Grants of up to $5000 are available to digitize historical public records. Digital copies will be provided to the grant recipient and mounted on the Washington State Digital Archives website, thereby improving preservation and increasing public access.

The application deadline is Monday, May 16, 2011. The WSHRAB 2011 Digitization Guidebook and Application can be found at: www.sos.wa.gov/archives/wshrab.aspx.

For more information, contact Patrick Williams, Grant coordinator, (360) 586-0108, patr...@sos.wa.gov or Midori Okazaki, WSHRAB Project Coordinator, (425) 564-3947, mido...@sos.wa.gov. This grant is supported by funding provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Image: © 2006, courtesy of Kirkland Heritage Society

International Artists in Residency: Budapest 2011
Deadline: February 6, 2011

AIR/HMC, Budapest, International Artists in Residencies is now accepting entries for 2011. The jurors will select 4-10 artists for each session. Selected artists will exhibit their work, presentation, workshop, etc. Resartis will hold a meeting on May 23-26 in Debrecen, Hungary, hosted by the MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts.

Artist-in-Residence:  Cornell University
Deadline: February 11, 2011

Risley Residential College for the Creative and Performing Arts at Cornell University is seeking working professionals from all creative fields for the position of Artist-in-Residence (AIR). The appointment is for 2011-2012 Academic Year (August 8, 2011 through May 31, 2012), with the possibility of renewal for the next academic year.

Artist Fellow:  Kulture Klub Collaborative
Deadline: February 20, 2011

The Kulture Klub Collaborative Artist Fellowship is an opportunity for an emerging artist who wants to develop a practice embedded within a unique community. The fellow will work with the KKC community of young people (age 16-21) experiencing homelessness. The fellow will assist with shorter term Artist-In Residence activity and develop her/his own project over the course of six months.

PUNCH Gallery: Call for Members
Deadline: February 12, 2011

PUNCH is seeking individual artists, curators or artist teams working in any medium to fill two available membership slots. PUNCH is an artist-run gallery located in the Tashiro-Kaplan building in Seattle’s Pioneer Square area. PUNCH is looking for people committed to the making and exhibition of innovative artwork and to the creative and administrative aspects of operating a member-run alternative art venue.

Artist Trust: Fellowship
Deadline: February 25, 2011

Emerging & Cross Disciplinary, Performing, Visual and Traditional & Folk Artists in Washington State are eligible to apply for the 2011 Artist Trust Fellowships. Fellowships recognize practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and demonstrated ability, acknowledging an artist’s creative excellence and accomplishment, professional achievement and continuing dedication to their artistic discipline.

Women of Color (WOC) Anthology: “Boundaries and Borders”
Deadline: March 1, 2011

The Women of Color (WOC) Writers’ Workshop and Community is currently seeking submission for their 2011 anthology titled “Boundaries and Borders.” WOC is accepting previously unpublished flash fiction, poetry, short stories, essays, nonfiction, one act plays, and original artwork. Authors may submit up to 5 submissions along with a $10 reading fee.

Naugatuck River Review: Call for Narrative Poetry
Deadline: March 1, 2011

The Naugatuck River Review publishes narrative poetry in their twice annual journal. Authors may submit up to 3 unpublished narrative poems of up to 50 lines in length through the online submission manager. There is no reading fee. Submissions must be made electronically.

Creative Capital: Film/Video and Visual Arts
Deadline: March 1, 2011

Creative Capital provides integrated financial and advisory support to artists pursuing innovative and adventurous projects. To apply for a Creative Capital grant, an artist must first submit an online Inquiry Form regarding his or her project.

Women in Film: Professional Grant
Deadline: March 1, 2011

Women in Film Seattle, announces the 2011 Professional Grant. The grant awards one deserving woman filmmaker’s project $1,000 in cash, along with in-kind donations from the Northwest film industry (valued at over $10,000 in the last cycle), promotional support through Women In Film (WIF) and a theatrical screening of the finished piece. The grant is open to current or new professional Women in Film members in the Seattle Chapter.

The Open Society: 2011 Audience Engagement Grant
Deadline: March 11, 2011

The Open Society Documentary Photography Project invites proposals for photography-based projects that use existing bodies of work to actively engage audiences on human rights and social justice issues. Projects must include a partnership between individuals and organizations that combines expertise in documentary photography with experience working on the topic or community the project addresses. 5-8 grants of $5,000 to $30,000 will be awarded.

MOHAI: History Is ____ Film Competition
Deadline: April 1, 2011

The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is pleased to announce History Is ____ Film Competition. Participants have the chance to win $1,000 – $2,500 in cash prizes in addition to having their winning entry screened at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) and shown on KCTS 9.

DeVos Institute of Arts Management: Fellowship
Deadline: April 1, 2011

The DeVos Institute of Arts Management Fellowship provides mid-career arts managers with practical training and work experience. The Fellowship provides weekly seminars in strategic planning, marketing, development and financial management; three practical work rotations; and a series of professional development seminars. The nine-month, full-time program begins in September 2011. A stipend, health insurance reimbursement, and course materials are provided.

Dance & Performance Institute: 2011 Summer Institute
Deadline: April 15, 2011

The 2-week Summer Institute offers over 50 intensive master classes and workshops in contemporary dance, hip-hop, ballet, composition and repertory with an outstanding faculty of international dance artists. Institute programs will be held at the Academy for the Performing Arts, and dance and performances spaces throughout the Port of Spain.

