Arts Career Advancement Grants Program

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Over​​view

The Office of Arts and Culture announces the Arts Career Advancement Grants program. This grant program will help support artists and arts workers (arts professionals, working artists, teaching artists, and artist-based contract workers) who have experienced income and opportunity loss because of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis and are in the process of rebuilding their arts practice.

The grant can be used to recover income lost from arts related gigs/jobs/commissions/contracts and/or to support the applicant's arts practice and development. Here are a few examples. Grant funds are not limited to the examples listed below. ​

• Professional development opportunities: Tuition/Fees for classes/workshops on new art techniques, administrative, management, and/or marketing skills (all related to your arts practice)

• ​Art supplies, materials, and/or tools
  

• Rental of studio, performance, or vendor space

• Artist submission fees
  

• Expenses for a new exhibition or body of work

• Day-to-day expenses that directly enable you to create art
  

The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture has an equity strategy that aims to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented marginalized groups' full participation from the agency's programs and to strengthen equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts and culture sector for all Phoenix residents.

​Grant Amo​​unt

Grants are $2,500. No cash match is required.

Eligibility

• Applicant must identify as an artist or arts worker. Applicants will be asked to describe their arts form, practice, and work within the application.

• Open to individual residents who live within city of Phoenix boundaries 

• Applicant must be 18 years or older at time of application

• Applicants must only submit one application

• Applicant agrees to complete a brief final report by June 30, 2022, detailing how grant award was used to support arts practice. Final report can either be a submitted form (template provided by the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture) or a group sharing where reflections and data is collected. 

Approved applicants are required to become a City of Phoenix vendor if a grant is awarded. If you'd like to expedite the payment process, register as a City of Phoenix vendor.​

​The Arts Career Advancement Grants guidelines will be posted on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 and the application will be open from August 25, 2021 through October 6, 2021. The application can be accessed through MARGO, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture's online grants portal. 
  

Instruc​tions

Applicants can apply for the grant by either: 

1. Listing and providing documentation of lost arts-related income (between January 1 and August 21, 2021)
   AND/OR
   

2. Proposing items/opportunities that support the applicant's arts practice and development

Questions (please note, an applicant may not be required to answer all of them)

Overview 

• Applicants must register for a MARGO account to apply. Register for a MARGO account. 
• Artistic discipline or area of arts-based work 
  
• Artist bio or artist statement (100-250 words) 
  
• Link to professional arts website/social media profile or uploaded resume or CV
• Explanation abou​​​​t how the global COVID-19 pandemic disrupted your arts practice (arts-related income loss, other income loss, opportunity loss, new and unforeseen expenses, loss of studio space, etc.) (150-250 words) ​
  
• Award amount requested​​
  

​Income Loss section

Complete this section in entirety if you have documented arts-related income loss between January and August 21, 2021 ​

• Table listing income loss 
  

• Upload documentation of each cancelled event, residency, or terminated contract ​
  

Proposal section

Complete this section in entirety if you are proposing to use the grant funding to pay for expenses that support and enhance your arts practice. Proposed expenses and opportunities should be paid for between the award date and June 30, 2022.

• List specific expenditures such as professional development opportunities, supplies and materials, artist submission fees, etc. ​
  

• Explanation about how these specific resources enable you to create art, revamp, and/or grow your art form (200-300 words)
  

• Documentation/links that further explain proposed expenditures
  

Demographics

Demographic information. This information will be used for internal purposes; individuals' information will not be disaggregated.​​

Review Process

​Applications will be reviewed for eligibility and completeness then considered through the agency's dual lens of racial and geographic equity in accordance with Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture's equity strategy and commitment for the program. Following that review and consideration, and depending on the amount of submissions received, applications may be entered into a process of randomized selection.

Grant Timeline

Application open August 25, 2021 through October 6, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.

Application reviews October 7 through October 15, 2021

Award notifications October 18, 2021

Award agreements and vendor registration October 18 through November 1

Payments processed November 2 through November 12 – Expect to receive check 45 days after submission of invoice.

Receiving your award – Vendor registration

Helpful links

• Getting Started Tip Sheet

• Summary on how to register as a vendor for Individual Artists
  

Final Report

Applicant agrees to complete a brief final report by June 30, 2022, detailing how grant award was used to support arts practice. Final report can either be a submitted form (template provided by POAC) or a group sharing where reflections and data is collected. While this is not a reimbursement grant, by agreeing to the grant conditions, a grantee will keep a log of purchases with details as it relates to use of grant funds. The final report may ask the grantee to provide that information at a later date, if needed. ​​