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Guidelines for Artists

Artists 360 is designed to elevate and energize greater Northwest Arkansas artists by providing them with $7,500 grants to support creative projects, learning opportunities to develop entrepreneurship skills and build sustainable creative practices, and connections to a dynamic regional artist network.

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Eligibility

• Be a Practicing Artist. (For students, click on the Student Artists Guidelines tab)
  Practicing Artist is defined as follows:
  • Has an active and current artistic practice
  • Has specialized training in the field (not limited to academic training)
  • Has demonstrated success in the arts through the creation of high quality work and/or contributions to the field
  • Is recognized as a practicing artist by peers (artists working in the same discipline and by experts in the field)
• Create work in one or more of the following artistic disciplines:
  • Visual Arts (painting, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, film, screenwriting, video, media arts, photography, mixed media, wearable art)
  • Performing Arts (dance, theater, music, opera, puppetry, storytelling, playwriting, performance art)
  • Literary Arts (fiction, nonfiction, poetry)
  • Traditional Arts (work that is made based on artistic traditions shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from generation to generation through demonstration, conversation and practice – may include crafts, storytelling, dance, music, or functional art)
• Be a resident of the State of Arkansas and have established residency in one of the following counties: Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Sebastian or Washington (Artists 360 prefers applicants with at least one year of residency in the counties.)
• Retain residency within the five-county region for the duration of the grant period 
• Must complete the online application form, answer the narrative questions, and submit a resume/CV and digital work samples that support their proposed project
• Be available for an Artists 360 retreat.
• Be at least 18 years of age at time of application
• Must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or have non-resident status

Project Categories

Touring Project

Projects that involve the touring/presenting of your work within and outside of Arkansas.

Works in Progress

Projects that involve a specific phase of a work in progress that has a clear end goal. (Projects DO NOT need to have a public component.)

Creative Research and Professional Advancement

Projects that focus on professional advancement and creative research opportunities that strengthen an artist’s expertise and advances their creative practice.

Social Practice

Projects that activate Northwest Arkansas communities and address social issues, opportunities and challenges. Projects must focus on the creation and presentation of art and have a public component.

Application Requirements

Each Artists 360 application should include:

• Completed online application form including project description and budget
• Artist Resume/CV (maximum 3 pages)
• Five artwork samples (images – 1MB max. per image, audio files, film files, or URLs to audio and film files)
• Work Sample Summary (maximum 4 pages)
• Proof of residence

Review Criteria

• Artistry: Successful applicants will demonstrate artistic excellence, variously defined by the practitioners and norms in their discipline, and show a deep commitment to their work. Selected artists will be advanced in their practice (whether through higher education, apprenticeship, or studies with elders and leaders in their craft).
• Program Readiness and Collegiality: Selected artists will have the desire to advance their career and deepen their practice, as well as an interest in sharing their work and process as part of a network of artists.
• Balanced Cohort: Panelists will consider the overall balance of the group of grantees to ensure a broad representation of geography, perspectives, disciplines, and experience levels.

Guidelines for Student Artists

Artists 360 is designed to elevate and energize greater Northwest Arkansas student artists by providing them with $1,500 grants to support creative practices and career advancement, learning opportunities to develop entrepreneurship skills and build sustainable practices, and connections to a dynamic regional artist network.

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Eligibility

• Be enrolled for the current school year (part-time or full-time) in an accredited post-secondary institution located in Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Sebastian, or Washington counties
• Create work in one or more of the following artistic disciplines:
  • Visual Arts (painting, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, film, screenwriting, video, media arts, photography, mixed media, wearable art)
  • Performing Arts (dance, theater, music, opera, puppetry, storytelling, playwriting, performance art)
  • Literary Arts (fiction, nonfiction, poetry)
  • Traditional Arts (work that is made based on artistic traditions shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from generation to generation through demonstration, conversation and practice – may include crafts, storytelling, dance, music, or functional art)

  (Student artists do not have to be an arts major to be eligible for Artists 360.)