© 2007, Trinidad, Simon & Vicki

Artists in Residence Program at I-Park
Deadline: January 11, 2011

The I-Park Foundation, Inc., a 450-acre natural woodland retreat in East Haddam, CT, announces its eleventh season hosting its multi-disciplinary residency program.  Self-directed artists’ residencies will be offered from May through November 2011, with possible off-season sessions in April and December.Residencies are offered to creative individuals working in the following disciplines: Visual Art, Music Composition/Sound Sculpture, Moving Image, Creative Writing and Landscape/Garden Design.

Aaron Copland Fund for Music: Contemporary American Music Recording Program
Deadline: January 15, 2010

The Aaron Copland Fund for Music seeks to encourage and improve public knowledge and appreciation of contemporary American music. The fund’s Recording Program provides grants to document and provide wider exposure for the music of contemporary American composers; develop audiences for contemporary American music through distribution of recorded performances in physical and online media; and support the production of new recordings of contemporary American music and the reissuance of significant recordings that are no longer available.

Seattle Erotic Art Festival: Call for Visual Art
Deadline: January 15, 2011

The Seattle Erotic Art Festival is now accepting visual art submissions for the ninth annual event, to be held May 20-22, 2011 at Fremont Studios. The Festival sells more art than any other erotic art festival,

and stands by its mission to support living artists with low submission fees and competitive commission rates. All exhibiting and invited artists are also featured in the popular Festival Store.All artists age 18+ are encouraged to submit up to five (5) works of erotic art of any medium. Sculptors, multimedia artists and painters are particularly encouraged to apply.

Eastside Association of Fine Arts: Call for Artists
Deadline: January 18, 2011

Calling all Abstract Artists interested in participating in the 2011 EAFA Abstract Open Show at the Seattle Design Center. The Show opens January 26 and will run through February 25. For purposes of this exhibit, we are defining abstract as either non-representational or artwork that is a literal abstraction; that is, the modifying or “abstracting” of an actual object in form, shape or color so that it becomes a part of the design rather than a literal depiction of the object itself.

SOIL: Proposals for 2011
Deadline: January 21, 2011

Soil, an artist cooperative gallery in Seattle is seeking exhibition proposals. Describe in a paragraph the themes and content of the show. It is imperative your description is clear and that it leaves us with a strong impression of what to expect from the exhibition you propose. Include project title, how many pieces in the show, media, and other important details on your plans for the exhibition. We are interested in compelling ideas, concisely stated.

Emerging Artist Fellowship at Socrates Sculpture Park
Deadline: January 24, 2011

Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City is calling for applications for its annual Emerging Artist Fellowship, a two- to six-month residency that provides artists with the space and resources necessary to create a work for public display in the Park’s annual Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition in September. The fellowship includes a $5,000 grant.

NEA Shakespeare in American Communities
Deadline: January 25, 2011

Designed to provide high-quality, professional theatre productions of Shakespeare plays and related educational activities to underserved high schools and middle schools throughout the country. Open to professional U.S.-based theatre companies with 501(c)(3) status and a minimum of three years’ experience working with schools or school districts to provide performances of Shakespeare or classically-based repertoire for middle and/or high school students. Standard grant award is $25,000; grants must be matched 1-1 with nonfederal funds.

IMLS: National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards
Deadline: January 31, 2011

Institute of Museum and Library Services invites nominations for the 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program (NAHYP), which is the Nation’s highest honor for out-of-school, afterschool, and summer arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America’s youth, particularly those from underserved communities.

The Wassaic Project Residency Program 2011
Deadline: February 1, 2011

The Wassaic Project Residency Program has been created to cultivate and support community for emerging and professional contemporary artists. Housed in a historic re-purposed livestock auction barn, the Residency Program offers nine artists the opportunity to live and work in the heart of a rural community and offers two local artists studio space. Residency Dates: April 1st – October 31st, 2011.

French-American Fund for the Performing Arts
Deadline: February 1, 2011

Etant donnés, the French-American Fund for the Performing Arts is dedicated to encouraging French-American cooperation in theater in the United States and in France. The fund was created by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and CulturesFrance, under the auspices of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Etant donnés offers financial support in the form of grants to American nonprofit institutions producing or presenting theater projects (tours, residencies, translations) either of contemporary French playwrights or with French theater professionals. American institutions must have 501(c)(3) status.

2011 National Leadership Grant Guidelines Now Available
Deadline: February 1, 2011

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting grant applications for the agency’s 2011 National Leadership Grant (NLG) program. The National Leadership Grants program provides support for innovative projects that generate transformative research, new tools, models, services, professional practice, and alliances that advance the awarded institution as well as the field.

Salon Video Prize: Call for applications
Deadline: February 5, 2011

The Salon Video Prize competition is open to Artists working in animation, documented performance, narrative, documentary or experimental film or video art. Applications are welcomed from university graduates, current students, and untrained professionals. Applications can be from anywhere in the world but work should be sent as PAL DVDs or viewable online.

Call for Proposals: Environmental Sculpture Installations in Taiwan
Deadline: February 11, 2011

Artists from all countries are invited to send a proposal for a site-specific outdoor sculpture installation that will involve working with local elementary school children to create an artwork focused on making the Cheng Long Wetlands a ‘greener’ place where biodiversity can flourish. This year the emphasis will be on sculpture installations in the waters of the wetlands that can improve the habitat for wildlife and increase biodiversity as well as provide aesthetic enjoyment and raise public awareness about the importance of wetlands.

Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: Large Projects Fund
Deadline: February 14, 2011

The Large Projects Fund provides awards up to $100,000 to support community members in building community relationships around a project. Large Projects Fund activities may be physical projects as well as less tangible but equally significant educational, cultural, and relationship-strengthening activities. All projects must demonstrate its capacity to build a stronger and healthier Seattle community.

Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs: Youth Arts
Deadline: February 15, 2011

Funds and technical assistance from this program help experienced teaching artists lead training programs and projects in all arts disciplines-from visual arts to theater to dance and film. These programs give young people a chance to shine, to express themselves and to develop positive goals for the future. Youth Arts prioritizes youth or communities with limited or no access to the arts. Funding awards range up to $10,000.

Artist Trust: Fellowship
February 25, 2011

Artists practicing in Emerging Fields & Cross Disciplinary, Performing, Visual and Traditional & Folk Arts in Washington State are eligible to apply for the Artist Trust Fellowship Program.  This program recognizes practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and demonstrated ability, acknowledging an artist’s creative excellence and accomplishment, professional achievement and continuing dedication to their artistic discipline. The award amount is $7,500.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation/TCG: Global Communications Program for Theatre
Deadline: February 28, 2011

Designed by the Theatre Communications Group and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Global Connections program will award travel grants and project development grants to U.S.-based theaters and individual artists. The program is designed to foster new relationships by way of cultural exchange and to further pre-existing international collaborations. Theater organizations and individual artists may apply to one of the two initiatives of this new program.

The Kresge Foundation: Arts and Culture Program’s Facility Investments and Building
Deadline: March 1, 2011

The Kresge Foundation’s Arts and Culture Program is inviting preliminary applications for its Facility Investments and Building Reserves grants. The opportunity is part of the program’s Institutional Capitalization focus area, which is designed to strengthen the long-term financial health of arts and cultural organizations.

© 2010, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City

PLOP!: Call for Writers
Deadline: September 6, 2010

PLOP! Literary Series is a monthly series hosting writers and musicians from across the Northwest in an intimate house setting.  Providing artists with an opportunity to challenge, shape and engage their work and the audience by thinking in new ways about space.  With support from local  small business sponsors, we provide you with only the best in performance, fresh seasonal pies, and drinks on the house.

Center for Documentary Studies/Honickman First Book Prize in Photography
Deadline: September 8, 2010

The Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University and The Honickman Foundation (THF), co-sponsor this prestigious biennial prize for American photographers. The only prize of its kind, the CDS / Honickman First Book Prize competition is open to American photographers of any age who have never published a book-length work and who use their cameras for creative exploration, whether it be of places, people, or communities; of the natural or social world; of beauty at large or the lack of it; of objective or subjective realities.

Residency: Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
Deadline: September 15, 2010

Situated among 400 acres of rolling Blue Ridge farmland, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, VA, offers two-week to two-month residencies for writers, composers, and visual artists from around the world. Residents receive meals and private studios and bedrooms. The Center asks residents to contribute to the cost of their residency if able, but financial ability does not figure into the selection process.

Arteles Residency Program, Haukijärvi, Finland
Deadline: September 17, 2010

For Winter 2010 and Spring 2011 Arteles is calling open-minded creative participants from all disciplines such as music/sound, fine art, photography, contemporary research, film/video, multidisciplinary arts, installation, painting, new media etc. Also other fields of creativity are now open such as graphic design and fashion. The selection of artists is done by the Arteles administration along with selected network members or invited creative professionals.

Writers Residency: Whidbey Island
Deadline: September 23, 2010

The Hedgebrook Writers in Residence Program on Whidbey Island, WA, is accepting applications for its 2011 residency season (February – November). Residencies range from two to six weeks and are open to women writers from around the world. Residents live in handcrafted cottages on the property’s 48 acres of forest and meadow with access to nearby Double Bluff beach, and enjoy a nightly communal dinner prepared with locally and organically grown food.

Second Use’s Salvage Art Contests
Deadline: September 25, 2010

Calling all Artists, Do-it-Yourselfers, and Crafty Creative Types for our annual Salvage Art Contests, a celebration of all that is great about salvage – the search, the inspiration, and the unexpected result.So, pull out your paintbrush or hammer and get cracking on the next great salvage masterpiece. Prizes awarded.

University of Iowa Press: The Iowa Short Fiction Award
Deadline: September 30, 2010

Any writer who has not previously published a volume of prose fiction is eligible to enter the competition. Previously entered manuscripts that have been revised may be resubmitted. Writers are still eligible if they have published a volume of poetry or any work in a language other than English or if they have self-published a work in a small print run. Writers are still eligible if they are living abroad or are non-US citizens writing in English. Current University of Iowa students are not eligible.

The American Academy in Berlin: Residency Fellowship
Deadline: October 1, 2010

The Academy welcomes emerging as well as established scholars, writers, and professionals who wish to engage in independent study in Berlin. Around two dozen Berlin Prizes are conferred annually. Past Berlin Prize recipients have included historians, economists, poets, art historians, journalists, legal scholars, anthropologists, musicologists, public policy experts, and writers, among others. The Academy does not accept project proposals in mathematics and the hard sciences.

