Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition

Description

In the first year of partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program, the Thrive Grants will be issued as COVID-19 economic relief grants in the form of Oklahoma Visual Artists Emergency Grants. These grants will be issued in two rounds, awarding 80 grants in the amount of $1,000 per grant ($80,000 in total). The awardees must demonstrate that they are practicing artists and attest that they have experienced financial hardship due to the current economic crisis. Awardees will be selected through a lottery system and applicants may reapply in subsequent rounds if they are not selected.

As we do not want the grant application process to be a barrier, the application is simple and only gathers data to ensure that the applicant qualifies. Artists may demonstrate they are a practicing artist by providing a current CV, website, social media profiles, or other documentation that demonstrates they have been a practicing artist in the last year. To attest that applicants have been financially impacted, they will select descriptions from Financially Inconvenienced to Severe Financial Distress and provide a short written description of how they have been impacted, not to exceed 500 words. Staff will review applications to ensure they are complete and qualify. Each application is automatically assigned a number through Submittable. We will use an online number generator to select the funded applications in a lottery system. 

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for Oklahoma Visual Artists Emergency Grant funding, you must answer “Yes” to the following:

• I am working in the visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, social practice, performance, photography, textiles, ceramics, cross-disciplinary, public art, independent curator).
• I am a self-identified artist residing in the state of Oklahoma.
• I have lived in Oklahoma for the past 12 months (beginning in September 2019 or earlier).
• I am a practicing artist able to demonstrate a sustained commitment to my practice, career, and public audience. *
• I am experiencing financial emergencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• I am 18 years of age or older.
• I can provide a W9 and Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). **

Due to funding limits and the anticipated number of applications, we ask to answer the following criteria honestly; if your work or financial well-being has not been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, please do not apply.

As this is primarily a need-based grant, all recipients will remain anonymous unless they choose to provide a statement for OVAC or The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts marketing.

*All applicants will be asked to include at least one of the following: a website, online portfolio, and/or artistically relevant social media, CV/Resume (no more than 2-pages long), artist statement, or bio as proof of recent artistic activity.

**This information will not be asked for until after the recipients are selected. 

The following is a list of eligible reasons for requesting the Oklahoma Visual Artists Emergency Grant. This includes, but is not limited to:

- Financial losses due to canceled events. Including, but not limited to:

• Exhibitions, commissions, screenings, art fairs
• Panels, speaking, teaching, and presentation opportunities

- Unrecoverable travel expenses related to creative work. This includes but is not limited to:

• Nonrefundable, prepaid transportation or lodging related to canceled conferences, convenings, or classes at which you were to present
• Artist Residencies

- Lost income for teaching artists whose classes have been canceled.

- Lost supplemental income because the industry in which you work has been shut down/limited hours and/or income due to the COVID-19 pandemic (ex. Service industry, retail, etc.)

- Loss of access to work due to childcare and school closures

Timeline

Round one (40 grants)

Application opens: October 15 

Application closes: November 17, 11:59 PM 

Recipients notified by Submittable: November 20 

W-9 and funding agreement returned to OVAC: November 23 

Funding dispersed: November 25 

Round two (40 grants)

Application opens: November 18 

Application closes: December 14, 11:59 PM 

Recipients notified by Submittable: December 19 

W-9 and funding agreement returned to OVAC: December 21 

Funding dispersed: December 23 

For more information, please visit OVAC's website here for frequently asked questions and other resources. For help from an OVAC staff member, please email any questions to grants@ovac-ok.org. 

There are 4 deadlines throughout the year. Applications are due by 11:59 pm on January 15, April 15, July 15 or October 15. 

Before submission, please review application form for eligibility. Eligible artists must be 21 years or older, non-student, Oklahoma residents.

Get additional details and see sample grant components here: https://www.ovac-ok.org/lists/Creative-Projects-Application-Example, https://06397876-69c0-4dd6-a0f7-c10a3bff9a1b.filesusr.com/ugd/8395fb_f043f549c9664e11af6904ba265c328c.pdf.

Each Creative Project Grant Application should include: 

__Filled in application form below

__Artist Resume

__Artist Statement

__10-15 Artwork samples (preferably jpegs) or URL for film/video  artwork with descriptions

__Artwork sample list 

__Sketches or concept drawing (optional)

MOMENTUM 2021: CALL FOR ARTISTS Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger are invited to submit artwork to the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s (OVAC) interactive, multi-disciplinary art event Momentum. 

