The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA), on behalf of the Mayor and the City of Baltimore, is excited to announce the Creative Baltimore Grant for FY 2024. Through this grant opportunity, BOPA grants funds to qualified artists and arts and cultural organizations based in Baltimore City. The Creative Baltimore Fund is a grant made annually by the City of Baltimore. The annual allocation from the City’s general fund is administered by the Baltimore City Arts Council. The Creative Baltimore has two primary grant programs:
- General Operating Support (GOS) provides core support for established arts or cultural organizations that benefit the public and are artistically or culturally vibrant.
- Mayor’s Individual Artist Award – Project/ Practice Support (PS) provides support for artists individual practice or program that promote public access and encourage the breadth of arts and/or cultural programming in our community.
Key Dates: Opens: June 05 2023 Closes: June 30 2023 Panel Review: July 03- July 21 2023 Award Notifications: Week of July 24, 2023 Final Report July 24th 2024 Creative Baltimore Fund Info Session May 31st 2023 @ 6pm via Zoom Register in advance for this meeting: GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT program for FY24. General Operating Support (GOS) grants provide unrestricted, core support for Baltimore City-based nonprofit organizations that have:
• A primary mission to create, produce, present or provide arts or cultural services for the public; • A history of vibrant artistic or cultural programming; and •a strong organizational capacity.
- Eligibility Criteria - Who May Apply
To be eligible for the GOS grant program, applicants must meet each of the following criteria:
· Have a primary mission to provide programs or activities in areas directly concerned with arts or cultural heritage for the general public.
o BOPA defines arts and culture as including, but not limited to, literature, theater, music, dance, ballet, painting, sculpture, photography, motion pictures, architecture, archaeology, history, natural history, or the natural sciences.
· Have a permanent and viable base in Baltimore City for a minimum of two years prior to the submission deadline for the FY22 General Operating Support application.
· Be and have been a 501(c)(3) organization for at least two years or be a successor to an arts or cultural organization that had been a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization for at least three years prior to the submission deadline.
o Organizations that utilize fiduciary organizations are eligible.
· Provide Independently Certified Audited Financial Statements for FY22 and FY23 if its annual budget is $500,000 or more; or provide either Independently Certified Audited or Reviewed Financial Statements for FY22 and FY23 if its annual budget is less than $500,000.
· Have a Certificate of Good Standing certifying that the applicant is a registered nonprofit corporation, in good standing, in the State of Maryland.
Who May NOT Apply
The following types of organizations are not eligible to apply to the GOS Program (this list is not meant to be exhaustive):
· Units of government, including K‐12 school districts; public colleges and universities; libraries; individuals; organizations that are the primary responsibility of a government agency; private K‐12 schools; private libraries;
· Organizations that are not in good standing with BOPA and/or not in compliance with previous grants.
o Additionally, organizational partners to artists receiving Project Support are not eligible for GOS funding in the same grant cycle.
Funding Restrictions
Creative Baltimore funds cannot be used for:
· Religious ceremonies or events advancing or inhibiting a particular religious ideology;
· Fundraising or advocacy of specific political causes or candidates
· Capital improvements (facilities and equipment)
· Agent’s fees for programs contracted through commercial agencies.
· Travel outside of the United States.
Panels
All BOPA grant programs are adjudicated using independent panels of arts and culture professionals from the region who evaluate and score applications. Panelists are appointed through open nominations and serve for specific grant programs and cycles.
