Artist Grants
Artists often need money to be able to work on projects, publish books, put on shows, work on films, or even find a nice studio to make art in. However, not enough artists in St. Maarten are aware of the funding opportunities available to them.
Grants are sums of money awarded to applicants by institutions such as non-profit organizations, personal and corporate charities, museums, and universities to support their activities. For artists, this means grants can help with things like attending residencies, creating projects, renting studios, and so much more. Grants can be awarded to individuals, groups, or organizations.
According to Artist Power Center, there are four types of funding and grants.
“Competitive Grants: This type of grant is based on merit and is usually awarded by a jury or voting process.
Formula Grants: This type of grant is non-competitive and uses a predetermined criteria to award recipients.
Renewal Grants: Renewal grants are awarded with the understanding that they can be renewed based on project expansion, artist’s needs, etc.
Pass-Through Grants: The federal government earmarks funds for states and local governments to award recipients based on their proposal relevancy and geographical location.”
When applying for a grant, it’s important to consider which grant will fit you best as an artist, and what you’re looking for within a grant. Grants can be project-based, identity driven, collaborative and educational, and be helpful in cases of emergencies.
“Project-Based Grants: Project-based grants are usually government-sponsored or organizational funding for arts programming, public works, and exhibitions. Whether it’s for a mural, a performance art piece, or an educational event, project-based grants can be awarded to a single artist or a group of artists. In addition, project-based grants may require artists who haven’t worked together before to collaborate with one another.
Identity-Driven Grants: Many grants that support funding for artists looking to create art about and around identity. These types of grants usually require a strong artist statement and portfolio.
Collaborative & Educational Grants: Grants that require artists to work alongside teams are popular because they can have bigger, more flexible budgets. Oftentimes, they involve an artist-in-residency program, group exhibition, or a programming event.
Emergency Grants: When people hear “emergency grants”, they often think of loans for small businesses. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, government and private organizations have begun to recognize the emergency funding needs of artists. There are now many pandemic (and non-pandemic) grants that offer artists the opportunities to access stop-gap funding for projects, housing, and more.”
There are a number of organizations that offer grants to artists of the Caribbean, these include Mondriaan Fonds, Fonds Voor de Podiumkunsten, Film Fonds, Cultuur Participatie, Oranje Fonds, and so much more.