Vermont Studio Center Residency
Deadline: October 1, 2010

The Studio Center provides 4-12 week studio residencies on an historic 30-building campus along the Gihon River in Johnson, Vermont, a village in the heart of the northern Green Mountains.VSC awards a number of Fellowships for 4-week residencies throughout the year. Open to all artists and writers. In addition to VSC Fellowships, a variety of special fellowships are also available for full or partial funding.

T-shirt Design Contest: World’s Fair Anniversary
Deadline: October 20, 2010

Seattle Center Foundation invites sketchers, designers, artists and all with a creative mind to make a delightful, inspiring and future-focused t-shirt design for the Arts, Culture & Design theme for The Next Fifty, the 50th Anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.

Call to Artists & Curators: The Center for Wooden Boats
Deadline: October 31, 2010

The Boathouse Gallery is pleased to announce a call to Artists + Curators for solo shows and curated exhibits for semi-annual shows at The Center for Wooden Boats [CWB] in Seattle. Artists + Curators with interest in water or waterways, craft or craftsmanship, in the real or the abstract are encouraged to apply.  For each exhibit, the artist or curator will participate in CWB’s 3rd Friday Speaker Series as part of the opening festivities, sharing their inspiration, process and insights into the show with the public. Contact: gall...@cwb.org

International Film Event, Mono No Aware, Brooklyn
Deadline: November 5, 2010

MONO NO AWARE is an international film event open to any person or group of persons making work that incorporates Super8mm or 16mm film format as part of that presentation. (Expanded Cinema) In previous years 16 film was blended with dance performance, Super8 with live spoken word/audience involvement, & multi-projections with live jazz/musical devices. Dancers, Sculptors, Musicians, Theorists, Scientists, Athletes, Visual artists, everyone, AND Film-makers are encouraged to submit.

Gallery 110: Call for Submissions
Deadline: November 1, 2010

Gallery 110 is a non-profit collective gallery of professional artists located in Seattle, Washington.The Call for Submissions is for an international juried show titled “Couplings”. Gallery 110 is calling for artwork that explores personal relationships that celebrate parings and the power of the bonds they create. Juror is Rock Hushka, Curator of Contemporary and Northwest Art for the Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, WA.

Northwest Film Forum: Pocket Film Challenge
Deadline: November 8, 2010

Northwest Film Forum announces their latest obstruction for the frisky filmmaker: The Pocket Film Challenge-a small screen, big picture experience.Filmmakers are asked to use mobile phones to shoot and edit three-minute, one-take films. One-take-films are shot without interruption, from the moment of turning the camera on to the moment of turning the camera off. Any text or music must be added using only what is technologically capable with the mobile device. We’ll put all submitted small screen images in our big screen cinema.

If you’re interested in opportunities in public art, please be sure to check out our extensive list of possibilities for public artists, including local, national and international calls.

Photo: © 2010, Arteles Swimming Spot, Arteles Residency Program,  Finland

Wendy Becker, Snohomish County’s Historic Preservation Officer, shares her tips on developing successful sponsorship proposals and grant applications that get results. Also, learn more about the grant programs that Snohomish County offers in this informative workshop.

Thursday, September 9, 6:30 p.m.
Snohomish County Campus
3000 Rockefeller Ave. in downtown Everett
First floor public meeting room
RSVP at wend...@snoco.org

Sponsored by the League of Snohomish County Heritage Organizations. For more information visit www.snocoheritage.org.

Recognizing their responsibility in caring for historic collections, in 2008, the Society submitted a successful proposal to 4Culture called “Let’s Do It Right!” The funding awarded to their project enabled the Society to hire a professional objects conservator to conduct a general collection assessment. The consultant’s resulting report outlined short, mid, and long term recommendations for improving storage and provided guidance for the Society in implementing best practices, policies, and budget priorities.

In 2009, the conservator’s report provided the groundwork for the Society’s second Collections Care application called “We Did It Right! What’s Next?” That proposal addressed one of the priorities identified in the report – care of the textile collection. Through guidance and training from a collections professional, volunteers documented and stored clothing items using acid free materials, and entered item descriptions and storage locations into PastPerfect, a data management program specifically designed for museums.

Heritage Collections Care served as the impetus for the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Society to do it right, and the program can provide the seed money for addressing collections issues within other King County heritage organizations.

2010 program guidelines and instructions for applying online are posted here and a schedule of application workshops may be found here. The application deadline is June 30. For more information contact Eric Taylor or 206-296-8688.

Photo: Objects conservator Dana Senge analyzing the SVHS collections

MetLife Foundation Innovative Space Awards (last chance!)
Deadline: April 23, 2010

The MetLife Foundation Innovative Space Awards (ISA) program recognizes, rewards, and promotes successful artist space development projects that exhibit innovation, affordability for artists, sustainability, and community impact.The program emphasizes the role affordable artist space projects play in community revitalization and socially progressive community development, and will increase awareness of replicable, sustainable approaches and models. In 2009 awards ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 to provided support for six winning projects. The ISAs currently have an open call for entries to apply for the second and final cycle of awards.

National Endowment for the Arts: Challenge America Fast-Track
Deadline: May 27, 2010

The Challenge America Fast-Track category offers support primarily to small and midsized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations—those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. This category, as an essential component of the National Endowment for the Art”s goal of providing wide access to artistic excellence, supports local projects that can have significant effects within communities. Grants are available for professional arts programming and for projects that emphasize the potential of the arts in community development.