Rubric
A panel review team will consider the following factors when scoring applications:
- Artistic and/or Cultural and Programmatic Merit
- Accessibility to under-served communities and a wide range of audiences
- Programmatic Quality
- Budget
Staff
BOPA grant programs are administered by professional staff responsible for ensuring an objective, equitable and transparent grant-making process that meets BOPA’s mission and core values. BOPA staff members provide pertinent and uniform information to the public regarding the grant application process and ensure that program guidelines and requirements are applied consistently. Employees of BOPA are not eligible to apply for this grant. Ownership of
Intellectual Property
BOPA does not own, collect royalties on or hold copyrights to artistic products resulting from its grants, nor will it take any action on behalf of the grantee (cultural partner) to protect the grantee’s intellectual property rights. BOPA does, however, have legal authority to reproduce and use submitted documentation (electronically and in print) of such artistic products for educational, promotional, official, or noncommercial purposes. Questions For additional information on the General Operating Support FY23 application please contact: Jocquelyn Downs, Arts Council Director, jdowns@promotionandarts.org. News, updates, and technical assistance workshops will be posted on the BOPA website, Facebook page and Twitter feed, and distributed through BOPA’s email distribution list. Interested applicants are encouraged to sign up at www.promotionandarts.org to receive notifications. Paper
Applications Paper applications can be mailed to:
7 St Paul St Suite 100, Baltimore, MD 21202
Any additional questions, please reach-out to Devin Shacklett
Dshacklett@promotionandarts.org
Application deadline for Semifinalists: Friday, March 31, 2023 at 5pm.
The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) is proud to announce the 18th edition of the Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize. The prize will award $30,000 to a visual artist or visual artist collaborators living and working in the Baltimore region. Approximately three finalists will be selected for the final review for the prizes; their work will be exhibited in the Walters Art Museum July–September 2023. All Sondheim Prize Finalists will be awarded a Finalist Award of $2,500 each, and each semifinalist will receive an exhibition at School 33 Art Center in September/October 2023. The program is made possible by the generous support of the Maryland State Arts Council.
We will also be awarding two residencies to finalists not selected for the Sondheim Prize: a six-week long fully funded residency at Civatella Ranieri in the Umbria region of Italy, and residency at the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower.
Civitella Ranieri (civitella.org) is a residency program for international writers, composers, and visual artists. Since 1995, Civitella has hosted more than 1,000 Fellows and Director’s Guests. The Center enables its Fellows to pursue their work and to exchange ideas in a unique and inspiring setting.
The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower (bromoseltzertower.com) has been a part of Baltimore’s skyline since 1911 and a beacon for innovation and the arts since 2007. The tower has been transformed into studio spaces for artists, writers, jewelers, architects, and more to create, exhibit, and sell their art. Located in the heart of the Bromo Arts & Entertainment District, this 15-story city landmark is the ideal location for artists to explore their practice.
Jurors
Kelly Baum — Kelly Baum is the Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Curator of Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has worked as a scholar and curator for almost twenty-five years. Before arriving at The Met, she held positions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin, and the Princeton University Art Museum, where she established the institution’s first department of modern and contemporary art. She has published widely and curated or co-curated dozens of exhibitions, including Delirious: Art at the Limits of Reason, 1950-1980; Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963-2017; Wangechi Mutu: The NewOnes, will free Us; Alice Neel: People Come First; Charles Ray: Figure Ground; and Hew Locke: Gilt. She received her PhD from the University of Delaware in 2005 and was a 2018 fellow in the Center for Curatorial Leadership.
Devin Morris — Devin N. Morris is a Baltimore born, Brooklyn based artist. Morris was recently in The Aesthetics of Matter, the first NYC curatorial project by Deux Femme Noires: Mickalene Thomas and Racquel Chevremont. He was also featured in the New Museum’s MOTHA and Chris E. Vargas’ Consciousness Razing — The Stonewall Re-Memorialization Project, and the two-person show, Inside Out, Here, at La Mama Gallery, curated by Eric Booker (Studio Museum, Exhibition Coordinator). Morris is the founder of 3 Dot Zine, which is an annual publication that serves as a forum for marginalized concerns and recently hosted the Brown Paper Zine & Small Press Fair with the Studio Museum in Harlem and created a site-specific installation at the MoMA PS1 2018 NY Art Book Fair. His 2017 solo show at Terrault Contemporary was listed in Artforum as the “Best of 2017,” and he was named by Time Magazine in 2017 as one of “12 African American Photographers You Should Follow.”
