While competitive visual art grants at the national and international levels are enticing, artists who focus their grant application efforts only on the biggest prizes may be missing out on reachable opportunities in their home state.
For example, in 2017 I researched the state-level visual art grants available in Wyoming. I wrote an application for a Professional Development Grant and received the maximum grant award. The $750 grant may not have been immediately life-changing or garnered any media attention, but it allowed me to complete an important purchase– equipment for a home video studio.
Here, we share tips for applying to smaller visual art grants at the state and local levels. While it’s always good practice for artists to shoot for the stars in terms of giving larger, name-recognition visual art grants a try, artists at every career level would be wise to seek out opportunities that are limited to the smaller ponds of their state, city, or town.
