By "contemporary visual art," we mean visual art made since World War II. Projects on post-WWII work in adjacent fields—architecture, design, film, theater/performance, sound, etc.—will only be considered if they directly and significantly engage the discourses and concerns of contemporary visual art. Projects with a pre-WWII component will only be considered if the project’s main focus is contemporary.

Guidelines

Who is eligible to apply?
We have an open-submission application process; all writers who meet the eligibility requirements of the program are free to apply.
To be eligible for this grant, an arts writer must be
  • an individual;

  • an art historian, artist, critic, curator, journalist, or practitioner in an outside field who is strongly engaged with the contemporary visual arts;

  • a U.S. citizen, permanent resident of the United States, or holder of an O-1 visa;

  • at least twenty-five years old;

  • a published author (specific publication requirements vary depending on grant category; see the “information by project type” section on the application page). Please note that work published in college newspapers and undergraduate student-run publications will not be considered toward this requirement.

An arts writer is NOT eligible for this grant if he or she is
  • applying on behalf of an organization;

  • applying for a project in which his or her primary involvement will be as an editor;

  • a full-time student in a degree-granting program (with the exception of those students who are simultaneously maintaining professional careers as arts writers);

  • an artist writing an interpretive essay on his or her own work;

  • an artist whose proposed project does NOT directly address contemporary visual art (a piece of writing by an artist does not automatically qualify as “arts writing” in this context);

  • applying to write a series of articles;

  • applying to conduct a Q&A interview (or series of Q&A interviews);

  • applying to assemble an archive or database;

  • applying for a project on Andy Warhol;

  • applying for a project that will be published by a commercial gallery;

  • a grantee of the Arts Writers Grant Program

  • a current employee, consultant, board member, or funder of Creative Capital or the Warhol Foundation, or an immediate family member of such a person.

How many awards does the Arts Writers Grant Program make and in what amounts?
The program supports approximately twenty to twenty-five projects each year. Grant amounts range from $3,000 to $50,000, depending on the scope and complexity of the project.