March 3-27: Momentum at MAINSITE Contemporary Art Gallery in Norman, OK

April 2-23: Momentum at Living Arts in Tulsa, OK

 ELIGIBILITY

• Momentum is open to artists ages 30 and younger who live and work in Oklahoma, or who have a permanent address in Oklahoma. Performance artists, filmmakers, installation, 2D, and 3D artists are encouraged. Submissions must have been created in the last two years and may not have been exhibited in previous Momentum exhibitions. 
• Applicants must be OVAC members to apply. Membership benefits include access to OVAC's annual Resource Guide, inclusion in OVAC's online Artist Gallery, discount for Artist Survival Kit (ASK) workshops, entry fees waived for OVAC opportunities, and more. Student memberships are $25 per year and individual memberships are $45 per year. Join OVAC today.
• You may submit up to 3 works in total. (i.e. if you submit one performance art proposal, you could also submit two paintings)
• You must be able to participate in both the MAINSITE and Living Arts exhibitions.

SUBMISSION

Submissions are accepted online only at www.ovac.submittable.com. Images must be jpegs. Please label uploaded documents with last name and number corresponding to the image list. (i.e. Smith01.jpg) The image list must include the title, medium, year created, and dimensions, or include a brief description of samples for time-based artwork. Please do not include spaces or special characters in file names.   

2D or 3D Art: You may submit up to two images of each piece. Please only submit a second image if you need to show an additional view or detail. OVAC's in-person Photography Studio service is paused due to COVID-19, but you can click here for a quick guide to photographing artwork at home.

Performance Art: Submit short written proposals describing the performance, including length and preferred performance space. Include any support materials to illustrate your proposal, such as images of past performances, sketches, videos, etc. Any special equipment must be provided by the artist.

Installations: Submit short written proposals for installations. Include any support materials to illustrate your proposal, such as images of past related artworks, sketches, etc. Any special equipment must be provided by the artist.

Film/Video: Submit a URL that links directly to the video. Include a brief written summary of the video including length. Short films are preferred. Artist must provide equipment for screening all film/video works. 

TIMELINE

Jan 14, 11:59 pm: Entry deadline for juried survey show

Feb 5: Juried survey show applicants notified, selected artist list posted at MomentumOklahoma.org

Feb 22: Artwork drop off at MAINSITE in Norman

March 29: Artwork pickup at MAINSITE in Norman

March 30: Artwork drop off at Living Arts in Tulsa

April 26: Artwork pick up at Living Arts in Tulsa

AWARDS 

Cash prizes selected by the curators. Additionally, a $100 Viewer’s Choice Award is voted by the audience.
 

OTHER DETAILS
OVAC is not responsible, at any time, for the loss, damage or theft of artwork. Artists are encouraged to carry their own insurance policies. Submission of artwork constitutes an agreement on the part of the artist to the conditions set forth in this prospectus and shall further include permission to reproduce work for publication. Selected artwork must come presentation ready (i.e. framed with wire or d-rings, ready to hang). Curators reserve the right to refuse works that differ from those submitted or are deemed not presentation-ready. Artists are responsible for delivery and post-event pick up of materials.

By submitting, artists agree to pick up their work from MAINSITE and deliver it to Living Arts for the second showing. OVAC will retain a 30% commission on all works sold at the event. Late or incomplete entries will not be accepted.
 

GUEST CURATOR
Pablo Barrera is Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center’s inaugural Curatorial Fellow. He is committed to creating strategies for formal and informal art education, especially raising awareness of Indigenous visual culture. Barrera was selected among NXTHVN Art Space's first cohort and served as graduate advisor for Yale University Art Gallery’s first student-led Native American Art exhibition. He has written on the impact of colonization on global art, including a co-authored chapter on traditional Korean architecture design (Springer International) and a paper on Indigenous art produced for exchange between Colonial Spain and Japan (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution). Barrera holds MAs from Yale University (History of Art) and Harvard University (Regional Studies: East Asia), a BA from the University of Pennsylvania (History of Art, minor in Anthropology), is a 2012 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow, and a 2011 Fulbright Scholar (South Korea).
 

QUESTIONS
Questions are encouraged! Please contact Audrey Kominski, Programs and Events Coordinator (and Oklahoma artist under 30, just like you), at 405-879-2400 Ext. 2 or audrey@ovac-ok.org.