The GRant Handout I promised to Post

Grants Handout
OAC - http://www.arts.on.ca/Page11.aspx

Canadian Arts Council
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/visualarts/

Toronto Arts Council
http://www.torontoartscouncil.org/grant-main.htm

VISUAL ARTISTS - Project Grants for Individual Artists
This program provides support to visual artists who have a professional independent art practice for the creation/production of new work or the completion of works in progress. Funds are intended to cover direct costs of creation/production, subsistence and materials. Visual Arts includes drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, printmaking, bookworks, performance art, installation and fine crafts.
The program provides two levels of support to artists at varying points in their career:
LEVEL ONE: $3,000 – for emerging artists in the early stages of their professional career, who have produced a small body of work, and achieved some local recognition and/or have limited public exhibition experience. Generally, they have had between 2 and 7 years of professional arts practice.
LEVEL TWO: $5,000 or $8,000 – for mid-career and established artists. Artists in this level may choose which amount is most appropriate for their needs.
Mid-career artists are past the early stages of their careers, have produced a reasonable body of work and have received recognition outside the local community. Generally, they have had between 8 and 14 years of professional arts practice.
Established artists have produced an extensive body of work and have achieved national or international recognition. Generally, they have had at least 15 years of professional arts practice.
General eligibility requirements
Applicants must be professional artists and meet the following criteria:
• Applicants must be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents (Landed Immigrants) or have an application pending for Permanent Resident status and, if requested, be able to provide documentation to verify this.
• Applicants must have maintained a residence or artist’s studio in the City of Toronto for a minimum of one year prior to the deadline and live/work in Toronto for at least 8 months a year.
• Applicants must have completed basic training (not necessarily in a formal educational institution.)
• Applicants must have spent a minimum of one year working on and developing an independent art practice after completing full-time studies.
• Full-time undergraduate students are not eligible.
• Applicants must retain full copyright, financial and creative control.
• Applicants may receive funding through TAC’s Visual Artists or Media Artists Programs only once every two year
Example of a gallery proposal
http://proposalartiststatement.blogspot.com/

How to write an artist statement
http://www.mollygordon.com/resources/marketingresources/artstatemt/
Artists statement – what is it? What should it include?

Step one brainstorm
a. What is your favorite tool? Why?
b. What is your favorite material? Why?
c. What do you like best about what you do?
d. What do you mean when you say that a piece has turned out really well?
e. What patterns emerge in your work? Is there a pattern in the way you select materials? In the way you use color, texture or light?
f. What do you do differently from the way you were taught? Why?
g. What is your favorite color? List three qualities of the color. Consider that these qualities apply to your work.
What words best describe your work? Why?
ALWAYS BE CRITICAL!
First paragraph. Begin with a simple statement of why you do the work you do. Support that statement, telling the reader more about your goals and aspirations.
Second paragraph. Tell the reader how you make decisions in the course of your work. How and why do you select materials, techniques, themes? Keep it simple and tell the truth.
Third paragraph. Tell the reader a little more about your current work. How it is grew out of prior work or life experiences. What are you exploring, attempting, challenging by doing this work.
Revised Artist's Statement
Knitting is my key to the secret garden, my way down the rabbit hole, my looking glass.
Hand knitting started it. From the beginning the process of transforming string into cloth has struck me as magical. And, over the years, that magical process has had its way with me, leading me from hobby to art. Knitting fills me with a sense of accomplishment and integrity, and has proven a most amenable vehicle for translating inner vision to outer reality.
I knit from the inside out. Though I work quite deliberately, consciously employing both traditional and innovative techniques, my unconscious is the undisputed project manager.
The concrete, repetitive nature of this work frees my imagination and provides many opportunities for happy accident and grace to influence the finished product.
Recently I discovered some childhood drawings: simple, crayoned patchworks that resonate deeply with my fiber work. Inspired and invigorated by a renewed sense of continuity, and awed by the mystery of how creation occurs, I am now knitting richly varied fabrics exploring many patterns, textures and colors. Once knit, the fabrics are pieced to form an always new patchwork from which I make my garments and accessories.