Ford Foundation Space for Change Planning and Pre-Development Grants
Deadline: May 28, 2010

LINC, in partnership with the Ford Foundation, announces an open call for proposals to the Ford Foundation Space for Change Planning and Pre-Development Grant program. Non-profit arts organizations with strong track records of artistic excellence, who are intending to buy, build, renovate, partner in the development of, or become anchor tenants in a vibrant artist space can apply for up to $100,000 in support of a facility project.

National Endowment for the Arts: Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth
Deadline: June 10, 2010

The National Endowment for the Arts’ Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth category offers funding for projects that help children and youth acquire knowledge and understanding of and skills in the arts. Projects must provide participatory learning and engage students with skilled artists, teachers, and excellent art. All proposed projects must provide the chance for students to experience exemplary works of art (e.g., live performances); to study works of art in order to understand their cultural and social contexts and to appreciate their technical and/or aesthetic qualities; and to create artwork. Projects must also provide for the assessment of students according to national or state arts education standards.

Photo: Courtesy of whizchickenonabun

San Juan Islands Museum of Art & Sculpture Park: Call for Artists
Deadline: April 30, 2010

San Juan Islands Museum of Art (IMA) and Sculpture Park is seeking submissions of large, outdoor sculptures for the IMA Sculpture Park at Roche Harbor. The Park received over 25,000 visitors in 2009, and sold over $50,000 of sculpture during the last three months of the year.Sculptors may submit up to three submissions for exhibition.

P73 Playwriting Fellowship
Deadline: May 1, 2010

The P73 Playwriting Fellowship provides year-long comprehensive support to one early-career playwright who has received neither wide public recognition nor substantial production opportunities in New York City. Through this program, Page 73 provides artistic and financial resources to one emerging playwright as he or she develops a new play that has not received substantial prior development support.  For his/her fellowship year, the P73 Playwriting Fellow receives a cash stipend in the amount of $5,000 and development support in the amount of $10,000 – 15,000.

Columbia City Gallery: Call for New Members
Deadline: May 2, 2010

The Columbia City Gallery is currently accepting applications for membership. The Columbia City Gallery is an artists’ cooperative that brings together emerging and professional artists working in diverse media. The gallery provides an exhibition space for local artists, additional space for exhibits by guest artists and a welcoming environment for visitors of all ages.

Theatre Communications Group A ha! Program
Deadline: May 3, 2010

Theatre Communications Group and the MetLife Foundation are accepting grant applications from TCG member theaters for the A-ha! Program. A program for TCG member theatres that supports creative thinking and action in two ways: Think It grants (up to $25,000) give theatre professionals the time and space for research and development, Do It grants (up to $50,000) support the implementation and testing of new ideas.

Auburn’s ArtRageous Seeks Artist Project Leaders
Deadline: May 3, 2010

City of Auburn is seeking artists for participation in Auburn’s ArtRageous, a one day event on Saturday, August 7, 2010, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. to instruct and demonstrate fine art practices, principles, and techniques in a festival setting.  A variety of diverse and interactive art projects for attendees of all ages are sought. Artists are compensated for their time and materials based on the budget submitted as part of the application.

Photographic Center Northwest: Print Sponsorship Program
Deadline: May 5, 2010

Photo Center NW is committed to providing a home and resources for photographers. The Printing Sponsorship program provides free hourly printing in B&W, RA4 color, or digital to selected artists to complete an already conceptualized project or project-in-process. Each year, Photo Center NW’s Gallery Advisory Committee will choose 2 artists to participate in the sponsorship. Artists in the program may print at the Photo Center from June to August for 100 hours, without the hourly charge.

Bellagio Center: Creative Artist Residencies
Deadline: May 7, 2010.

The Bellagio Center provides a platform for launching new ideas and solutions to some of the most difficult global
problems. The residency allows for disciplined work and collaborative action on these issues, uninterrupted by the usual professional and personal demands.  Residency participants include scholars, scientists, artists, journalists, writers, non-governmental organization practitioners and policymakers from around the world. The Bellagio Center competition for scholars and creative artists, for a possible residency between March 1 and July 31, 2011.

Mapping and Cartography – Richard Levy Gallery
Deadline: May 12, 2010

Richard Levy Gallery is currently accepting submissions for a group exhibition of art that relates to maps, cartography, and mapping. Mapping and cartography have long been utilized to convey information. Recently there has been a growing trend toward using this type of communication to express ideas creatively. While artistic approaches are diverse, the system of mapping within the contemporary art context is of particular interest for a group exhibition planned for July 9- August 20th at Richard Levy Gallery in Albuquerque, NM.

Aaron Siskind Foundation
Deadline: May 17, 2010

The Aaron Siskind Foundation is offering a limited number of fellowship grants of up to $7,000 each, for individual artists working in still photography and photo-based art. Grant recipients and award amounts will be determined by a review panel based on artistic excellence, accomplishment to date, and the promise of future achievement in the medium in its widest sense.

Save America’s Treasures Program
Deadline: May 21, 2010

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is seeking applicants for the Save America’s Treasures (SAT) grant program. These grants, totaling $14 million in 2010, support the preservation and conservation of nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts such as collections, documents, sculpture, and art, and historic structures and sites.

