The Artist Opportunity Grant Program is intended to provide financial assistance to Montgomery County artists to further their careers through professional development opportunities and through opportunities associated with new works. This program is made possible by funding from the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District (MCACD) and is administered by Culture Works. The MCACD is providing $40,000 for the 2021-2022 cycle, and grants will range from $500 to $3,000.
The project or opportunity for which an applicant seeks funding must take place between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. If the grant is to complete a project already in progress, it must culminate with a completed work in 2022. Projects anticipated to not be completed by December 31, 2022 will not be considered. Click here to read the full 2021-2022 Artist Opportunity Grant Guidelines.
PROGRAM GOALS
Artist Opportunity Grants help advance the careers of individual artists by supporting expenses related to specific, unique opportunities that have the potential to significantly impact an artist’s work and professional development. The purpose of these grants is to empower artists at critical stages in their creative lives. The goal is to assist artists in Montgomery County in furthering and innovating their work, to elevate the quality and raise the profile of individual artistic work in the region, and to help artists achieve their artistic and career goals through the pursuit of new works or professional/career development opportunities in the field, thereby making them competitive in the creative marketplace. Grants are intended to fund an artist’s vision or voice, regardless of the level of his or her artistic career point (emerging, mid-career, mature) or genre.
2021-2022 TIMELINE
Monday, August 9, 2021 – Application opens.
Tuesday, August 31, 2021, noon – Virtual Artist Opportunity Grant Info Session for first-time applicants via Zoom. Register to attend here.
Friday, October 8, 2021 – Deadline to apply, 11:59pm EST
Mid-November 2021 – Virtual public panel meeting. Applicants will receive notification of their initial award status following the meeting. The panel’s funding recommendations must then receive final approval by the MCACD board.
January 2022 – Funding distributed to grantees.
December 31, 2022 – Projects must be completed.