Ingrid Schaffner — Curator at Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. Prior, she was the curator of 2018 Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Chief Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania from 2000–2015. Schaffner work often coalesces around themes of archiving and collecting, photography, feminism, and alternate modernisms — especially surrealism. She has curated important exhibitions that have helped studio craft to gain acceptance as fine arts, such as Dirt on Delight: Impulses That Form Clay with Jenelle Porter at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia in 2009. Schaffner co-authored the publication Deep Storage which was a major international survey of 50 contemporary artists representing issues and images of collecting, storage, and archiving. Other exhibitions include Pictures, Patents, Monkeys, More … on collecting, Richard Tuttle, In Parts, 1998–2001, and The Photogenic: Photography Through its Metaphor. She has also penned numerous publications on 20th-century art, art reviews in Artforum, and catalog essays.
Review Process
The selection process will occur in three phases:
First Review — Jurors will review applicants’ submissions independent of each other. They will complete score sheets that will be tabulated to select approximately 13–15 semifinalists. Submissions will consist of five (5) digital images of work or up to ten (10) minutes of time-based work and a resume.
Second Review — Semifinalists will be asked to submit an expanded submission including up to 30 images or time-based works along with an artist statement, resume, short bio and image description list. The jurors will convene to choose three finalists for the exhibition and final review (this is where Semifinalists are!)
Works by the remaining semifinalists will be selected by BOPA Prizes and Competitions Manager Lou Joseph for an exhibition at School 33 Art Center in September/October 2023.
Final Review — The finalists will have their work exhibited in the Walters Art Museum. Each finalist will meet with the Walters Art Museum curators to determine installation requirements.
Finalists will work collaboratively with the WAM curators to determine which artwork is to be included in the finalist exhibition; however, the final decision on what is exhibited and the decision regarding the feasibility of installation requirements is the responsibility of the WAM curators. The exhibit design and artwork placement within these galleries is at the sole discretion of the WAM curatorial and exhibition staff. On Saturday, July 22, 2023, the jurors will meet with each artist for up to 45 minutes in their exhibition space for a final interview. After all the interviews, the jurors will meet and decide the recipients for the Sondheim Art Prize, the residency at Civitella Ranieri, and the residency at the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower. The award will be announced at the award ceremony and reception at the Walters Art Museum on Thursday, July 27, 2023.
In the case of COVID-19 restrictions not allowing for in-person exhibitions, we will utilize the online platform Kunstmatrix, with curatorial assistance from the Walters curatorial staff. Interviews with each finalist will take place with the jurors online, and BOPA will coordinate an online award ceremony.
Please contact Lou Joseph at 443-263-4339 or ljoseph@promotionandarts.org with questions regarding the submission of sound-based work.
Guidelines (please review to make sure you are eligible!)
- Artists living and working in Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and the city of Alexandria in Virginia; Delaware and Adams, Chester, Franklin, Lancaster, and York counties in Pennsylvania are eligible to submit for this award.
- Artists may not be full-time students at the time of the exhibition and during the granting period. Students who will have graduated by the time of the exhibition and granting period may apply.
- Artists must live and work in one of the geographic areas listed above during time of application and during the entire granting period.
- Artists who work in collaboration may apply as a group. Each artist’s name and contact information should be listed on the application form. A one-page resume for the collaborative group and a single set of support materials should be submitted. Each individual member of the collaborative group must meet all other guidelines.
- Artists who apply as individuals must submit original artwork that is principally created by them. It is understood that sometimes individual artists may employ the work of another artist to complete a larger scale project. For example, an artist who works in video may choose to include sound in the video that is composed by another artist. In such cases, the individual artist applying to the Sondheim Prize must be the primary creator of the work, they must disclose any assistance received on artwork submitted for consideration and they must obtain permission from the contributor to submit the work for consideration. Failure to disclose this support will disqualify application, and the artist will be required to return any prize monies awarded.
