Anchorage - Rasmuson Foundation award grants directly to Alaska artists to support the experimentation, reflection and concentration necessary to nurture and foster creative work. The postmark deadline for applying for an Individual Artist Award is March 1, 2009. Application materials are available on the Foundation's website, www.rasmuson.org.
The Foundation has launched a social multimedia campaign to engage Alaskans and others in a video conversation about the definition of "artist." The campaign is meant to encourage those who express themselves creatively through words, images, materials, sounds and/or original performances to define themselves as artists and to see if they are eligible for a grant. The Foundation hopes to see more diverse application submissions for artist grants as it transitions from two to one application deadline for its Individual Artist Awards this year.
To date the Foundation has granted 145 awards to Alaska artists with a total investment of more than $1 million.
Each of the three grant programs to which artists can apply features criteria specific to artistic discipline and career stage:
Project Awards of up to $5,000 support short-term projects that have a clear benefit to the artist and the development of their work. Examples might include travel and fees associated with workshops and other advanced study opportunities; professional documentation of an artist's work for submission to juried shows or galleries; and costs associated with the creation/installation of work that is scheduled for public viewing. Project awards are available to emerging, mid-career or mature artists and all genres are welcome.
Fellowships are unrestricted $12,000 awards designed to encourage recipients to explore their creative instincts and focus energy and attention on the artistic process. Fellowships support activities that contribute to an artist's creative work such as workshops; residencies; training; projects; collaborations; experimentation in other arts fields; costs of equipment, materials, studio space; travel expenses; and retreats. In 2009, only mid-career and mature artists working in choreography, crafts, folk and traditional arts, literary arts/scriptworks and performance art are eligible to apply for a Fellowship.
One Distinguished Artist is selected annually with a $25,000 unrestricted award in recognition of creative excellence and superior accomplishments in the arts. The award recognizes the artist's creative output and contributions to the state of Alaska. Only mature artists working in any discipline are eligible to apply for the Distinguished Artist Award.
For purposes of this grant program, Rasmuson Foundation uses the following definitions of artist career stages:
* Emerging artists are those in the early stages of their artistic careers;
* Mid-career artists have created an independent body of work, have made a recognized contribution to their discipline through public presentation of their work, and have been steady in their progression as an artist over a five (5) to ten (10) year period.
* Mature artists are those who have created an extensive independent body of work representing a life-long investigation and maturation of their personal creativity. They demonstrate a high aesthetic level of artistic ability with a strong consistency of expression over at least a fifteen (15) year professional arts career.
In addition to guidelines and application materials, visitors to Rasmuson Foundation website can see lists of past recipients and review details of past awards.
Artists Represented in Video Montages:
Maia Nolan (Anchorage) will take four months off her full-time employment to complete her first novel.
Philip Munger (Wasilla), music composer
Margo Klass (Fairbanks) will create an Alaskan Book of Hours consisting of eight major constructions, four representing the season in their fullness and four representing transitions between seasons in Alaska.
The Foundation has launched a social multimedia campaign to engage Alaskans and others in a video conversation about the definition of "artist." The campaign is meant to encourage those who express themselves creatively through words, images, materials, sounds and/or original performances to define themselves as artists and to see if they are eligible for a grant. The Foundation hopes to see more diverse application submissions for artist grants as it transitions from two to one application deadline for its Individual Artist Awards this year.
To date the Foundation has granted 145 awards to Alaska artists with a total investment of more than $1 million.
Each of the three grant programs to which artists can apply features criteria specific to artistic discipline and career stage:
Project Awards of up to $5,000 support short-term projects that have a clear benefit to the artist and the development of their work. Examples might include travel and fees associated with workshops and other advanced study opportunities; professional documentation of an artist's work for submission to juried shows or galleries; and costs associated with the creation/installation of work that is scheduled for public viewing. Project awards are available to emerging, mid-career or mature artists and all genres are welcome.
Fellowships are unrestricted $12,000 awards designed to encourage recipients to explore their creative instincts and focus energy and attention on the artistic process. Fellowships support activities that contribute to an artist's creative work such as workshops; residencies; training; projects; collaborations; experimentation in other arts fields; costs of equipment, materials, studio space; travel expenses; and retreats. In 2009, only mid-career and mature artists working in choreography, crafts, folk and traditional arts, literary arts/scriptworks and performance art are eligible to apply for a Fellowship.
One Distinguished Artist is selected annually with a $25,000 unrestricted award in recognition of creative excellence and superior accomplishments in the arts. The award recognizes the artist's creative output and contributions to the state of Alaska. Only mature artists working in any discipline are eligible to apply for the Distinguished Artist Award.
For purposes of this grant program, Rasmuson Foundation uses the following definitions of artist career stages:
* Emerging artists are those in the early stages of their artistic careers;
* Mid-career artists have created an independent body of work, have made a recognized contribution to their discipline through public presentation of their work, and have been steady in their progression as an artist over a five (5) to ten (10) year period.
* Mature artists are those who have created an extensive independent body of work representing a life-long investigation and maturation of their personal creativity. They demonstrate a high aesthetic level of artistic ability with a strong consistency of expression over at least a fifteen (15) year professional arts career.
In addition to guidelines and application materials, visitors to Rasmuson Foundation website can see lists of past recipients and review details of past awards.
Artists Represented in Video Montages:
Maia Nolan (Anchorage) will take four months off her full-time employment to complete her first novel.
Philip Munger (Wasilla), music composer
Margo Klass (Fairbanks) will create an Alaskan Book of Hours consisting of eight major constructions, four representing the season in their fullness and four representing transitions between seasons in Alaska.