The 2024 open call has concluded. Stay tuned for the grantee announcement!
The Current Art Fund granting program is organized and administered by Tri-Star Arts as a partner in the Regional Regranting Program of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Q&A Sessions, led by Tri-Star Arts Director Brian R. Jobe, were held in the following places:
Virtual Q&A #2 — Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at 11:30 am CDT / 12:30 am EDT via Zoom
Nashville Q&A — Tuesday, June 18 at 11:30 am CDT at Fisk University Galleries, 1000 17th Avenue N, Nashville, TN 37208 (corner of DB Todd Jr Boulevard and Jackson Street)
Chattanooga Q&A — Friday, June 14 at 12:00 pm EDT at Stove Works, 1250 East 13th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408
Virtual Q&A #1 — Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 11:30 am CDT / 12:30pm EDT via Zoom * watch recorded conversation here
Knoxville Q&A — Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 12:00 pm EDT at Tri-Star Arts, Multi-Purpose Room, 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920
Memphis Q&A — Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at 12:00 pm CDT at Crosstown Arts, Classroom Glass Room, 1350 Concourse Ave #280, Memphis, TN 38104
The Current Art Fund granting program is organized and administered by Tri-Star Arts as a partner in the Regional Regranting Program of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
The Current Art Fund seeks to support visual artists and artist collectives in creating independent, non-traditional, public-facing projects that contribute to the rich dialogue within contemporary visual art scenes across the state of Tennessee.
The fund annually disburses grants totaling $60,000 to Tennessee-based artists 21 years of age and older in support of project expenses.
Grantees will be selected by a 4 person jury panel composed of internationally recognized artists, collectors, curators, administrators, gallerists, educators, and arts professionals.
The Current Art Fund program tangibly illustrates the Tri-Star Arts mission of cultivating and spotlighting contemporary visual art in Tennessee, championing innovation within our local art communities, and supporting artists across the state. BIPOC and AAPI applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.
Our 2024 granting cycle will award project-based grants to fund artists’ innovative contributions to the visual arts conversation in Tennessee.
The Current Art Fund will distribute grants of $7,500 each to 8 Tennessee-based contemporary visual artists and artist collectives, selected by a 4 person jury panel, to use towards the realization of a dynamic and accessible project.
Awarding grants to artists living throughout the breadth of Tennessee will be a high priority in the jurors’ selection process. Applicants may submit projects featuring 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D work (or a combination).
The online application open call dates span Tuesday, June 4, 2024 through Saturday, August 31, 2024.
Project proposals should endeavor to be innovative and expand the possibilities of how the applicant’s work can engage audiences in Tennessee and the contemporary art world beyond. Applicants should consider what visual and social impact their project could have upon local communities, and how it could expand how viewers experience their surroundings or circumstances. Furthermore, applicants are invited to consider infusing their project’s vision with an expansive scope that invites collaborators and/or persons with additional skill sets into the process (to be reflected in the description of the project and budget).
Our 2024 jurors are Brittney Boyd Bullock (Artist, 2022 Current Art Fund Grantee, Memphis, TN), Karlota Contreras-Koterbay (Director, Tipton & Slocumb Galleries, Department of Art & Design, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN), Sarah Martin (Public Art Project Manager, Durham County Government, Durham, NC), and John Riepenhoff (Administrator, The Open Fund, Milwaukee, WI). Bios listed below.
There is no application fee to apply.
Artists will be asked to submit an application including the following:
(1) Project title and artist or artist collective bio
(2) Short and Full descriptions of the project (Short description: 200 word count maximum / Full description: 1000 word count maximum)
(3) Description of the project’s audience (to be included in the Full description)
(4) Proposed timeline (doesn’t have to be confirmed / to be included in the Full description)
(5) Additional links to websites, image captions
(6) A budget using our provided template
(7) Up to 10 files sized to a maximum of 2mb each with a maximum of 2 minutes for video file length.
If applicants are unable to complete the online application, they are welcome to email their responses and/or any questions to “Current Art Fund inquiry” at info@tristararts.org or mail their physical application materials to:
4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920
If applicants would like the application in another language, they may submit that request to “Current Art Fund inquiry” at info@tristararts.org.
All applicants must be 21 years of age or older and reside (with a mailing address) in the state of Tennessee.
Project proposals must be submitted by one individual and, if the proposal comes from a Tennessee-based artist collective, the individual submitting the application must be the project’s point person, designated to receive all communications and funding distribution.
A list of Frequently Asked Questions, the link to the online application, dates and locations of virtual and in-person Q&A sessions, led by Tri-Star Arts Director Brian R. Jobe, and more are posted to this web page.
Contemporary visual artists who are 21 years of age and older and residing in the state of Tennessee are eligible to apply. Applicants must provide proof of TN residency.
No, there is not an application fee.
