This is the application form for The Kindling Fund 2021-22.
Applications are due Sunday November 7th at 11:59pm via Submittable.com
See the digital version of our Five Year Publication here for more information about past grantees - eligibility information and FAQ can be found at the back of the publication. Please email director@space538.org with any eligibility questions.
If you have never applied before, need support with grant proposals, or want to hear about the changing eligibility requirements for this year's Kindling Fund, we strongly recommend you consider joining us at one of our virtual information sessions:
Virtual Information Session 1: Sunday, Oct 24th, 7:00pm, Zoom
Virtual Information Session 2: Tuesday, November 2nd, 5:30pm, Zoom
Virtual Peer Review: Saturday, Nov 6th at 12:00pm, Zoom
For 2021, SPACE is offering $5000 flat program support grants to Maine-based artist collectives, exhibition/curatorial platforms, web projects, art writing/publishing, or project based initiatives that support multiple visual artists through the pandemic.
The Kindling Fund supports artist-organized projects that engage audiences and incorporate the visual arts in inventive and meaningful ways. With a focus on risk and experimentation, successful projects value unconventional engagement, critical dialogue, collaboration, and create new models for presenting artists’ work. The Kindling Fund is administered by SPACE as part of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts’ Regional Regranting Program. Funds support a variety of publicly accessible projects with a strong interest in alternative spaces, pioneering practices, and site-specific presentations that do not fit in established institutions or conventional venues.
To accommodate the needs of sustaining work during the pandemic, applicants for 2021 will not be asked to present a new project but instead tell us about the work they have been doing to create equitable and engaging opportunities for visual artists in Maine. SPACE established the granting program in 2014, responding to the needs of individual artists across the state and Maine’s arts community at large. These are grants made to individual artists and arts organizers, commercially-focused projects and nonprofit organizations are not eligible.
The 2021 jury will be charged with assessing applicants under the following criteria:
1- Artistic excellence and experimentation.
2- Financial need for program support during the pandemic, or the capacity to support artistic opportunity for multiple working artists in the state of Maine in the year ahead.
3- Ensuring our final grantees reflect SPACE’s commitment to statewide geographic equity, accessibility to the arts in communities across the state, and a diversity of artistic perspectives.
Please note that the Kindling Fund grantees must have some element of the visual arts in their work as part of the eligibility requirements; we celebrate and welcome interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary art practices.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
EACH APPLICATION SHOULD INCLUDE:
- Brief summary of your work (100 words)
- Full narrative overview of your programming in the pandemic and in the year ahead (500 words)
- A timeline of activities for the year ahead
- Explanation of how your platform will be made accessible to the public and outline of engagement strategies
- A statement about how your work reflects statewide geographic equity, accessibility to the arts in communities across the state, and a diversity of artistic perspectives.
- Financial statement of need or budget for artist payments
- Bio and CV for artist(s) involved
- Work Samples
FAQ
Who can apply?
- Artists living in Maine (Please note: the 2021-22 grant cycle is not for individual artists, but for groups, networks, collectives, or platforms that support multiple artists).
- Curators living in Maine
- Collectives living in Maine
- Writers writing about the visual arts in Maine
- Collaboratives or partnerships in Maine
- Artist-run spaces located in Maine that are not 501c-3 non-profit organizations
Who cannot apply?
- Students who are currently enrolled in an academic program (Please note if you are pursuing a professional degree outside of the arts for your livelihood, exceptions can be made. BFA, MFA, and undergraduate art students may be participating artists in a project or exhibition, but may not be a lead artist/organizer of the project).
- Incorporated 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizations
- Artists living outside of Maine (Please note, artists outside of Maine can be involved in your programming, but may not be a lead applicant).
- Individuals or projects that have received Kindling Fund project funding in 2020. Relief funding is not considered.
- Lead artists or projects that have received $15,000 from the Kindling Fund over the course of their lifetime
- Lead artists who have not completed a previous grant or submitted the required reports.
The Kindling Fund will not support - Private projects/platforms/collectives with no public component
- Work that is part of the primary programming of an established 501c3 non-profit arts organization or take place in established institutions
What is the time frame for successful projects?
All Kindling Fund projects must be completed by December 31, 2022.
How many grants are available?
For the 2021-22 grant cycle, there is $65,000 funds available which will be distributed to at least 12 projects with $5000 a piece. The jury may make discretionary grants for Research and Development that are less than $5000, or in the case of extraordinary merit and broadest artist impact, award a grant for $10,000.
What happens if I am awarded funding?
Grantees are held legally responsible for all activities, materials, and outcomes associated with their projects. If awarded funding, artists are expected to - Be prompt and professional in their communication with grant staff
- Work with SPACE/Kindling Fund staff to ensure the funds support artist work to the best of their ability
- Submit periodic written summaries throughout the course of the project: at the midpoint and conclusion of the grant cycle.
- Submit updates and images for promoting the Kindling Fund which will be used on website, social media, outlets
- Submit in writing to the grant staff any changes to their work over the course of the year.
- Attend orientation and awards ceremonies in December 2021. 2
- Act as a responsible representative of SPACE Gallery and the Kindling Fund when engaged in all project-related activities
- Credit the Kindling Fund on relevant organizational websites, marketing, or printed materials.
NOTIFICATION WILL TAKE PLACE IN DECEMBER 2021