• Writers wishing to apply for book projects must first submit a Letter of
  Inquiry (LOI) (see home page for more information).


• We are no longer accepting applications for article series, only for
  individual articles.


• Blog writers should apply under the blogs/new and alternative media
  category (not the short-form writing category, as in our 2007 grant cycle).

• Letter of Inquiry (LOI) open for submission
  April 3, 2008 Online (only): 10:00 a.m. EST



• Deadline for completed LOIs
  May 5, 2008 Online (only): 4:59 p.m. EST
  (transmittal times will appear on electronic applications)


• Notification of LOIs invited to submit grant applications
  Mid-July, 2008


• Grant application open for submission
  August 4, 2008 Online (only): 10:00 a.m. EST


• Deadline for completed grant applications
  September 22, 2008 Online (only): 4:59 p.m. EST
  (transmittal times will appear on electronic applications)


• Notification of applications advancing to final review
  December 1, 2008


• Announcement of grants
  Early-March 2009

The Creative Capital | Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant is a three-year pilot program designed to support writers whose work addresses contemporary visual art through project-based grants issued directly to individual authors. The first program of its type, it was founded in recognition of both the financially precarious situation of arts writers and their indispensable contribution to a vital artistic culture. The Arts Writers Grant Program issues awards for books, articles, short-form writing, and blogs/new and alternative media projects and aims to support the broad spectrum of writing on contemporary visual art, from general-audience criticism to academic scholarship.

Through all its grants, regardless of topic or category type, the Arts Writers Grant Program strives to honor and encourage writing about art:

• That is rigorous, passionate, eloquent, and precise;


• In which a keen engagement with the present is infused with an appreciation of the historical;


• That is neither afraid to take a stand, nor content to deliver authoritative pronouncements, but serves rather to pose questions and to generate new possibilities for thinking about, seeing, and making art;


• That is sensitive to both the importance and difficulty of situating aesthetic objects within their broader social and political contexts;


• That does not dilute or sidestep complex ideas but renders accessible their meaning and value;


• That creatively challenges the limits of existing conventions, without valorizing novelty as an end in itself.

The program will support approximately 15-20 projects per year.

Grant amounts will range from $3,000 - $50,000, depending on the scope and complexity of the project.

We have an open-submission application process: All writers who meet the eligibility requirements of the program are free to apply.

Ideally, applications should have a completion date of approximately six months to one year after the grant award date (longer if needed for book projects). (By completion date, we are referring to the date the text is finished &mdash not the date of publication.) Although completion dates will vary depending on the nature of the specific project, it is worth noting that various factors regarding timing may contribute to the success of an application. Projects slated for completion too soon after the announcement of awards (e.g., March 2009) do not allow for a high degree of engagement or assistance from the program, as funds cannot be retroactively applied to costs incurred prior to the receipt of a grant. Conversely, since the goal is to support the realization of new works of arts writing, projects slated for completion too far after the announcement of awards are also less appropriate for this program.

Of particular interest are articles that identify and explore pressing issues in the contemporary visual arts. Also of interest are texts that illuminate the value contemporary art holds for all viewers through its ability to complicate and enrich our understanding of our world and ourselves and to offer a space of freedom from and critical engagement with prevailing norms.