The Ignite Fund is a Regional Regranting Program administered by 3Arts and supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Donor Name: 3Arts
State: Illinois
Counties: Cook County (IL), DuPage County (IL), Kane County (IL), McHenry County (IL), Lake County (IL), Will County (IL)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 06/24/2022
Size of the Grant: $3,000 and $6,000
Grant Duration: 1 year
Details:
The Ignite Fund supports the creation and public presentation of experimental, public-facing, and accessible visual arts-based work by Chicago-area artists and artist-led collectives.
The Ignite Fund prioritizes projects that:
- Center the visual arts in form and content
- Promote collaboration and connection to community
- Raise awareness around social justice issues
- Engage communities in the Chicago metropolitan area through process and/or participation
- Incorporate accessibility services in public presentations
Types of Grants
The Ignite Fund provides two types of grants:
- Project Grants:
- In 2022, up to 11 grants will be awarded at the $3,000 or $6,000 level.
- Project Grants support the creation and implementation of new, public-facing works that engage audiences through process, presentation, production, or publication. The projects must make a meaningful impact and be ambitious, experimental, and visual arts focused.
- In 2022, up to 11 grants will be awarded at the $3,000 or $6,000 level.
- Research & Development Grants:
- In 2022, up to two grants of $1,500 each will be awarded.
- Research & Development support the early stages of a new, public-facing project that may require time to be developed. The projects in development must make a meaningful impact and be ambitious, experimental, and visual arts focused.
- In 2022, up to two grants of $1,500 each will be awarded.
Grant Period
The Ignite Fund grant period is one year from the date funds are awarded (September 2022-September 2023).
Who can apply for Ignite Fund grants?
Individual artists and artist-led collectives (up to 4 people) are eligible to apply for Ignite Fund grants. Throughout the application process, individual artists and the main contact for an artist-led collective will be referred to as the Lead Applicant.
If you are applying as an individual artist, note that Ignite Fund grants are not intended to support the creation of new solo work as part of an individual’s ongoing practice, but are intended to support an opportunity to produce one-time art projects with strong public-facing components and the capacity to have an impact on communities.
If applying as an artist-led collective, your group can be either long-standing or formed specifically for this opportunity. Each collective must identify one Lead Applicant to serve as the primary applicant and grantee contact.
Lead Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Visual artists or artists with a history of presenting their work in visual art contexts/venues. (Performance, film, text, and sound artists are eligible if their proposed projects center the visual arts.)
- Current residents of the Chicago metropolitan area (Cook, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, Lake, and Will counties).
- 18 years or older.
- Not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program.
- Have an active artistic practice and be able to demonstrate recent work.
What types of projects are eligible?
- Projects must center contemporary visual arts practice as the primary root and impulse; other media and performing arts aspects are eligible if visual arts will be the central element of the finished work.
- Projects that can be completed within a one-year grant term.
- Projects that have a clear public component and robust community engagement. Eligible examples include exhibitions, public events/talks, roundtables, community collaborations, public art projects, screenings, publications, festivals, workshops, etc.
What type of projects will NOT be funded?
- Projects that are not based in the Chicago metropolitan area.
- Projects led by incorporated entities (LLCs, B Corps, 501(C)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations), universities and schools (private, public, charter), and religious entities.
- Projects led by students currently enrolled in high school, college, or university.
- Projects with Lead Applicants who are younger than 18 years old. (Projects can include collaborators who are under the age of 18, but the Lead Applicant and collective members must be at least 18 years old.)
- Projects seeking support retroactively or seeking reimbursement for a past project.
- Proposals for funding for a solo exhibition, individual artist’s ongoing work, travel costs, etc.
- Projects proposed by an individual artist to present their own work.
- Projects that do not have a substantial public component.
For more information, visit Ignite Fund.
