Beyond Placemaking

Creative Pinellas Beyond Placemaking Professional Artist Grant

Creative Pinellas, through our continued collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is expanding our professional artist grant program to develop arts-driven community projects.

Up to 10 grants of $10,000 each will be awarded to individual artists or collaborative artist teams.

FUNDING FOCUS

Artists will develop a project and partner with a nonprofit organization located in or serving Pinellas County that is both consistent with the funding focus of the grant and supports the organization’s mission.  Projects include a community engagement component intended to:

  • Enhance the arts & cultural offerings in Pinellas County
  • Create public projects that inspire innovative community solutions
  • Contribute to cultural economic development
  • Grow audiences and build new audiences through effective outreach & marketing
  • Build resiliency & environmental sustainability

Successful projects are transformative and collaborative, and provide tangible outcomes in the areas of health & wellbeing (including behavioral health), education, community engagement, making art more accessible, environmental activities and action, the creative economy, and placemaking.

An additional $5,000 may go to two awarded Grant Recipients who present exceptional, transformative art projects that go above and beyond and are intended to address historical or systematic inequities with an expected outcome or improvement in reaching diverse audiences with sustainable community engagement and collaborations.

These Professional Artist Grants support work in all artistic disciplines including Visual Arts, Dance, Music, Opera, Theater, Literature, Interdisciplinary or Multimedia.  

We would like artists to initiate arts projects that inspire and empower people, ideas, information exchange, organizations, and relationships – transformational projects that help change the way someone might think about a place and a community.  

Professional artists can apply for grants for specific projects or programs that may include:

  • Multi-sector collaborations
  • Performances, exhibitions, workshops, and/or creation of interactive artwork
  • Community engagement component
  • Reach communities that have had difficulty getting all of the benefits the arts have to offer due ethnicity, economics, geography, or disability
  • Measurable impact and an effective means of measuring

These transformational professional artist grants can support a work in progress or a bold new idea, that will result in measurable solutions to identified community problems.  Applications will be reviewed and grants will be awarded based on:

Artistic Merit: The clarity of the project and the quality of the project idea, the potential value the project brings to the community, to the organization and the people it serves, and to the arts.

Engagement: The specific and transformative goals, outcomes, and measurable results the project will deliver; and a clear vision of how partnering with the nonprofit organization, with community members and/or with other artists will help foster a sense of community and engagement.

Impact: Who the program will impact, how the proposed goals and outcomes will be met, and how success will be determined, measured and evaluated.

Artistic Excellence: As demonstrated by bio/resume and work samples of the applying artist and any artist-partners, effectiveness in reaching multiple and diverse audiences.

Important Dates

October 17, 2023: Application Open
December 15, 2023: Application Deadline
January 22-26, 2024: Panel Review Meeting
January 29, 2024: Award Notification
January 29, 2024: Earliest Start Date
Project Period: January 29, 2024 – December 18, 2024
Creative Pinellas Project end date: February 28, 2025

For more information, please see the complete guidelines.

Resources

Please review all resources prior to applying

Guidelines

 

Artist FAQ Organization FAQ Partner Org Letter

 

NEA Connection

 

Workshops

Informational workshops are available to help guide you through the opportunity

November 1, 6-7:30pm

Beyond Placemaking Grant Workshop #1

Virtual workshop will also focus on effective community engagement activities, how to find suitable locations and avenues for outreach and promotion.
Read More

November 15, 12-1:30pm

Beyond Placemaking Grant Workshop #2

Virtual workshop will also focus on effective community engagement activities, how to find suitable locations and avenues for outreach and promotion.
Read More

December 2, 11am-12:30pm

Beyond Placemaking Grant Workshop #3

In-person workshop will also focus on effective community engagement activities, how to find suitable locations and avenues for outreach and promotion.
Read More

How to Apply

To apply you will need:

A well thought out idea of what you would like to do for your project.  Past examples include artists who:

  • Taught visually impaired students how to create visual art and creative and published a teachers guide/curriculum based on their experience (including in braille)
  • Held journaling/creative workshops and exhibited/shared the results
  • Created an interactive-environmental project to engage people around sea level rise and climate change
  • Organized maker workshops and displayed the resulting work

A nonprofit organization who wants to partner with you.  The exact details of the partnership are up to you and the organization.  We have found that many organizations are eager to have an artist bring a project to them, because it gives the organization an opportunity to expand what they have to offer.  (If you need help finding an organization to work with, Creative Pinellas can help!)

To complete your application you will need to provide the following: 

  • Basic contact information
  • Details about your project
  • A description of your nonprofit partner* including their mission, goals and accomplishments
  • A timeline for your project
  • A project budget
  • Information about the community or individuals your project will support
  • How you will communicate about your project
  • How you will measure success 

In addition to responding to the questions, there are some documents you will need to upload with your application.  They include: 

  • Proof of Pinellas County residency
  • A resume or CV (curriculum vitae)
  • Work samples that show you at your best!  
  • Support materials
  • A form letter from your partner nonprofit organization saying they agree to partner with you on this project. (Download from creativepinellas.org)

A Creative Pinellas team member is available to meet with you to review the application requirements, answer any questions and help you find a nonprofit organization to partner with.  

You may email grants@creativepinellas.org to request more information.

The application period is now open.

Apply Now

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