How to Submit an application
Submittable will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to whitelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly. Check out the Submitter Resource Center or reach out to Submittable's Customer Support team with any technical questions here.
Art portfolio website, CV, and other related documentation
The submission of a project title, vision statement, long format project description, proposed timeline, proposed materials, audience description, geographic location, physical scale, applicable web links, and other descriptors is required. Applicants should upload the following to their application: concept renderings, relevant visuals, schematics, or plans. Including numerous support files with a proposal is strongly encouraged. Applicants may submit up to 10 files sized to a maximum of 2mb each with a maximum of 2 minutes for video file length. 2D, 3D, and 4D work (or a combination) will be considered. Applicants should keep in mind that the grant amount and proposed budget should both total $7,500.
The Current Art Fund will award a total of $60,000 in the form of 8 grants of $7,500 each to Tennessee-based artists.
No, applicants may not submit multiple individual projects.
Yes, prior year grantees may apply if they have taken a gap year off from applying. For example, a 2022 grantee may apply in 2024.
The award should be used to achieve all enumerated project goals as outlined in the applicant’s proposed budget. The budget categories are materials, fabrication, media, photo and video documentation, artist labor or compensation, contracted labor, transportation, advertising, other services, and other expenses. It is not necessary to address every category in your project proposal - only what is applicable to the project.
Yes, we expect you to pay the people involved in your project, including yourself, for their contributions. Yes, as long as the equipment is necessary for the development of your project.
Recipients will be required to send along regular progress updates to Tri-Star Arts to be posted by Tri-Star Arts/ Current Art Fund at our discretion on our website, social media, and more. The frequency of updates will be determined in collaboration with the recipient and the Tri-Star Arts/ Current Art Fund on a project-by-project basis. A final report detailing the outcomes of the project is due by May 31, 2025 at the latest but may be submitted earlier pending project completion. $7,000 will be distributed at the outset of the award. The final $500 of the award amount will be retained until a final report is submitted.
No, we are looking for new projects that can be accomplished within the given timeline. All projects must be completed by May 31, 2025. We cannot accept projects that have already begun or are currently in process. We cannot accept already finished projects that are seeking reimbursement.
A public-facing project is one that actively engages an audience (anticipates an audience) and is accessible to the public.
Yes, Tennessee-based artist collectives may apply. Please keep in mind that all project proposals must be submitted by one individual and, if the proposal comes from a Tennessee-based artist collective, the individual submitting the application must be the project’s point person, designated to receive all communications and funding distribution. If individuals are part of multiple Tennessee-based artist collectives, they may be named (or be the point person) in submissions by multiple Tennessee-based artist collectives, as long as all projects are distinctly different from one another.
No, curators may not apply. Current Art Fund grants are intended for artists to support their own practices/ studio work.
Tri-Star Arts/ Current Art Fund invites contemporary art world leaders to serve on a jury panel. Our 2024 jurors are Brittney Boyd Bullock (Artist, 2022 Current Art Fund Grantee, Memphis, TN), Karlota Contreras-Koterbay (Director, Tipton & Slocumb Galleries, Department of Art & Design, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN), Sarah Martin (Public Art Project Manager, Durham County Government, Durham, NC), and John Riepenhoff (Administrator, The Open Fund, Milwaukee, WI). Reflecting a range of valuable perspectives, these jury panelists will review and assess the submitted applications. Jurors will select the grantees and then Tri-Star Arts/ Current Art Fund will award the grants.
Tri-Star Arts is pleased to share an opportunity for all artists, including 2024 applicants and prior grantees, to register for a free Creative Capital Curriculum account. This is a useful professional development tool and we’re grateful that it’s now available and FREE for individual, personal use. More information may be found here.
This is an optional resource and not required for completion of the Current Art Fund grant application.
The Creative Capital Curriculum combines evergreen elements of artist professional development with contemporary critical frameworks in cultural discourse to create cohesive, multi-week asynchronous courses. It offers access to exercises from working artists and educators, combining on-demand course modules and live discussions to enhance artists’ professional development. Submit your registration information here to enroll in one of their current offerings.
Brittney Boyd Bullock is a visual artist living and working in Memphis, TN. As an artist working in fiber, mixed media, and abstraction, her practice explores the power and connection felt when we slow down to reimagine and reframe the observable world. Outside of her studio practice, she is a non-profit arts consultant and educator. Boyd Bullock has worked as Project Manager for the Urban Art Commission, managing Memphis's largest public art archive, and as the Partnerships and Community Engagement Manager for Crosstown Concourse & Crosstown Arts, overseeing various collaborative creative programs and exhibitions. As the former director of youth programs for the Memphis Music Initiative, she developed an award-winning program for black and brown youth where she cultivated relationships with young people and arts organizations to build spaces for youth that inspire and invite joy, truth-telling, and anti-adultist practices. She’s been awarded grants and fellowships for her work as an artist working in communities, including the Americans for the Arts Public Art Scholarship and Robert E. Gard Award, The Kresge Foundation, and the Assisi Foundation. Awarded artist residencies/ grants include Crosstown Arts, Carrell Artist in Residence, New Public Artist Fellowship, and Current Art Fund grant from Tri-Star Arts.
