Grants of up to $7,500 to Missouri individual artists and artist collectives in eligible areas to support workforce development. Funding is intended to provide local artists with opportunities to create art projects and advance their careers. Eligible applicants are residents of St. Louis City or County.
The Regional Arts Commission’s (RAC) Artist Support Grant (ASG) serves as funding for the career advancement of individual artists. This grant provides funds for an individual artist’s projects, needs, or creative opportunities in all artistic disciplines. Direct support enables diverse artists of all disciplines to advance their careers and complete creative projects. It is designed to be flexible and accessible and to encourage creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustained commitment to artistic work.
Grant funds may be used for a variety of purposes including but not limited to equipment and materials, rental space, arts-related travel, conference fees, living artist wage, project completion, professional and artistic development, training, and other resources for an individual artist or artist collective of any discipline.
An artist collective consists of at least two consistent members and have a history of creating together for at least one year prior to the application. 501(c)3 organizations are NOT eligible. All members of the collective must meet the eligibility requirements outlined below. One member of the collective may submit the application. The applying member will ultimately be responsible for signing the application, and if awarded, the Terms & Conditions Agreement. Artists may apply for either an individual artist grant OR an artist collective grant, NOT both.
An individual artist is eligible to apply for an Artist Support Grant if the following requirements are met:
- The artist is 19 years or older
- The artist is not enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student
- The artist is a current resident of St. Louis City or County and has maintained primary residence in St. Louis City or County for at least one year (verifiable documentation required)
- For the individual artist: In the past three years, the artist has created and presented their own original works to the public or performed for the public (verifiable documentation required)
- For the Artist Collective: At least one of the artists has created and presented their own original works in the past three years AND the collective has created and presented together for at least one year (verifiable documentation required)
Ineligible
A proposed project cannot receive funding from multiple RAC grant opportunities. This includes:
- Projects where an individual artist is partnering with, employed by, or contracted by a RAC organizational grant recipient, and
- Individual artists collaborating on the same project and applying separately.
- Multiple applications for the same project will render all applications ineligible to receive funding.
Grant funds cannot be designated for such things as:
- Personal vacation
- Full-time college tuition
- Any items not directly related to an artist’s personal, professional, artistic, or project development.
Grant funds may not pay for projects for which the main intent is:
- Fundraising or charity,
- The presentation of other artist’s works, including curation, archiving, journalism (where the applicant’s work is not the primary content,) or
- A commission.
- No part of the grant may be used for reimbursement of expenses prior to the applicant notification date.
- Any funds not expended for the purposes of the grant as applied for must be returned to RAC.
- No part of the grant may be used directly or indirectly to participate in or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office or to attempt to influence legislation or to support or promote, directly or indirectly terrorism or violent acts.
- Organizations are ineligible to apply.
Basic Grant Application Writing for Program Support and Artist Support Grants
Jan. 26, 4-6 p.m. (Virtual)
The Basic Grant Application Writing Workshop will provide the basics of RAC grant application writing, using best practices as the foundation. This session will provide an overview of the other workshops that take place in January and February.
- Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XXarKjaTQHOTmdp0ZxAX-g
How to Write an Artist Statement
Jan. 27, 3-4 p.m. (Virtual)
The Artist Statement Workshop is for Artist Support Grant applicants. In this workshop artists will learn how to put together an effective description (written or recorded) of your work.
- Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X29_MhaYS6mM0UJEj85dEw
Creating Your Narrative for Grant Applications
Feb. 3, 3-4 p.m. (Virtual)
The Narratives Workshop is for applicants who want to learn more about how to construct an effective grant application, including goals, objectives, and outcomes.
- Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TpUi_-uGQ4qdrUrKj6OS8Q
Building a Program Support or Artist Support Application Budget
Feb. 9, 4-5 p.m. (Virtual)
The Budget Workshop is for both Program Support and Artist Support applicants who want to learn more about how to fill out the RAC application budget form. We will provide a brief overview of each of the budget forms. The rest of this hour-long workshop will be dedicated to your questions.
- Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-Gcm35xsSAahp_cczLSy4w
Completing the Artist Support Grant Application
Feb. 13, 3-4 p.m. (Virtual)
The RAC Grants Team will walk you through the Artist Support Grant application and answer your questions regarding the application process.
- Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_szNdfswNSV6XZ0eQ1fU-2w
Pre-Application Information
Grant Schedule 2023:
- Application Workshops: January 26 – February 14
- Applications Available: Week of February 13
- Pre-application Deadline: Monday, February 20
- Pre-application Feedback Delivered: Monday, February 27 – Friday, March 17
- Final Application Deadline: Monday, March 27
- RAC Staff Internal Review: Tuesday, March 27 – Friday, April 7
- Reviewers Receive Applications: Monday, April 10 – Friday, April 14
- Reviewer Ratings Due: Monday, May 8
- RAC Staff Rating Analysis: Monday, May 8 – Friday, May 12
- Panel Meetings: Monday, May 15 – Friday, May 26
- Staff Finalizes Ratings: Tuesday, May 30
- Application Ratings Shared with Applicants: Wednesday, May 31
- Commission Vote on Grant Awards: Thursday, June 8
- Grant Award Announcements & Notification: Thursday, June 8 – Friday, June 9
- Terms and Conditions Agreement Distributed and Signed: Monday, June 12 – Wednesday, July 12, 2023
- Direct Deposit Payment Made & Final Report Form Available: Monday, July 17 – Wednesday, July 19, 2023
- Grant Programming Timeframe: July 1, 2023- June 31, 2024
RAC follows a four-stage grantmaking process. The entire process is online (1) Request; (2) Decision-making; (3) Grant Management; and (4) Analysis.
Pre-application Process: Artist Support Grant applicants are not required to submit a pre-application but if you would like your application reviewed by RAC staff before final submission, you are welcome to submit a “pre-application” via the grantmaking system between February 15 and February 20, 2023. Feedback from RAC staff on the pre-applications will be provided from February 27 through March 17, 2023.
Artist Collective: This year, in addition to individual artists, the Artist Support Grants will also allow application submission from Artist Collectives. An artist collective consists of at least two consistent members and have a history of creating together for at least one year prior to the application submission date. 501(c)3 organizations are NOT eligible to apply for an Artists Support Grant. All members of the collective must meet the eligibility requirements outlined below. One member of the collective may submit the application and serve as the application contact. The applying member will ultimately be responsible for signing the application, and if awarded, the Terms & Conditions Agreement. Artists may apply for either an individual artist grant OR an artist collective grant, NOT both.
