The Arts Writers Grant Program supports approximately twenty to twenty-five projects each year, in five project types: Article, Blog, Book, New and Alternative Media, and Short-Form Writing. Grant amounts range from $3,000 to $50,000, depending on the scope and complexity of the project.

Projects must be on some aspect of contemporary visual art (by which we mean 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.

Texts being submitted to academic institutions to fulfill degree requirements will not be accepted. All projects must be written in English. Projects involving collaboration between two writers or between a writer and a practitioner in another field are eligible for consideration (except in the Short-Form Writing category, which does not accept collaborations).