Funding for Arts Spaces: Ford Foundation
Deadline: May 28, 2010

The Ford Foundation has announced a ten-year, $100 million initiative to support a new generation of arts spaces nationwide. The new initiative, Supporting Diverse Arts Spaces, will provide funding for projects that incubate and produce creative work across all disciplines. Nonprofit arts organizations with strong track records of artistic excellence, who are intending to buy, build, renovate, partner in the development of, or become anchor tenants in a vibrant artist space can apply for grants of up to $100,000 each over two years in capital and/or planning support.

Stockholm Fringe Fest: Performers Wanted
Deadline: May 30, 2010

Stockholm Fringe Fest (STOFF) are now looking for proposals from emerging artists whose work challenges and questions conventional theatrical forms to perform at Stockholm’s first Fringe Fest in 7 – 10 October 2010. STOFF 2010 is a three day event that aims to support and promote cutting edge theatre and performance making.

2010 Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize
Deadline: May 31, 2010

CALYX Journal seeks unpublished poetry for 2010 Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize. This prize offers $300 cash award, publication in CALYX Journal, and a one-volume subscription. Finalists will be published on CALYX’s website and will receive a one-volume subscription.

River Styx 2010 International Poetry Contest
Deadline: May 31, 2010

River Styx, now entering its 35th year, is a tri-annual, non-profit, multicultural literary and arts magazine based in St. Louis. Issues run 100-120 pages, 6×9, perfect-bound, with glossy four-color covers and 15-20 pages of visual art in each issue. River Styx publishes the work of approximately 60 poets, 20 fiction and essay writers, and 20 visual artists yearly. Poetry contest now open. $1500 First Prize. 2010 judge: Maxine Kumin. Winner published in Fall issue.

Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships
Deadline: June 11, 2010

The goals of the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships are to further an actor’s artistic and professional development; deepen and enrich his/her relationship with a not-for-profit theater; ensure his/her continued professional commitment to live theater; encourage actors to work outside their comfort zone. Recipients in the Extraordinary Potential category will receive $15,000, with an additional $10,000 available to relieve student loan debt. Recipients in the Distinguished Achievement category will receive $25,000. The host theater will receive $7,500 to be applied to costs incurred in the actor’s residency activities.

UW School of Law Brotman Galleria: 2D Exhibition Space
Deadline: July 1, 2010

University of Washington School of Law’s Advocates for the Arts seek proposals for the quarterly rotating art program in academic year 2010 – 2011 within the University of Washington School of Law Brotman Galleria space. The Galleria is open to the public Monday – Friday, 8am-5pm. Each quarterly show may include 2D works that cover up to 80 linear feet of wall space. For more information contact: Rachel Dodson, rado...@uw.edu

My World: Visions of 21st Century Feminism
Deadline: June 30, 2010

In the framework of its 20th anniversary celebrations, the European Women’s Lobby is pleased to announce the launch of a photo competition looking to expose the visions of young women of the world they live in. The competition seeks images that make a creative and powerful statement on the theme of ’21st Century Feminism’.

Blurb: Photography Book Now
Deadline: July 15, 2010

Photography Book Now is an international juried self-published book competition, and a celebration of the most creative, most innovative, and finest photography books – and the people behind them. Now in its third year, this international juried book competition is an opportunity for photographers of all stripes to showcase their work to a world-renowned panel of judges, and take a shot at a $25K grand prize.

Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art: Call for Artists
Deadline: July 19, 2010

The Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art in Kelowna, B.C. invites artists interested in exhibiting in 2011/12 to submit a proposal. The Alternator is an artist-run centre that supports innovative or controversial work not suitable for commercial or mainstream venues. Submissions from individual artists and groups of artists as well as independent curators are welcome.

Photo: Courtesy of Bellagio Center, Lake Como Italy

Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions help small and mid-sized institutions, such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities, improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections. Awards of up to $6000 support preservation related collection assessments, consultations, training and workshops, and institutional and collaborative disaster and emergency planning. Grants cover consultant fees, workshop registration fees, related travel and per diem expenses, and the costs of purchasing and shipping preservation supplies and equipment.

All applications to the NEH must be submitted through Grants.gov. See the 2010 application guidelines for details. Sample project descriptions, sample narratives, and a list of frequently asked questions are also at this site. The deadline for applications is May 18, 2010.

U.S. nonprofit organizations are eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies and tribal governments. Individuals are not eligible to apply. Small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant are especially encouraged to apply.

For more information, contact the staff of NEH’s Division of Preservation and Access at 202-606-8570 and pres...@neh.gov.

© Issaquah History Museum

Over the past several years, I’ve written many messages about 4Culture’s legislative efforts in Olympia.  Lodging taxes are the primary source of the revenues we use to support our major arts, heritage and preservation funding programs. In 2009, approximately 300 arts and heritage organizations received operating support, 95 individual artists  and 75 groups were awarded grants to do projects, thirty-nine heritage organizations and specialists received project support, and dozens of cultural facilities received capital or equipment funding.

Beginning in 2013, all of the revenue currently supporting arts and culture in King County will be re-directed to service debt on stadia.   4Culture will only have access to the interest generated by the endowment we have been building, in compliance with state law, since 2001.   An estimated $1.4 million per year.   At that level (roughly an 80% decrease), almost all of our funding programs and initiatives will be eliminated.