Karlota Contreras-Koterbay is an Appalachian-based Filipinx curator, artist and arts administrator. She is Director of the ETSU Tipton & Slocumb Galleries under the Department of Art & Design at East Tennessee State University where she develops diverse, innovative and collaborative exhibitions and educational programs that serve the Appalachian Highland region. Contreras- Koterbay has juried exhibitions and grants in Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas. She is recipient of numerous grants from the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Project; Arts Fund and Hope in Action from East Tennessee Foundation, Arts Project Support and Arts Build Communities from Tennessee Arts Commission; and In These Mountains from South Arts. Karlota Contreras-Koterbay received her Master of Art (MA) in Art History and Bachelor of Art (BA) in Anthropology with honors from the University of the Philippines - Diliman. She is a member of the International Association of Aesthetics, International Council on Museums, Southeastern College Art Conference, and the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries. She has served as Board Member for the Art Association of the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts; and Board Director for the Mid-South Sculpture Alliance (MSA). She is a member of the IKT International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art and International Council of Museums.
Sarah Martin is an educator, photographer, and writer currently serving as public art project manager in Durham, North Carolina. Sarah earned her BA in Media Art from the University of Tennessee and her MFA in Photography from Yale University. Sarah has taught at Yale University and the University of Tennessee, created a photography major at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, served as an Artist in Residence at Lyon College, and chaired the art department at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. Sarah exhibits her photography and video art internationally.
John Riepenhoff was born in 1982 in Milwaukee, WI where he lives and works. He earned a BFA from the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, founding The Green Gallery while still a student there. His artistic practice and roles curating and directing projects were intertwined from the beginning, each role informing the others. Riepenhoff is currently the Executive Director of Sculpture Milwaukee, runs The Open Fund and the Beer Endowment to create revenue streams for artist-run projects. He co-founded the Milwaukee International and Dark Fairs, advises collections, and is an inventor of artistic platforms for the expression of others. He is curator of this year’s Sculpture Milwaukee exhibition Actual Fractals, Act II. His exhibitions and curatorial projects have been presented at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; Crystal Bridges, Bentonville, Arkansas; Poor Farm, Wisconsin; Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee; Inova, Milwaukee; Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN; Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta; and John Michael Kohler Art Preserve, Sheboygan, Wisconsin among others. He was the 2015 Milwaukee Arts Board Artist of the Year and is a frequent collaborator on food and design projects.
Brittney Boyd Bullock (2022)
Scott Carter (2021)
Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo (2021)
Sepideh Tajalizadeh Dashti (2023)
Eric Echols (2021)
Nelson Gutierrez (2023)
Lawrence Matthews (2022)
MengCheng 梦城团 Collective (2023)
Lester Merriweather (2022)
Johana Moscoso (2021)
McLean Fahnestock (2022)
Jana Harper (2023)
Sisavanh Phouthavong Houghton (2022)
Jessica Ingram (2022)
Shabazz Larkin (2023)
Vesna Pavlović (2021)
Nabou Ramu (2023)
Vadis Turner (2021)
Emily Weiner (2021)
Mark Bradley-Shoup (2021)
Katie Hargrave (2023)
Risa Hricovsky (2021)
Jake Ingram (2021)
Megan Ledbetter (2023)
Vanessa Mayoraz (2022)
Althea Murphy-Price (2021)
Andrew O'Brien (2021)
Raymond Padron (2022)
Andrew Scott Ross (2022)
Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels (2023)
Patricia Lee Daigle (2023)
Elizabet Elliott (2023)
Derek Fordjour (2021)
Alexis Johnson (2021)
James McAnally (2022)
Althea Murphy-Price (2022)
Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi (2022)
Raymond Padron (2023)
Elliot Perry (2022)
Marin Sullivan (2021)
Tri-Star Arts serves Tennessee by cultivating and spotlighting the contemporary visual art scenes in each region while fostering a unified state-wide art scene. Tri-Star Arts programs promote art dialogue between the different cities in the state, and between the state and the nation. The Current Art Fund amplifies this mission.
If individuals and businesses would like to support the Current Art Fund to extend its impact, tax-deductible donations may be made online or by mail to Tri-Star Arts Memo: Current Art Fund, 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920.
CONTACT: info@tristararts.org
Follow Current Art Fund on Instagram and Facebook. #CURRENTARTFUND
Equal Opportunity Treatment Matters to us
view our Title VI complaint processes
Copyright © 2024 Tri-Star Arts - All Rights Reserved.