- Upon www.submittable.com’s receipt of application materials, artists will be sent an automatic email confirmation. If an artist does not receive this confirmation within 48 hours, please contact Lou Joseph at ljoseph@promotionandarts.org.
- The award will be paid in monthly installments: $8,000 will be paid for the first month and $2,000 will be paid for each of the following 11 months. If artist collaborators are selected the above payments will be equally divided between the collaborating artists.
- Winners of the Sondheim Prize will be responsible for paying all applicable federal, state, and local taxes.
- Artists’ work included in the Semifinalist Exhibition will be insured during the exhibition duration by BOPA; artists’ work included in the Finalists exhibition at the Walters Art Museum will be insured by that organization while the artwork is on the premises of the Walters Art Museum.
- Winners of the Sondheim Prize will be required to file a final report by June 30, 2024, before the final payment. This report should include an explanation of how winning this prize has enabled the artist or artist collaborative group to further develop their work, as well as an explanation of any additional opportunities that may have arisen as a result of winning this prize.
- BOPA reserves the right to reproduce images of applicants’ work for printed or internet publicity, catalogue, or marketing purposes. The Walters Art Museum also will have the right to reproduce work relating to the 2023 Sondheim Prize.
- The decisions of the jurors are final. Jurors may change without notification.
- Finalists will be required to meet with Walters Art Museum curators to finalize their installation needs; these needs must meet the exhibition guidelines set forth by the Walters Art Museum. If required by the installation of the artwork or its intended interaction with the public, the Walters Art Museum may choose to issue waivers of liability to be signed by the artist. Otherwise, the Walters Art Museum will insure the artwork while in its possession.
- Artists chosen as finalists will be required to take primary responsibility for installing and deinstalling their work at the Walters Art Museum. Artists must be present on the Walters Art Museum premises for the installation and deinstallation of their work, which will occur Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9am and 4pm. If artists cannot personally be present for installation, their work will not be exhibited. While artists may bring assistants to help them with installation, they cannot serve as substitutes for the artists.
- Artists chosen as finalists must provide a complete list of materials used in artworks at the time of the initial site visit by Walters Art Museum curators and staff. Artists’ materials will be reviewed by the Walters Art Museum’s Conservation Department. Artists will additionally accommodate requests by Conservation team members to inspect work in person. Any material (including but not limited to salvaged lumber, food stuffs, other unstable organic materials, objects that off-gas fumes, and objects stored outdoors) that may introduce insects or present a risk to the Museum’s environment and collection will not be permitted inside of the Museum. It is the responsibility of each artist to suggest alternative works suitable for exhibition to the Walters Art Museum curators. If no acceptable alternatives are identified, the artist’s work will not be included in the exhibition but may be represented by photographic or video documentation to be provided by the artist.
- Finalists are strongly encouraged to attend the press preview for the Finalist exhibition, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 10:00 a.m.
- Finalists may be required to make presentations at the Walters Art Museum at some time during the duration of the exhibition, including during the awards ceremony.
- Photography by the public will be allowed in the Finalist Exhibition at the Walters Art Museum and in the Semifinalist Exhibition.
- As BOPA works towards building a collaborative marketplace for artists to share, promote and sell their work. We request that our Sondheim Award finalists join us for a cause marketing initiative to make art more accessible in a unique, nontraditional setting. We will do all the work, bringing artists and designers together to create one-of-kind, limited edition merchandise (apparel, accessories, and home décor). You as the artists will set the terms of the collaboration. Our goal is to design a partnership that is mutually and financially beneficial for everyone.
- Previous winners of the Sondheim Prize are not eligible to apply. Previous finalists and semifinalists may apply.
- BOPA and BFAI Board members, employees and/or relatives (defined as children, spouse, domestic partner, or parents) are not eligible to apply for the Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize.
Estimated Timeline
- Application deadline: Monday, January 23, 2023, 11:59 p.m.