  • Must complete the online student application form, answer the narrative questions, and submit digital work samples
  • Be available for an Artists 360 retreat. 
  • Be at least 18 years of age at time of application
  • Must be a U.S. citizen, per or have non-resident status

  Application Requirements

  Each Artists 360 student application should include:

  • Completed online application form including a description of how you will use the grant funds to enhance your creative practice and/or advance your artistic career;
  • Proof of enrollment in your college or university;
  • Three artwork samples (images – 1MB max. per image, audio files, film files, or URLs to audio and film files);
  • Work Sample Summary (maximum 4 pages).

  Review Criteria

  • Artistry: Successful applicants will demonstrate artistic excellence, as defined by peers and practitioners in their discipline and show a deep commitment to their work.
  • Program Readiness and Collegiality: Selected artists will have the desire to advance their career and deepen their practice, as well as an interest in sharing their work and process as part of a network of artists.
  • Balanced Cohort: panelists will consider the overall balance of the group of grantees to ensure a broad representation of geography, perspectives, disciplines, and experience levels.

Community Activator Grants

The Artists 360 Community Activator grant is for individuals or collaborative partnerships that will fund projects created by artists that provide opportunities to other artists, to create an active community of peer support in the Northwest Arkansas region.

The Community Activator grant is designed to elevate and energize greater Northwest Arkansas artists by providing them with: 

• $15,000 grants to support collaborative projects
• learning opportunities to develop entrepreneurship skills and build sustainable creative practices
• connections to a dynamic regional artist network

These grants are designed for projects led by artists with a sustained practice who are engaged in collaborative projects that create groundbreaking work that generates dialogue and community engagement.

ELIGIBILITY

You are eligible to apply if you:

• Are an artist with an active socially-engaged creative practice.
• Are a resident in the Arkansas counties of Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Sebastian, or Washington.
• Are a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or have non-resident status.
• Are at least 18 years old at the time of application.
• Are part of an artist collaborative as long as you are the principal artist who applies for and receives the grant funds.
• Have received an Artists 360 grant in another category in previous years. 
• Can confirm that you will be available for an Artists 360 Retreat.

Artists working in and across a range of disciplines may apply. You will be asked to identify the primary discipline that applies to the project you are proposing within these categories:

• Visual Arts (painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, film, screenwriting, video, media arts, photography, mixed media, wearable art)
• Performing Arts (dance, theater, music opera, puppetry, storytelling, playwriting, performance art)
• Literary Arts (fiction, nonfiction, poetry)
• Traditional Arts (work that is made based on artistic traditions shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from generation to generation through demonstration, conversation and practice – may include crafts, storytelling, dance, music, or functional art)
• Multidisciplinary
• Humanities

You are not eligible to apply if you are:

• A nonprofit organization, K-12 school or post-secondary educational institution.*
• A full-time student.
• Not currently a resident within the six eligible counties in Arkansas. 

*If you are an artist working within a 501c3 nonprofit organization, K-12 school or post-secondary institution, proposed projects must be separate from the cope of your compensated work for that organization or educational institution.

PROJECT INFORMATION

The Artists 360 Community Activator grant category is designed for projects led by artists with a sustained practice who are engaged in collaborative projects that create groundbreaking work that generates dialogue and community engagement. A community may be defined geographically (e.g., town, neighborhood) or by relationships and characteristics (e.g., identity, heritage).

Artists 360 grants will support a new project, or a significant component and/or further development of an ongoing project.

REVIEW CRITERIA

• Artistic Excellence and Merit: Selected artists will demonstrate excellence in artistic work and process.

• Impact: Selected artists will demonstrate a need for the project and articulate its potential impact in the community.

• Coherence: Selected artists will meaningfully connect their creative choices to the social change they are making. 

• Relationships: Selected artists will be able to demonstrate relevant connections and relationships with the community and any project partners and describe how the community informs and engages with the project.

• Feasibility and Intention: Selected artists will describe a project that is realistic given the time and financial parameters for the grant. 
• Program Readiness and Collegiality: Selected artists will have the desire to share their work and advance their practice within a local network of artists.
• Balanced Cohort: Panelists will consider the overall balance of the group of grantees to ensure a broad representation of communities, issues, perspectives, and experiences. 

Creative Impact Grant

One annual grant of $25,000 will be awarded to an artist recognized both within and outside Northwest Arkansas. This grant award recognizes an exceptional artist that contributes to and nurtures the region’s cultural ecosystem. This grant is awarded by nomination only.