guided curriculum will be available to all applicants to increase their understanding of art marketing, financial literacy, archiving techniques, and more.”

The Art Business Accelerator Grant hopes to bridge the gap between creative fulfillment and financial stability. By providing funding and resources during a critical time in the arts, Artwork Archive is looking to play a role in not only helping artists recover, but also fueling the creative economy as a whole.

“Artists not only have to hold the creative vision for their work, but they also have to be marketers, inventory managers, social media gurus, and sales experts—artists are entrepreneurs at heart," co-founder John Feustel continued. "However, many artists lack the arts-specific business development that they need in order to successfully grow their careers. That’s why the arts-focused business training in the Arts Accelerator Grant will not only provide cash grants, but also free tools, resources, and guidance needed to help successfully run an art studio.”

 

Who is eligible?

The Art Business Accelerator Grant is open to artists worldwide and we encourage artists that fit the criteria below to apply. If you have any questions about your eligibility, you can reach out directly to our team at [email protected].

We are looking for:

  • Visual artists 21 and older who are working intentionally to better their communities and/or address community challenges directly through their work.

  • Examples of this could include but are not limited to involvement in community projects, education, mentoring, and public art.

  • Visual artists (including painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, installation, mixed media, and site-specific works) with a strong artistic focus in their discipline. We regret that we do not accept submissions for narrative film/video, music, performance or sound art, theatre, or dance.

  • Artists that have demonstrated high artistic quality, innovation, and creativity with a track record of participation in the arts for at least two (2) years.

  • Open to professional artists worldwide.

 

Who are the Jurors?

We are honored to be working with a prestigious cohort of internationally-known artists as well as in collaboration with RedLine Contemporary Art Center to review applications and administer the grant. Please meet the jury:

Josely Carvalho is a multimedia artist, born in São Paulo, and maintains studios in Rio de Janeiro and New York. In the last four decades, her artwork embraces several mediums and seeks to highlight memory, identity, women issues, and social justice while consistently challenging the frontiers between artist and public and art and politics. Most recently, Josely Carvalho has exhibited in several museums in Brazil and is part of the Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-85 exhibition shown at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles in 2017, and the Brooklyn Museum in New York City.  She has been awarded numerous grants for her work, including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Learn more. 

Thomas Evans a.k.a. Detour is an all-around creative specializing in large-scale public art, interactive visuals, portraiture, immersive spaces, and creative directing. With his ever-evolving approach to art, Detour’s focus is on expanding customary views of creativity and challenging fine-art paradigms. He is also the author of Be the Artist, a guide that helps artists enter the art world and navigate the nuances of becoming self-sufficient. Be the Artist is designed to help up-and-coming creatives with guidelines for scenarios that range from taking on commission work and conducting negotiations to dealing with rejection and improving your organization. Learn more.

David Kassan is an internationally recognized contemporary American painter whose work aesthetically captures humanity in its true form. As an artist, Kassan acts as an empathetic intermediary between the subject he portrays and the viewer. In “Facing Survival,” Kassan recorded the testimonies and intimate histories of Holocaust survivors for several years, culminating in over a dozen portraits capturing each subject’s spirit, pain and dignity. Learn more.

Charly Palmer is a teacher, mentor and fine artist known for complex compositions and his unique technique and style. As a part of the Black Lives Matter movement, Palmer was selected to do the July 2020 cover for the acclaimed Time Magazine for the "America Must Change" issue. Palmer was chosen to work on the cover based on his 20 years of experience painting on the subject of race. Learn more.

Joan Snyder’s impact on abstract art and materialistic exploration of painting has brought her widespread critical claim and institutional recognition. She made her breakthrough in the late 1960s with ‘stroke’ paintings such as Lines and Strokes (1969) and Symphony (1970). Snyder’s contribution at this moment of cultural dissent was a rebellion against the male-dominated abstract movements of Minimalism and Colour Field painting, both of which were perpetuating strict adherence to modernist principles. Learn more.

Have questions about the application process?

Join us for an informational session on March 22 at 1:30 pm EST. 

Recordings will be available to registrants. 

Save your webinar seat

Ready to Apply?

The application portal is now live and will close on May 14 at 11:59 PM (MST). If you aren't quite ready, you can stay up to date on important deadlines and announcements, by joining our mailing list here. 

 

Want to know more about Artwork Archive? You can find out more here

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