I attended two very interesting hearings in Olympia last week on bills in the House and Senate that would change the law so arts and heritage programs in King County would receive a portion of future lodging tax revenues.   Testifying on behalf of the two bills was Deputy County Executive and former State Senator Fred Jarrett.   Mr. Jarrett told the House and Senate Committees that vibrant arts and culture help King County attract innovative new businesses and the high quality workforce that will drive the region’s economy.  “How do we know that,” he asked, “because they tell us.”

One thing I’ve learned over the past six years is how difficult it is to have a bill become law. I’ve also gained an appreciation for the difficult task legislators face every year, not just in challenging economic times, but even in times when the state is in relative financial health.   We citizens, I’ve noticed, have no shortage of good ideas for how the state should allocate its resources.

Arts, heritage and culture live in the realm of “quality of life,” which sounds sort of soft and inessential in comparison to “basic health,” or “education” or “public safety.”    I, like Jarrett, would argue that investment in the region’s quality of life is the foundation on which a growing and robust future economy is built, spinning off increased tax revenues that enable us to better provide for the basic needs of the community.

I’ve seen lots of economic impact data over the years, and it is impressive; I’ve heard about the competitive advantage creative communities have in attracting a high demographic workforce.   All of that is real.  We have cultural assets that many communities can only dream of.  But the value of arts and culture isn’t just its impact on the economy.   It’s the intrinsic value to the young student who finds his or her calling playing in an orchestra or singing in a choir or performing in a musical; to the senior citizens learning to paint or sculpt; to the insurance broker playing his or her trombone in a community orchestra.    It’s the local history museum whose work helps deepen citizens’ connections to place.   It’s the pride communities take in their public art, their historic district, and their community festivals.

Economic impact, attracting innovative businesses and an educated work force, enhancing sense of place, providing a comprehensive education, increasing tourism, investing in the imagination and creativity of our citizenry: it just makes common sense.   Doesn’t it?

Jim Kelly

Photo: headed to Olympia at dawn for legislative hearings, 4Culture, 2010

The United States Census Bureau launched a nationwide road tour last month to motivate America’s growing and increasingly diverse population to complete and mail back the 10-question census forms when they arrive in mailboxes in mid-March.

Census data can impact arts funding and programs in our community. It determines the distribution of more than $400 billion in government funding annually for critical community services, including education and transportation. And it impacts your voice in Congress by reapportioning congressional seats to states.

With your help and connections, the Census Bureau will be able to communicate the importance of being counted in bringing valuable resources to our communities. By fulfilling their goal of 100% participation, the Census Bureau will be able to continue to produce accurate data, which will directly affect the quality of life in our community. Census data, including population figures, are often used to write proposals for grants that benefit our whole community, including cultural organizations.

To help ensure 2010 census data is accurate, organizations can display census information in their lobbies and/or include messages in performance programs. To request census materials, contact Brynn Hurlstone, local partnership assistant with the U.S. Census Bureau, (206) 948-5944. For more information on the U.S. Census, go here.

2010 deadlines and workshops

Happy 2010!  Can you believe how quickly a decade passes?  It seems like only yesterday that we were all worried about the Y2K menace that would paralyze every function of life that was controlled by computers.  That was ten years ago.  Astonishing.

As we gear up for another year at 4Culture, we’re happy to announce our 2010 project funding deadlines (updated application guidelines are coming very soon.)

Every year, 4Culture funding supports hundreds of artists, art groups, heritage specialists, landmark property owners, arts organizations and heritage organizations who add immeasurably to the quality of life in our region.  Culture defines our sense of place; attracts tourism; contributes to economic vitality; and provides youth with a quality comprehensive education.

This year, we’re especially pleased to announce that our online application system is up and running and applications to all of our funding will be available online only.  This improvement will make our programs more efficient and green while allowing us to collect data more effectively and reduce administrative redundancies.  We are also using this transition as an opportunity to simplify our guidelines and applications to make the entire process easier for you, our constituents. The updated guidelines for each program will be available by mid-January, so keep your eyes peeled on the blog and website!

If you have questions or want more info about a specific grant program, the updated guidelines should help, but we also invite you to join our staff at one of our free, informal application workshops. Staff members Eric Taylor, Heather Dwyer, Doreen Mitchum and Flo Lentz are once again going on the road for a series of application workshops throughout King County. They will meet with prospective applicants to share tips on how to put together a successful proposal and answer questions about application guidelines and decision processes.  You don’t have to attend a workshop to be eligible to apply, but we encourage you to do so.  See below for more info!

Arts program applicant workshops

Heritage program applicant workshops

Landmark Preservation applicant workshops

We would really like to help as many of you as possible realize your cultural dreams.

As 4Culture did in planning for the A-Y-P commemoration, we are encouraging applicants to the Heritage Special Projects and Heritage Cultural Education programs to consider proposing projects that explore the historical impact of the 1962 fair on this region. 4Culture’s support of A-Y-P projects generated exhibits, events, media productions, publications and activities that added substantially to the success of the centennial commemoration.

By beginning now on Century 21 planning, we hope to support additional proposals for the upcoming celebration by offering applicants two annual funding rounds and sufficient lead time to develop projects prior to 2012. However, Century 21 project proposals are not a requirement of the funding programs, and we will continue to welcome all creative proposals that examine and promote King County history. Remember that online applications are due March 3, 2010.

(Please note that guidelines for this all of this year’s programs are currently being updated, and will be posted for most programs by mid-January.)

For more information on our heritage funding programs, click here, or contact Eric Taylor, eric...@4culture.org.

