I have been writing grants for a long time. It is a skill that I have honed across several jobs and I have had a lot of success. I have been really fortunate to work for organizations with missions that mattered to me who were doing work that was interesting and exciting so it was easy to ask for money on their behalf. Supporting social studies educators? Definitely. Programming for low-income families in the art museum? For sure. Resources to support artists with disabilities? Absolutely. Funding for special education? Yes.
It is really hard to write a grant for oneself. Money to support my art? Cue the self-deprecation and digression. A few years ago I decided to take a stab at it. I wanted to make more art, I wanted to exhibit that art, and I wanted to know if anyone out there thought I should. I applied to the Greater Columbus Arts Council. They offer artist grants between $500 and $1200 typically and while that might not seem like much it is enough for most artists to make an appreciable difference in their practice and their mindset.
That is what happened to me, anyway. Suddenly I was an award winning artist. I had received a grant from a Columbus institution. I was amongst some of my established artist friends, receiving money for work that I had imagined and created with my hands and my heart. It opened the door for me to apply for exhibitions and ship my work to galleries. It gave me drive to create. I was responsible to a grantor who believed that I should be making and was willing to give me money to do so.
Since that first grant I have applied for additional ones from GCAC and other grantors. That first grant was a catalyst to do for myself what I had spent my career doing for others – making creative space. This year I received another artist grant from GCAC. I cannot thank them enough for investing in arts in our community and investing in me.
