Contact: Cassandra Stalzer 907 334-0520
Alaska artists invited to apply for grant funding
Anchorage - Today Rasmuson Foundation announced that it would again 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.
New this year, artists will be invited to participate in informational teleconferences hosted by Foundation staff to ask questions about the program, eligibility or the application process. Artists interested in learning more about the teleconferences should call the Foundation at 907 297-2876.
"A focus of our grantmaking is to invest in people," said Diane Kaplan, Rasmuson Foundation president. "With Individual Artist Awards, we invest in those around us who express themselves creatively through words, images, materials, sounds and/or original performances. We believe that direct investment in artists themselves results in substantial contributions to the culture of Alaska that we all enjoy."
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.
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:
1) Emerging artists are those in the early stages of their artistic careers;
2) 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;
3) 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.
About the Foundation
The Rasmuson Foundation was created in May 1955 by Jenny Rasmuson to honor her late husband "E.A." Rasmuson. Through grantmaking and initiatives, the Foundation is a catalyst to promote a better life for all Alaskans.
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