- Announcement of semifinalists: Early March 2023
- Announcement of finalists: Mid-April 2023
- Finalist studio visits with exhibition curators: April 2023
- Finalist exhibition installation: July 10-14, 2023 (Mon.–Fri., 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.)
- Finalist exhibition Press Preview: Tuesday, July 18, 2023 (10:00 a.m.)
- Opening reception for Finalist Exhibition: Thursday, July 20, 2023, (6:00–8:00 p.m.)
- Finalist exhibition duration: July 20–September 5, 2023
- Finalist exhibition deinstallation: September 6–8, 2023
- Finalist interviews: Saturday, July 22, 2023 (afternoon)
- Award announcement: Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.; Galleries open at 6:00 p.m.
For more information, contact: Lou Joseph at 443-263-4339 or ljoseph@promotionandarts.org
RASH FIELD CAFÉ – MURAL PROJECT
Art Project Opportunity:
The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) in collaboration with Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore (WPOB) seek to commission professional visual artist to produce unique, original mural artwork designs for implementation in the new Rash Field Café at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. This commission of requires that sketch, mockup and final design digital image submissions of artwork for fabrication are original artworks that meet the design criteria of BOPA.
CLICK HERE FOR IMAGES OF THE CAFE IN PROGRESS AND ELEVATION DRAWINGS.
Eligibility
This opportunity is open to emerging and professional artists residing in the City of Baltimore. Employees of BOPA and WPOB are not eligible to apply.
Scope of Work for painted interior wall artwork:
· BOPA will solicit art design proposals from qualified artists for the Rash Filed Café Mural Project. A panel of project stakeholders will select an artist finalist to prepare a final art design for implementation in the Café interior.
· Applicants submit art design concept proposals that meet the design criteria set forth in this RFP.
· Commissioned artists participate in multiple rounds of design development to provide revisions to the project stakeholders before final artwork is approved. Sketch, mockup and final design digital image submissions of art works for fabrication meet the design criteria of BOPA and WPOB.
· Commissioned artists are required to provide the final, approved artwork designs in a digital format that meets the technical specifications of BOPA and WPOB.
· Commissioned artists design and implement an interior wall painted mural at Rash Field Café.
Project Goals:
The purpose of the Art Projects is to improve the appearance of an area, raise the profile and awareness of the Rash Field Cafe. The commissioned artwork should include and reflect the following elements/themes:
· Beauty of surrounding landscape (Inner Harbor)
· Maryland/Baltimore pride and culture
· The brightness and potential of our hometown
The inclusion of artwork in public places increases quality of life in Baltimore’s dynamic communities celebrates local artists and promotes accessibility to the arts.
Budget
The selected artist / artist team will receive a commission of $17,000.00 The funding is inclusive of all artist fees including assistants, material supplies costs, equipment rentals, installation and site work expenses, digital file formatting services, and taxes. Artist payments will be administered in phases as deliverables are met.
Art Design Guidelines
• Artists are encouraged to develop designs that highlight the beauty and unique features of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, celebrate community pride and/or feature highlights of iconic or important local Baltimore histories. Additionally, designs may be considered that highlight the park's features, especially that of the of Adventure play, Nature play, vitsa, and skateboarding area
• Art designs must be clear, simple, affirming, identifiable, or recognizable forms that generally evoke positivity and are universally understood by both youth and adults.
• Imagery must avoid violence, criminal or sexual activity, racist or religious symbolism. Imagery of suffering or death should be excluded.
• Artists should consider the limited timeframe and project budget. The artwork must be of a nature that can be displayed by a public entity for the enjoyment of a diverse, family-type audience
Application Requirements:
Please to the application link at (link), each application must include the following:
· Artist Contact information (Name, Address, Email, Telephone)
· A color image or images of the proposed artwork with a description of the piece, materials and installation method
· A short description of why the proposed artwork meets the goals of this Call to Art (100 words or less)
· CV or Current Resume, including name, address, phone number, email address and website for all members of the team
· Description of previous mural installations, including color digital images of previous relevant work with annotated image descriptions. JPEG format preferred for previous artwork samples (Please label: Last name, First name, Maximum 5 work Samples)
· All digital works must be in jpg, png or pdf format. Digital work should be sent in a file no less than 300 dpi.
