Grant Programs
FAQs
Emergency Grants
The Emergency Grants program provides urgent last-minute funding for projects, not life emergencies. The program does not provide general project funding. Emergency Grants are for artists who:
- Have unanticipated opportunities (less than 10 weeks away) to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding
- Incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates
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 work has been or will be presented have a history of presenting experimental art or a mission to do so? Is the applicant aligned 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.
Emergency Grants is a multi-disciplinary program that supports artists in dance, music/sound, performance art/theater, poetry, and visual art whose work is of a contemporary, experimental nature.
Yes! We make grants directly to artists or their fiscal sponsors. If you receive a grant, your fiscal sponsor must provide documentation of their 501(c)(3) status and a letter confirming your relationship.
Each month FCA receives an average of 100 Emergency Grant applications and makes approximately 15-20 grants. A large number of applications are declined each month because they do not meet our eligibility criteria. FCA strongly encourages applicants to read through the program guidelines and confirm they answer yes to the following questions:
- Is your artistic practice experimental?
- Do you have a confirmed public performance or exhibition that is less than 10 weeks away?
- Do you have an unanticipated, sudden opportunity to present work to the public, or unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion?
Emergency Grants does not fund organizations or arts presenters. We fund artists directly.
Given the last-minute focus of this program, we advise you to apply 8-10 weeks in advance of your confirmed performance or exhibition dates. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are considered monthly by a multidisciplinary panel of artists. We review applications received within a shorter timeline, but please keep in mind that applications received less than 6 weeks in advance of a project may not hear back from FCA until the project is underway.
Applications are accepted through Submittable here. First-time users must create a free account to apply.
FCA requires a project budget as part of the application. You may review sample performance and visual arts budgets as a reference, and use this blank budget form to create your Emergency Grant application budget.
If you have difficulty with any aspect of the application’s accessibility, please call the Foundation (212-807-7077) or email (grants@contemporary-arts.org) for assistance.
If you are having difficulties with Submittable, please reach out to their support directly: submittersupport@submittable.com.
Grants to Artists
Unlike Emergency Grants, Grants to Artists is not an “open application” program. Artists are identified and awarded through a nomination and selection process. Nominators are asked to remain anonymous and to keep their nominations confidential.
A confidential nomination process does not require artists to perform any labor and eliminates the experience of rejection. FCA Grantees have expressed that receiving unrestricted support without having to apply is gratifying, and that knowing they were nominated and selected by a panel of artists gives them a sense of validation and that they have been “seen” by their colleagues and peers.
Nominators are asked to put forward an artist with an experimental practice whose work is innovative, risk-taking, and imaginative, and for whom recognition and support would have a transformative effect. Artists are nominated for a variety of reasons and there is no way to guarantee a nomination for an award. Nominated artists tend to be active members of their artistic community and engaged in discourse with their peers. It is helpful to make sure there is high quality documentation of your work publicly available for people who are unable to see your work in person.
Grants to Artists are made to innovative artists working in dance, music/sound, performance art/theater, poetry, and visual arts.
Recipients are selected on the basis of the merit and imaginativeness of their work, and the transformative effect that the recognition and financial support that comes with a Grants to Artists award might have at this point in their careers. There is no set age range for recipients. FCA recognizes that artists can be exceptionally creative at any age or stage of artistic development. Artists in their late 20s are as likely to receive a Grants to Artists award as artists in their late 60s.
Creative Research Grants
Creative Research Grants, unlike Emergency Grants, is not an “open application” program.
Instead, it is invite-only with selection based on the highest endorsements from jurors during the prior year’s Emergency Grants panel.
Creative Research Grants are extended by invitation to artists who received Emergency Grants in the prior year, drawing on strong panel endorsements. Artists must also be currently living in the United States or U.S. territories and have a U.S. Tax ID Number (SSN, EIN, ITIN) and must not be enrolled in a degree-granting educational program.
No, the Creative Research Grant and Emergency Grants are separate programs. While the Emergency Grants are open-call and provide up to $3,000 to address urgent needs, the Creative Research Grant offers $10,000 to support longer-term creative exploration for selected artists.
The Creative Research Grant can support both ongoing research and new projects. The primary goal is to foster artistic exploration, experimentation, and development, so artists are encouraged to propose projects that will help advance their practice.
No, there is no requirement related to outcome. Instead, artists should demonstrate how they engaged in research and development activities during the grant period. They will submit a report at the end, detailing the activities funded by the grant.
Yes. Creative Research Grants are restricted to artists who are currently living in the United States or U.S. territories and have a U.S. Tax ID Number (SSN, EIN, ITIN).