Emergency Grants

Guidelines

Who is eligible to apply?

Artists who make innovative, experimental work are eligible to apply. FCA considers all elements of an application in context to determine if an artist’s work aligns with our mission to support experimental practices.

To understand if an applicant’s practice aligns with FCA’s mission, staff members and panelists review: work samples, how the proposed project is described, any explanation the artist gives about the experimental nature of their approach or process, the venue at which the work is being presented, and the context in which the applicant has been working. Does the work push against, expand upon, or break from established artistic practices and/or does the work subvert mainstream norms, narratives, or aesthetics? Do the venues at which the artist’s work has been or will be presented have a history of presenting experimental art or a mission to do so? Does the applicant identify with a community of experimental art makers?

Many applications are declined each month because the applicant’s work is not a fit for FCA’s mission of supporting experimental, contemporary work in the arts. For examples of projects and artists FCA supports, please refer to past grant recipients and projects on our website.

Additionally:

• Applicants must be living in the United States or U.S. territories and have a U.S. Tax ID Number (SSN, EIN, ITIN, or other).
• Applicants must have committed performance or exhibition opportunities, and be able to provide specific dates at the time of application.
• Applicants must be individual artists, or an individual representing an artist collective, ensemble, or group. Curators, producers, workshop organizers, organizations, or arts presenters are not eligible to apply.
• If multiple artists are working collaboratively on a project, the artist who received the invitation to present work and/or who is organizing the presentation opportunity should submit the application.
• Artists enrolled in any degree-granting program or school are not eligible to apply. This includes high school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs.

When can an artist apply?

• Artists must have committed performance or exhibition opportunities with specific dates at the time of application.
• Artists should apply 8-10 weeks (no earlier than 10 weeks) before their project’s public presentation date. FCA will review applications received within a shorter timeline, but please keep in mind that applications received less than 6 weeks in advance may not hear back from FCA until the project is underway.
• Emergency Grants and Grants to Artists award recipients must observe a three-year (36-month) wait period before applying for an Emergency Grant. The waiting period applies also to projects where a lead artist or primary collaborator has received an Emergency Grant or Grants to Artists award from FCA within the last three years.

Note: Relief grants (FCA Emergency Grants COVID-19 Fund, COVID-19 Bridge Fund, or LA Fire Relief grants) do not affect eligibility for Emergency Grants.

What projects are eligible?

Emergency Grants support the confirmed, public presentation of completed experimental work through performances, exhibitions, screenings, poetry readings, installations, and more. Projects at artist-run and non-commercial spaces are, in most cases, eligible.

The following are not eligible for Emergency Grants support:

• Work-in-progress or informal showing of works (such as workshop readings of plays or artist residency-related showings of work in progress)
• Projects invited and presented by commercial galleries or art fairs
• Youth or educational programming
• Professional trainings, workshops, lectures, symposiums, conferences, or competitions
• Production/publishing of CDs, albums, music videos, or books

Applicants may not reapply with a project that has previously been denied funding.

What expenses are supported?

Artists may apply for Emergency Grants to support expenses that are urgently needed to present their project to the public. These expenses may include artists’ fees, airfare, accommodations, materials, shipping/transport, fabrication, and production, among others.

Emergency Grants do not support:

• Non-project-related life expenses, such as food, rent, medical bills, childcare, and other basic necessities (project-related childcare—e.g. childcare during tech rehearsals for a performance or while installing an exhibition—is eligible) 
• Expenses that were paid prior to submitting the application
• Fees for participation or living expenses while in a residency program, educational program, or other artistic development opportunities—more information about residencies is available in the Emergency Grants FAQs
• Deposits and registration fees for participation in an exhibition, fair, or other presentation opportunity
• Exhibitions, fairs, or other presentation opportunities that require payment by the artist to participate

More information is available in FCA’s Emergency Grants FAQs.