1/5/02
Applications are now being accepted for professional development grants for artists and arts organizations through the West Virginia Commission on the Arts of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. The Commission has earmarked $55,000 for the program. Applications must be postmarked by Feb. 1, 2002.
The grants are designed to encourage artistic development. Individual artists are eligible to apply for support to expand or improve their work or to share their expertise with others. Artists may apply for funds to purchase new equipment or materials to pursue new avenues in their media; travel to and registration for professional development workshops; equipment, workshops or new curriculum materials for use in educational settings and self-designed apprenticeships.
First-time applicants can request up to $2,500, representing 75 percent of the cost of each item or service requested, and provide the remaining 25 percent cash match. For previous recipients of the grants, the match is 50 percent with the same spending cap.
Organizations are eligible to apply for support to expand or improve programs that support individual artists in their professional development. In addition, they are encouraged to form new partnerships, open new or expanded avenues, sites and training for working artists.
Eligible projects include mid- or advanced-level workshops, publications and apprenticeship programs. Organizations can request up to $5,000, or 75 percent of the project cost for the first year and 50 percent in succeeding years.
Individual applicants must be working artists who have been West Virginia residents for one year prior to February 1. Arts and arts education organizations must be federally designated non-profit, tax-exempt groups that have operated in the state for one year.
For more information about the professional development grants, or to receive an application and guidelines, contact Gordon Simmons, individual artist services coordinator for the Department of Arts, Culture and History at (304) 558-0220, ext. 717. The applications and guidelines are also available at www.wvculture.org/arts/grants/profdevinstruct03.html.
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division. The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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