Overview of the Rash Field Cafe:
Rash Field Café, developed by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, is sited on Rash Field at 300 Key Highway, Baltimore, MD 21202. The Café is the centerpiece of the southwest inner harbor promenade and serves as a visitor center for tourists and residents. The park was developed with much input from surrounding neighborhoods and aims to be a play destination for Baltimoreans of all-ages.
Production Timeline
September - October
· Call to Artists opens September 17, 2021
· Deadline for Submissions – October 15, 2021
· Selection and notification to artists – October 22, 2021
October – November
· Art Design Development - late October
· Equipment & Supplies Procurement - early November
· Art Implementation - starting November 15, 2021
· Deadline for completed artwork – November 30, 2021
Project Budget
Commission Award to Selected Artist for Procurement of Material Supplies, Installation Costs and Artist Fees
$17,000.00
Selection Criteria
Applications will be reviewed based on the following criteria:
-Quality of proposal
-Visual and technical sophistication
-Proven experience completing projects on time and on budget
-Experience producing artwork for a highly visible public environment
-Art concept design proposal meets RFP design criteria
Notification
All applicants will be notified of the Artist Selection Panels decision by October 22, 2021. The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts and the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore reserve the right not to select any of the applicants.
All applications must be received by 5:00 pm, October 15, 2021
We’re here to help!
We are happy to help to answer any questions about the application process.
For any inquires related to the call or artist selection process please contact:
Lou Joseph, Project Manager
Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts
For technical assistance with logging into or navigating Submittable.com please see:
TO APPLY, begin by setting up your free Submittable account. See below
The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts is excited to announce Arts In Action Arts Education grant opportunities for teaching artists and non profit organizations with an arts education focus. Arts in Action grants support arts education projects/classes/workshops that take place in-school, after school, or in local community settings for the 2023-2024 academic school year. Grants range from $1000 to $5,000. This grant is made possible by the generous support of the Maryland State Arts Council.
Eligibility
- Classes/Workshops can support K-12 aged students, creative aging, and incarcerated/reentry populations.
- Classes/Workshops may be delivered in-person only
- Applicant must provide at least 6 sequential, teaching sessions between the same teaching artist(s) and the same cohort of students/people.
- Student cohorts must have a minimum of 10 students per session.
- Applicant must provide stated learning goals, outcomes, and evaluation plan.
- Class/Workshop spaces must be accessible to those with disabilities. Also, activities must be altered to meet the needs of the visually and hearing impaired upon appropriate notification of need.
Program Criteria
Grants are awarded via a merit‐based review process based upon the following criteria:
- Programmatic quality is valued over participant quantity.
- Artistic and/or Cultural and Programmatic Merit
- Learning Outcomes & Evaluation
- Student Benefit & Accessibility
- Managerial & Fiscal Competence
- Grants range from $1000 to $5,000
Applicant Requirements
- Individual/Teaching artists and/or non-profit organization must be based in Baltimore City.
- School partners and non-profit organizations must be located in Baltimore City.
- Individual/Teaching artists and/or organizations must have at least 2 years of prior teaching experience and/or history of implementing workshops/ classes with youth.
Eligible Project Expenses
- Only direct artistic costs and materials will be considered for funding.
- Project must provide sequential, skills‐based study that incorporates one or more art forms, that is hands-on and participatory, and that involve at least 4 sessions between the same teaching artist(s) and the same group of students. Sessions may be in-person or virtual.
- Materials/supplies costs
- Artist fees
Ineligible Project Expenses
- Projects already partially or fully funded by schools/ partner organizations.