Seattle Monorail with Space Needle, ca. 1962. Photo courtesy of HistoryLink.org

Deadline: September 4, 2009

APPEX 2010 is a three-week intensive residency in Bali, Indonesia. For five days a week, artists will engage in master classes, studio workshops, experimentation, collaborative projects and public performances. On weekends participants will be introduced to the vibrant arts and culture context of Bali through specially planned field trips and concerts. A total of 16 artists will participate in the APPEX 2010 program. Artists who are active in the community as educators, artistic directors, and cultural workers are encouraged to apply.

Second Use Salvage – 2009 Salvage Art

Deadline: September 6, 2009

Second Use, a building salvage business located in South Park seeks visual art work as part of it’s celebration of all that is great about salvage – the search, the inspiration, and the unexpected. Prizes of store credit are available.

Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

Deadline: September 30, 2009

The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts residency program located in Omaha, NE provides visual artists with the opportunity to create, experiment, and collaborate with other artists in residence, while also promoting discourse on contemporary art to a local, national, and international audience. Residencies typically last for three months, during which artists are provided with living quarters, studio space, and a monthly stipend. Facilities include a video-editing room, woodshop, sculpture studio, dark room, installation galleries, and tech support.

FUNDACIÓN TELEFÓNICA CALLS FOR AWARDS VIDA 12.0

Deadline: October 1, 2009

Fundación Telefónica opens the call for Life International Awards VIDA, in its twelfth edition.VIDA 12.0 rewards works of art developed with artificial life technologies and their associated disciplines, such as robotics and artificial intelligence works and projects that have emergent behaviour that evolve over time, react to their surroundings and seem to have own life.In previous years the awards have been given to art projects made with robots, electronic avatars, chaotic algorithms, knowbots, cellular automata, computer viruses, virtual ecologies that evolve with the interaction of the participant, interactive architecture, augmented reality works and works that delve into social issues of artificial life.

Denali Artist-in-Residence Program

Deadline: October 31, 2009

The Denali Artist-in-Residence program is now accepting applications for residencies in the summer of 2010. The program is currently open only to visual artists. As there is already another program for professional photographers, this year’s program will not accept applications from artists working in the medium of photography. We expect to include a wide range of other types of media in future years.

Liedts-Meesen Foundation Award

Deadline: November 1, 2009

The Liedts-Meesen Foundation will award for the second time, a work by a living artist distinguishing himself or herself in the field of digital art. This award will consist of a cash purse and a showcase in the Update IV to be held in 2012.Update’s mission is to expand the scope of contemporary artistic creations and traditional media with works dedicated to employing contemporary and new technologies in an original and intelligent way: treatment of sounds and light, use of new media, application of innovative evolutions in communications, telecommunications and broadcasting, centred on the world of information, communication, and computers and interaction.

www.artisttrust.org
For years the Country Doctor Community Clinic has offered affordable healthcare to artists in our region. Now, they have added an artist-focused night each week on Wednesdays from 5:30pm–8:30pm. Appointments can still be made at other times to accommodate varying schedules, and artists of all creative disciplines are encouraged to take advantage of this great resource. More information on the Artist Trust website above. Make an appointment today by calling 206 299.1600.

Potlatch Fund

Community Building Grants for Native Organizations and Peoples
Deadline: April 17, 2009
www.potlatchfund.org
Potlatch Fund’s Mission is to inspire and build upon the Native tradition of giving and to expand philanthropy in Northwest Indian Country. The name, Potlatch Fund, reflects a Northwest coastal tribal traditional ceremony and in the Chinook language potlatch means to give or a gift. Historically potlatches were occasions when individuals shared their good fortune through the distribution of gifts to members of their tribe as well as those of neighboring tribes. 2009 Community Building Grants will be awarded in amounts ranging from $500 to $5,000.

The Laird Norton Family Foundation

Education Grants
Deadline: April 20, 2009
www.lairdnorton.org/arts-in-education
Open call in Washington State for Letters of Interest (LOIs) for grants to improve K – 12 arts education in public school classrooms and in out-of-school time programs that partner with public schools.

Dance/USA

Engaging Dance Audiences
Call for Project Ideas
Deadline: May 4, 2009
www.danceusa.org/engagingdanceaudiences
With support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the James Irvine Foundation, Dance/USA has launched Engaging Dance Audiences (EDA), a $1.9 million pilot program that enables Dance/USA to analyze current dance-going activities, and its members to explore and research methods of engaging audiences for dance, learn from peers, and share the learning nationally.

National Endowment for the Humanities

Collections Care Grants Opportunity

Deadline: May 14, 2009 (for projects beginning in January 2010)
The NEH Preservation Assistance Grants help institutions—particularly small and mid-sized institutions—improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections, including special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine arts, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, and historical objects. Institutions such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, arts and cultural organizations, and town and county records offices are encouraged to apply.

Inspiring Youth to become the preservationists of tomorrow!

Deadline: June 5, 2009
Museums, historic sites, historical societies, preservation organizations, libraries, and archives are invited to partner with a local school or youth group and apply for funding to help preserve the history of their communities. Each year, HISTORY awards $10,000 in grants to organizations that partner with schools or youth groups on community preservation projects that engage students in learning about, documenting, and preserving the history of their communities. For guidelines and criteria, important dates, and to apply, please visit www.saveourhistory.com, and click on grants.