The Virtual Q&A Zoom Workshop took place on Thursday, July 15 and was recorded. This is the link and password:
password: CAF2021
Saturday, July 10 at 3:00 pm at Stove Works, 1250 E. 13th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408.
Friday, June 18 at 3:00 pm at Tri-Star Arts, Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920.
Thursday, June 3 at 3:00 pm at the Carl Van Vechten Gallery (lower level), Fisk University, adjacent to Jackson St. near the corner of Dr. DB Todd Jr. Blvd. Parking is available in the lot across Jackson St. beside Du Bois Hall (1717 Jackson St.) and behind the gallery in Nashville, TN.
Tuesday, June 1 at 3:00 pm at Tone, 2234 Lamar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38114.
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 in creating dynamic, public-facing, and non-commercially viable projects that are essential to the fabric of the contemporary visual art scene 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.
Awardees will be selected by a 3-person jury panel composed of nationally recognized artists and arts professionals.
The Current Art Fund propels the Tri-Star Arts mission of spotlighting and growing contemporary visual art in Tennessee through fostering collaboration within our local artistic communities and supporting artists across the state.
Our 2022 granting cycle will offer project-based grants to fund innovative contributions to the visual arts conversation and the arts infrastructure of Tennessee.
The Current Art Fund will provide 12 grants of $5000 each to Tennessee-based contemporary visual artists across the state, selected by a 3-person jury panel, to use towards the realization of a dynamic, public-facing, and non-commercially viable project.
Awarding grants to artists in each region of the state will be a high priority in the selection process. 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D work (or a combination) will be considered.
The 2022 application will open mid-year. Exact dates to be announced soon.
Proposed contemporary art projects should endeavor to be innovative and expand the possibilities of how art can interact with and impact audiences in Tennessee and beyond. Key considerations for applications will include: If the project is successful, what impact will it have made on its communities and audiences? How will the project expand how audiences experience their surroundings or circumstances?
There is no application fee to apply.
Artists will be asked to submit an application including the following:
(1) Project title and artist bio
(2) Short & full descriptions of the project
(3) Description of the project’s audience
(4) Proposed timeline (doesn’t have to be confirmed)
(5) Additional links to websites, image captions
(6) Upload a budget using our provided template
(7) At least 1 image with a max of 5 sized to a max of 1600 pixels in any direction at 100 dpi;
for optimal viewing results for video, please provide an external link to Vimeo/YouTube rather than uploading a file.
BIPOC and AAPI applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.
If applicants are unable to complete the online application, they are welcome to email their responses and/or any questions to the “CAF support” at info@tristararts.org
or mail application materials to:
Tri-Star Arts
4450 Candora Ave. Knoxville, TN 37920.
All applicants must be 21 years of age or older and reside in the state of Tennessee.
Virtual and in-person Q&A workshops lead by Tri-Star Arts Executive Director Brian R. Jobe will be scheduled throughout the application period.
Contemporary visual artists who are 21 years of age and older and residing in the state of Tennessee. NOTE: Applicants should provide proof of TN residency.
No, there is not an application fee to apply.
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 a maximum of 5 files, sized to a maximum of 1600 pixels in any direction at 100 dpi. For optimal viewing results for videos, external links to Vimeo/YouTube should be provided in the project description rather than uploading video files. 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 $5,000.
The Current Art Fund will award a total of $60,000 in the form of 12 grants of $5,000 each.
No
The award should be used to achieve all enumerated project goals as outlined in the applicant’s proposed budget.
Materials, fabrication, media, photo and video documentation, artist labor or compensation, contracted labor, transportation, advertising, other services, and other expenses.
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 make regular public progress updates 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 30, 2022 at the latest but may be submitted earlier pending project completion. 20% of the award amount will be retained until a final report is submitted.
No, we are looking for new projects that are clear and accomplishable within the timeline. All projects must be completed by May 30, 2022. We cannot accept projects that have already begun or are currently in process. We cannot accept already finished projects that are seeking reimbursement.
Derek Fordjour was born in Memphis, Tennessee to parents of Ghanaian heritage. His work has been exhibited in numerous venues including Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Nasher Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art. He has received commissions for public projects including a permanent installation for the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City at 145th Street Subway Station and The Whitney Museum Billboard Project. He was awarded 2016 Sugarhill Museum Artist-in-Residence, the 2017 Sharpe Walentas Studio Program in New York City, and named the 2018 Deutsche Bank NYFA Fellowship Award. He is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta Georgia, earned a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Harvard University, and an MFA in painting at Hunter College. His work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Hyperallergic. He has also been featured in several publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and Forbes Magazine. He was recently appointed The Alex Katz Chair at Cooper Union and serves as a Core Critic at Yale University School of Art. His work also appears in several collections including The Studio Museum of Harlem, Brooklyn Museum, Perez Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum, and LACMA.
Alexis Johnson, Partner, joined Paula Cooper Gallery in early 2021, after working at Paula Cooper from 2010 through 2016. She works closely with the gallery’s expanding roster of artists and estates, in collaboration with Paula and fellow partners Steve Henry, Anthony Allen and Lucas Cooper. From 2016 to 2020, she was a Director and Artist Liaison at Lévy Gorvy, New York. She was previously a director at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. in New York and 1301PE Los Angeles and managed the studio of artist Rirkrit Tiravanija.
Marin R. Sullivan (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is a Chicago-based art historian, curator, and consultant. She is the Director of the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné, and co-curator of Harry Bertoia: Sculpting Mid-Century Modern Life, organized by the Nasher Sculpture Center. She also is Curator-at-Large at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens in Nashville. Sullivan specializes in the histories of modern and contemporary sculpture, especially its interdisciplinary, intermedial dialogues with photography, design, and the built environment. She is the author of Sculptural Materiality in the Age of Conceptualism (2017) and Alloys: American Sculpture and Architecture at Midcentury (Forthcoming, Princeton University Press) as well as numerous essays and articles in publications including American Art, Art History, History of Photography, the Journal of Curatorial Studies, and Sculpture Journal.
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, Twitter, and Facebook. #CURRENTARTFUND
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