- Fellowships and/or scholarships
- Project income exceeding project expenses (below $100 or more than $5000)
- Subsidizes entertainment costs (e.g. theater parties, gallery/museum openings, receptions)
- Supports fundraising activities
- Partners with a school that is private or parochial within Baltimore City, not recognized by BCPS
- Is a standalone, single occurrence activity
Project Budget:
- Project budgets must be submitted as part of your application. Budgets should realistically reflect the costs of executing the projects/classes/workshops
Grant Timeline
- Applications Open: June 12 2023
- Application Closes: July 14 2023
- Applicants Notified the week of August 28 2023 (100% of funding received upon execution of agreement)
- Final Reports are due Friday Sept 6th 2024
- Staff, relatives, and board members of BOPA Inc are ineligible to apply for this grant.
TO APPLY:
- Create an account with Submittable. It’s free.
- Enter your contact information
- Follow steps to upload your CV (or Resume)
- Project description (various disciplines and workshops serving underserved communities are strongly encouraged to apply)
- Date(s) and location(s) of project
- Letter of Support from partner organization/school/center
- Program Goals/Outcomes
- Budget
The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts is excited to announce Youth Arts Advocacy Enrichment Grant. This grant provides funding opportunities for organizations that have existing programs or would like to create youth programming components that focus on arts advocacy with Baltimore City youth. The insights and experiences of our young people provides them a unique ability to lead change and transform their communities. This program aims to provide young people with resources and opportunities to advance in the field of art and culture beyond performance or workshop experiences. This grant is made possible by the Maryland State Arts Council.
Program focus areas include but are not limited to the following:
Arts Education
Public/Community Art
Arts and Mental Health
Arts and Social Justice
Eligibility
- Programming can support cohorts ages 13-21.
- Program activity may be delivered in-person only
- Organizations must have regular meetings over the course of a 12 month period
- Student cohorts must have a minimum of 5 students per session.
- Program design must incorporate a culminating event, experience or project that can be shared with the public
- Program content should be driven by the youth
- Class/Workshop spaces must be accessible to those with disabilities. Also, activities must be altered to meet the needs of the visually and hearing impaired upon appropriate notification of need.
Program Criteria
Grants are awarded via a merit‐based review process based upon the following criteria:
- Programmatic quality is valued over participant quantity.
- Learning Outcomes & Anticipated Impact
- Student Benefit & Accessibility
- $2500 or $5000
Applicant Requirements
- Non-profit organizations must be based in Baltimore City.
- School partners and non-profit organizations must be located in Baltimore City.
- Must have at least 2 years of prior experience and/or history of implementing youth development programming.
Eligible Project Expenses
- Only direct artistic costs and materials will be considered for funding.
- Programming must include regular meetings with youth and incorporate one or more art forms while addressing one of the focus areas.
- Sessions may be in-person only.
- Materials/supplies costs/culminating event/project
- Student stipends
Ineligible Project Expenses
- Projects already partially or fully funded by schools/ partner organizations.
- Fellowships and/or scholarships
- Project income exceeding project expenses (below $100 or more than $5000)
- Subsidizes entertainment costs (e.g. theater parties, gallery/museum openings, receptions)
- Supports fundraising activities
- Partners with a school that is private or parochial within Baltimore City, not recognized by BCPS
- Is a standalone, single occurrence activity
Project Budget:
- Project budgets must be submitted as part of your application. Budgets should realistically reflect the costs of executing the programming.
Grant Timeline
- Applications Open: June 5 2023
- Application Closes: July 14 2023
- Applicants Notified the week of August 28 2023 (100% of funding received upon execution of agreement)
- Final Reports are due Friday Sept 6th 2024
- Staff, relatives, and board members of BOPA Inc are ineligible to apply for this grant.
TO APPLY:
- Create an account with Submittable. It’s free.
- Enter your contact information
- Follow steps to upload your CV (or Resume)
- Project description (various disciplines and workshops serving underserved communities are strongly encouraged to apply)
- Date(s) and location(s) of project
- Letter of Support from partner organization/school/center
- Program Goals/Outcomes
- Budget