The Idea Fund, a re-granting program administered by DiverseWorks in partnership with Aurora Picture Show and Project Row Houses and funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, is pleased to announce the sixteenth round of funding for artist-centered projects.

The Idea Fund will provide 12 grants of $5,000 each to individual artists or collectives in the Greater Houston Area. The grants will support innovative, experimental, public-facing visual art projects that expand our understanding of how art exists in the world, address community needs, or exemplify new ways of working in, for, and with community. The application portal is now open and the submission deadline is Monday, November 7, 2022, at 11:59 pm (CST)

                                           APPLICATION DETAILS & QUESTIONS

Grant Amount: $5,000
Geographic Eligibility:
The lead artist must reside in one of the following counties: Harris, Galveston, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Waller, Chambers, Liberty, Austin, or Montgomery.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO APPLY AT ONE OF OUR INFO SESSIONS:
Wednesday, September 7, 6:30 PM, Via Zoom - Registration Required

Friday, October 14, 12:00 PM, Via Zoom - Registration Required

Tuesday, November 1, 10:00 AM, Via Zoom - Registration Required

WHO CAN APPLY?
The Idea Fund supports individual artists, artist-curators, collectives, or collaboratives with an emphasis on new projects developed by Black, Indigenous, and POC lead organizers. If applying as a group, the collective or collaborative can be long-standing or created specifically for the project. The lead artist must reside in one of the following counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, or Waller.
Individuals and collectives are eligible to apply. Applicants are invited to attend one of three online Info Sessions to learn more about the application process and how The Idea Fund will support Greater Houston area artists.

HOW TO APPLY?

Applications must be completed online via Submittable. 

 The online application will prompt you to provide the following: 

• Project Summary & Description  

• Resume/CV 

• Budget & Budget Description (sample budget) 

• Five Work Samples 

Work samples may be related to the proposed project or representative of previous works. The Idea Fund accepts the following work sample formats: jpegs, video links (via Vimeo), audio files, and Word documents (or PDFs). JPGs should be no larger than 1 MB. 

Applicants must state how their project is related to contemporary visual arts. If you are having trouble with the application and or need assistance on how to submit please feel free to contact: info@theideafund.org.

WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS WILL BE FUNDED?
Project activities must function primarily within, or have a strong connection to the visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, social practice, performance, film/video, photography, textiles, ceramics, cross-disciplinary, public art, new media, and digital processes etc.)
Here are some types of projects that have been awarded in the past and/or fit within our mission/vision:

• The work of an individual artist, a collective or temporary association of artists
• A project of a temporary or permanent artist-run space
• Curatorial projects that focus on unconventional artistic practice
• An exhibition that has a strong public component (i.e., projects which involve the public via process, production, or presentation)
• Publications of creative writing, including printed matter, and online publications
• A public event, performance, or intervention
• A screening, lecture, or workshop series
• Site-specific installations
• Web-based projects
• Audio, video, and photo projects
• Online/virtual engagement.
• Social practice-based projects
• Community events

Projects must adhere to Covid-19 safety precautions and restrictions to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved; this includes wearing masks, providing space for social distancing, and limiting groups to the size authorized by the Texas Department of Health and Houston’s Mayor’s Office. 

Awarded proposals will take innovative approaches to the urgent questions of our moment and create lasting impacts on its intended communities. The Idea Fund seeks to exemplify equity, display artistic originality, and propel artistic growth. 

WHO REVIEWS THE APPLICATIONS?
The Idea Fund grantees are selected by a three person jury panel. Key considerations for applications will include the: artistic and creative strength of the proposed project; overall vision of the applicant; capacity of the applicant to realize the project; accessibility of the resulting project to the public as either an in-person or online event, project, program.

For more information please visit www.theideafund.org.