You must be:

• 18 years of age or older.
• Domiciled in Rhode Island for at least two years at the time of application. This means Rhode Island is your primary residence, and is the address you use for legal forms, state income taxes, car registration, driver’s license or state issued identification, and voter registration - regardless of whether you own or rent your home. You must reside in the state for at least 183 days per year.
• A legal resident of the United States with a tax identification number (either Social Security number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). This includes refugees, immigrants, and temporary residents. This does not include people in the country on a tourist visa.
• A practicing artist. RISCA defines practicing artist as: a person that intentionally creates or practices art in any discipline that:
  • Has sought learning or training in the artistic field from any source, not necessarily in formal academic institutions.
  • Is committed to devoting significant time to artistic activity, as is possible financially.
  • Is or is working toward earning some portion of their income from their art.
  • Disciplines include, but are not limited to, musician, painter, poet, choreographer, teaching artist, ceramicist, storyteller, performer, playwright, sculptor, photographer, wampum artist, printmaker, animator, cartoonist, textile and fashion designer, and filmmaker.
• Submitting only one application per grant deadline to the General Operating Support for Artists program.

Ineligible

If you are:

• A staff member or Council member of RISCA, or an immediate family member of a staff or Council member.
• Currently enrolled in an arts degree seeking program or attending high school full time.
• A previous recipient of the General Operating Support for Artists grant.
• Delinquent on any final reports for previous RISCA grants.

• All grant awards are contingent upon the availability of funds from the Rhode Island State General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
• The grant award in this category is $6,000 per year for three years, for a total of $18,000.
  • Note: No partial grants will be awarded – meaning you will either receive the full amount you apply for or no funding.

• Grant applications are considered on a competitive basis. Grant award may vary in amount cycle to cycle depending on available funds, number of applications, and the panel decision-making. For more information on our Decision-Making Process, visit our Applicant Resources web page.
• You have the option of declining the grant award with no penalties.

If you receive a grant, you must credit RISCA on all marketing materials. See Acknowledging RISCA.

• You must continue to be a resident of Rhode Island for the full grant period, including spending a minimum of 183 days per year in the state. If you move out of state for any reason during your three-year funding period, you will not receive any of the remaining grant award payments. You will not have to repay previous grant payments.

Allowable

The General Operating Support for Artists is unrestricted funding. We ask and expect you to spend the funds in a way that helps you advance your art practice and your art career, in alignment with your definition of success in your application.

Not Allowable

Grant funding cannot be used for the following:

• Capital projects, including the construction or renovation of buildings, or additions to buildings.
• Any fundraising expenses – like creating rewards for a Kickstarter or hosting a fundraising event for any purpose.
• Purchase of alcohol with grant funds is strictly prohibited. You may not spend grant funds on hospitality, travel, or food and beverage expenses if they are not integral to the goals described in your application.
• Addressing, eliminating, or reducing existing debt.
• Prizes and awards for an event, person, and/or organization.
• Regranting funds to support grants to other artists or organizations through an application or award process.
• Activities that are associated with a graduate or undergraduate degree program or for which academic credit is received.
• Applications for projects that proselytize or promote religious activities, or which take place as part of a religious service.­­
• Expenses incurred or activity happening outside of the award period.

Per the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) enabling legislation, The NEA requires that state arts agencies include artistic merit and artistic excellence in their evaluative criteria. However, the NEA allows state arts agencies to define artistic merit and excellence for themselves and in conversation with their communities. For this grant program, artistic merit and artistic excellence is defined as “Artistic Vibrancy and Intention.”

Artistic Impact and Growth (50%)

• This grant will positively impact the applicant’s artistic practice and/or career in clearly identified ways.
• The work samples provided are relevant, cohesive, and speak to the potential of the artist to advance in their career.
• Success is clearly defined, with specific shorter-term goals that support the artist’s definition of success.

Artistic Vibrancy and Intention (25%)

• Personal voice, vision, and authenticity show in the proposal.
• Applicant demonstrates a clear understanding of and commitment to their craft, both in look and feel and technical skill.
• Application and support materials demonstrate a consistency of actions, values, methods, and goals.

Cohort & Community (25%)

• This grant will positively impact the artist’s community and the grantee cohort.
• The applicant clearly describes what the artist hopes to gain and to contribute as a member of the Cohort.
• This application supports this artist being an active and productive member of the Cohort and learning community.

You are required to submit:

• Bio/Resume/CV: The artist bio, resume, or cv must be submitted as either a word document or PDF. Please submit whichever of the three, or a combination, that you feel best represents you.
• Letter of Recommendation: A one-page maximum letter of support from someone you respect and that can speak to your potential as an artist. This letter should be focused on you as an artist and be in direct relationship with the review criteria. The letter must be written by a Rhode Island resident and must not be written by an immediate family member.
• Work Samples List: A numbered list of the samples you are submitting, which includes title, year, and medium. It may include one to three sentences of context about the piece. This must be submitted in the google drive, along with the work samples.

You may submit:

• Website: The website will be submitted as a link and must be to the website of the artist.
• Social Media: You may include up to three artist specific social media profiles, such as Instagram or YouTube. These must be artist/professional accounts, not your personal account, and must be set to public. These must be submitted as links.
• Work Samples: All files must be included in a google drive folder you create, with sharing settings either open to everyone or “anyone with the link.” You may submit a maximum of three of the following:
  • Up to 10 images.
  • Up to 15 minutes of video.
  • Up to 15 minutes of audio.
  • Up to 30 pages of writing.
  • Up to one full manuscript of dramatic writing for performance.

Note: File formats you can directly upload to the application include JPG, PDF, Word, Excel. Please do not submit files in Pages or Numbers format. Our grants system is unable to read files in these formats.

Practicing Artist: A person that intentionally creates or practices art in any discipline that:

• Has sought learning or training in the artistic field from any source, not necessarily in formal academic institutions.
• Is committed to devoting significant time to artistic activity, as is possible financially.
• Is or is working toward earning some portion of their income from their art.
• Disciplines include, but are not limited to musician, painter, poet, choreographer, teaching artist, ceramicist, storyteller, performer, playwright, sculptor, photographer, wampum artist, printmaker, animator, cartoonist, textile and fashion designer, and filmmaker.

Rhode Island Residency: Have been domiciled in Rhode Island for at least one year at the time of application. This means Rhode Island is your primary residence, and is the address you use for legal forms, state income taxes, car registration, driver’s license or state issued identification, and voter registration - regardless of whether you own or rent your home. You must reside in the state for at least 183 days per year.