Forecast Public Art - Grant Program

East Central Regional Arts Council Public Art Project Grants - $7,000

Application Deadline November 15th Annually

Grants for Artists to create a publicly accessible temporary or permanent artwork anywhere in the state of Minnesota and for Organizations to support a public art project anywhere in the ECRAC region. Projects may be in any form or discipline, including performance, dance, storytelling, photography, film, sculpture, painting, etc. The project site must be secured by the application deadline (written documentation of site approval is required). Projects may be additionally supported by public or nonprofit agencies, or through in-kind sources, however, private commissions are not eligible. A year-end document detailing the project will be produced.

What is Public Art?

Broadly speaking, public art is artwork in the public realm, regardless of whether it is situated on public or private property, or whether it is supported through public or private funding. It can range from temporary to permanent work, murals to sculptures, interventions to performances. It can also be storytelling, iron pours, sound and light projects, dance and spoken word. It is free and accessible to all members of a community.

2012 Grant Year - Eligibility Guidelines

• You must be a resident of the East Central Regional Arts Council (ECRAC) region, having physically lived in the region for at least 6 months and remain a resident throughout the project period. (MN Counties of Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, and Pine.)
• Planning Grant activities can take place anywhere in the State of Minnesota but those located in the ECRAC region will have priority. Your project must be original, and not duplicate previous work.
• No ticket sales or fees may be charged; all events and installations must be freely accessible.
• Forecast Public Art staff, Board, and Committee members are not eligible.
• The applicant must be at least 18 years of age or older.
• The applicant must be either a U.S. citizen, or have attained permanent resident alien status.
• The applicant must not have any outstanding final reports due to the ECRAC.
• Applicants must be those who seek help with creating, producing, or presenting high quality arts projects.
• ECRAC funding is for individual artists, non-profit organizations, and region 7E governmental units. Governmental units applying must be located within Region 7E. However, the artist involved in their project can be brought in from outside the region.
• Full-time students, ECRAC and/or ECRDC staff and board members are ineligible to apply at this time.

What is not funded by ECRAC funding:

• Applicants that do not have an arts and/or culture related focus.
• Projects where funds are requested to account for deficits in projects or programs begun prior to the project earliest start date. In other words, payment of debts incurred before the grant activities begin or outside of the grant project scope of activity.
• Applicants with past due ECRAC final (or other) reports.
• Applications where funds are to be used to match other ECRAC grant applications.
• Projects that once completed will not remain within participating regions for which grantee applies.
• Religious organizations or projects, which are for the religious socialization of the participants or audience.
• Activities that engage in political lobbying or intend to influence public policy.
• Projects where artists are required to pay excessive entry or exhibition fees in order to exhibit or perform in the project for which funds are sought.
• Projects that will not take responsibility for their publicity, media coverage, and public relations and that won't provide timely promotion of the project throughout the region the project takes place within and that will not use the proper funding credit line and logo.
• Individuals whose primary focus is not the creation of art.
• Individuals that don't make all grant funded events open and accessible to the general public.
• Activities involving any organization at which the artist is employed.
• Tuition, fees, or work toward any degree.
• Development of curriculum plans, teaching materials or teaching programs, which are intended to be used in the regular course of employment.
• Activities in primary, secondary, or parochial schools.

Grant Terms

• Each grantee selected to participate in the program will have a contract that indicates timeline, budget, services provided, and outcome evaluation form. Selected artists will receive, as needed, a limited number of hours of free consulting and/or facilitation time from Forecast Public Art staff, including assistance with site negotiation, liability insurance, community & media relations, and marketing.
• You may involve other artists or design professionals, community members or groups, or hire established professionals to assist with your project. Applicant must lead and manage the team's interaction with the project.
• All artists receiving funding from Forecast Public Art & the participating regions agree that their projects will be developed and implemented to encourage universal accessibility in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A universal environment or space is usable by everyone, people with and without disabilities, and of all ages.
• All projects must be completed and final reports submitted to Forecast Public Art no later than November 30, of the grant year. Participants are responsible for providing visual and written documentation to Forecast Public Art as part of their final report. In addition, Forecast Public Art will produce documentation of projects funded.
• Selected artists may be asked to participate in grant workshops for future program years.

Any variation from these terms, without prior written approval from Forecast Public Art, will result in withdrawal of the grant.

Application Process and Materials

All applications will be submitted online through Forecast's website.

• Project Narrative
  A two-page Narrative that includes a brief description of project, site information, value of project to applicant and perceived benefits to community.
• Project Budget
  Budget should include written documentation of any additional support, cash or in-kind, which is received or committed to (not pending/applied for) upon application.
• Work Samples *organizations and public institutions are not required to submit work samples (or a work sample listing).
  10 images
  Video clips under 5 mins are also admissible but may not be viewed in their entirety.
  Digital work samples are preferred and encouraged, files must be Macintosh compatible. Images must be in jpeg format. Videos must be in Quicktime format with chapters. Each file should be named with artist surname and a number that corresponds to an identification sheet (example: Smith_01). Images should be at least 72 dpi in resolution and not larger than 3 MB per image.
• Work Samples Listing
  Please order in numbered sequence, with descriptive information for each sample.
• Full Resume
  For primary applicant and project partners if applicable. Organizations and public institutions may submit a one page statement including their mission and an overview of past programmatic activities.
• Written documentation of site approval

Selection Criteria

• Merit, Artistic Quality and Clarity of Proposal
• Benefit of Project to the Community & Demonstrated Need for the Project (artistic quality, civic engagement, creating a sense of place, etc.)
• Quality of Work Samples
• Ability of the Applicant to Accomplish the Project Goals and Evaluate Outcomes

Outcome Evaluation

Funding for these programs comes in whole, or part, from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a fund created by the people of Minnesota to support the arts. Because our fellow citizens have made this commitment, we have an obligation to be even more intentional about arts grant project evaluation. In regard to these regional planning grant projects this includes: the goals, impacts, results, and the community benefits. Outcome evaluation is a legislatively required part of these Regional and Arts & Cultural Heritage grant funding programs. You will need to consider in your project planning the time and costs that may be related to providing us with project outcome evaluation.

Fill out the Artist Grant Application form here

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