Resource Bulletin

VisArts Center invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a six month Studio Fellowship at VisArts at Rockville, MD. The Studio Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work, or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Studio space is provided free of charge. Artists receive a $500 per month stipend. The Studio Fellowship offers the gift of time and space to two artists and/or collaborative artist teams each year to experiment and realize new work. The VisArts Studio Fellows will present their work in solo exhibitions at the end of their respective fellowships.

Application Fee: $15

Deadline: April 12, 2019

For more information, click here. 

Creativity Grant Applications are now open for eligible activities occurring within Fiscal Year 2019 (March 15, 2019 - June 30, 2019). Please note: Applications for eligible activities beginning in FY20 (starting July 1, 2019) can be submitted after April 1. 

The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. Applicants may only submit one application per fiscal year (July 1 - June 30).

The Creativity Grant Program supports eligible activities of Independent Artists and Small Organizations with grants ranging from $1,000 to $3,500. There is no matching fund requirement for Creativity Grants. For more information, see Creativity Grant Eligible Activities.

Deadlines for the Creativity Grant Program are rolling. Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) will begin accepting applications on February 1, 2019 for the FY19 Application cycle and on April 1, 2019 for the FY20 Application cycle. The grant period for FY19 is February 1, 2019 - June 30, 2019. The grant period for FY20 is July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020. Funded activities must occur within the grant period and begin no more than 90 days following submission of an application. Applications will be reviewed monthly, and Creativity Grants will be awarded throughout the fiscal year until allocated funding is depleted.

Please read the guidelines thoroughly prior to completing the application to confirm eligibility and timeline. Please contact Dana Parsons at dana.parsons@maryland.gov with any questions.  

For more information, click here. 

Fledgling has an open rolling application process for grants to support outreach and engagement for social issue documentary film projects that have the potential to inspire positive social change around issues that affect the most vulnerable.

Applicants can submit online at any time and will be asked to include a description of the project, its social change goals and plans for moving the project forward. Typically, film projects have at least a rough cut. Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis and applicants will be notified of decisions within three months.

Grants typically range from $10K – $25K. Fledgling supports audience engagement planning and implementation. Support for planning is for building the strategy for outreach and engagement and can be used before a project is complete to prepare for its launch.

Grants are NOT available to support production or post-production.

Deadline: Ongoing

For more information and to Apply, click here.

Non-fiction visual stories that bring together diverse communities are more urgent now than ever, and Fledgling believes that they need to be deployed quickly, in a range of formats, to help amplify the work of individual leaders, nonprofits and movements. The people behind Fledgling know filmmakers and other media makers have creative ideas about how to do this (and sometimes have footage that can be repurposed), but often lack the financial resources to implement them quickly.

To that end, Fledgling’s Special Fund for Rapid Story Deployment provides grants ranging from $2,500-$10,000 to support short non-fiction films and/or other visual stories that can be completed and distributed quickly. Priority will be given to projects that have a plan to distribute the work in ways that deepen the debate around our most critical social issues and those that are well positioned to make an impact quickly.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and must be submitted via our online application system.

The review process will be expedited, and Fledgling will notify applicants of the proposal’s status within two weeks

Deadline: Ongoing

For more information and to Apply, click here.

The Maryland State Arts Council is seeking panelists to review grant applications for the 2020 Fiscal year.

Each year, the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) relies on a diverse array of art experts from the field to do the important work of evaluating grant applications submitted by Maryland arts organizations and arts programs. Panelists review grant applications, conduct on-site interviews, and artistic evaluations, and submit written reports on assigned applicant organizations prior to a mandatory spring Grants Review Panel Meeting.

Serving as a panelist is a great opportunity to learn about Maryland arts organizations and the granting processes of the Maryland State Arts Council. National arts organizations (National Endowment for the Arts, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, Americans for the Arts) have clarified approaches to uncover cultural bias in the procedures and policies of state arts organizations. In response, the Maryland State Arts Council has committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in grantmaking as all funding mechanisms continue to be examined and updated.

The design of the Grants for Organizations FY2020 application is meant to inspire authentic reflection and internal analysis for each applying organization, with the knowledge that the Maryland State Arts Council is to be seen and utilized as a collaborative partner in the process.

The driving goals of this new vision for the granting processes are:

• To acknowledge positions of privilege while questioning practices, shifting paradigms of status quo arts activities, and taking more risks.
• To yield a greater variety of funded projects.
• To eliminate biases that may be found in any part of the granting process (i.e. - applications, panelist procedures, adjudication systems).
• To expand the deliberations about rigor beyond current conventions or Western traditions.
• To aspire to make investments that contribute to social change and demonstrate aesthetic excellence in terms relevant to context and intent.

After applications have been reviewed, panelists are appointed by the Maryland State Arts Council for a one-year term, which may be renewed, and receive a modest honorarium and travel reimbursement for serving.

Deadline: Ongoing

For more application information, click here.