ARTPLACE

Contact information:
8 East Randolph, No. 2603

Chicago, IL 60601

Website: http://www.artplaceamerica.org/

Type of foundation: ArtPlace is a collaboration among twelve of the nation’s top foundations, eight federal agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts, and six of the nation’s largest banks. 

Types of grants: Project grants, loans

Description: ArtPlace makes grants and loans to accelerate “creative placemaking” in America. ArtPlace draws explicit connections between creative talent and the success of communities (economic and otherwise). ArtPlace describes itself as an initiative to support “great people making great places.” This is all tied to attracting and retaining the people who will drive and sustain economic development and community “vibrancy.”

ArtPlace sees its role as providing venture funding in the form of grants, seeding entrepreneurial projects that lead through the arts and already enjoy strong local buy-in and will occur at places already showing signs of momentum, integrate with a community’s economic development and community revitalization strategy and have the potential to attract additional private and public support to the community. It is looking for initiatives involving arts organizations, artists and designers working in partnership with local and national partners in such fields as economic development, transportation, neighborhood development, entrepreneurship, sustainability, health, etc.

Initiative partners include: Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The William Penn Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, The Surdna Foundation and an anonymous donor. In addition to the NEA, federal partners are the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education and Transportation, along with leadership from the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Domestic Policy Council.

ArtPlace funds in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Certain ArtPlace funders have a deep commitment to their local communities and have provided funding for specific states or communities. Currently, these include: Akron, Charlotte, Detroit, Macon, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Jose, and St. Paul, as well as communities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin.

Sample grants:

• $678,195 to Memphis Music Magnet (Community L.I.F.T. and Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Memphis, TN). Community L.I.F.T. and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra will activate elements of the Memphis Music Magnet plan, a collaboratively-developed, arts-based revitalization concept that builds on musical heritage and cultural assets to foster increased recognition of Soulsville USA and to fuel its redevelopment (2012).
• $600,000 to Illuminating Downtown (City of San Jose Public Art). The artist-led Illuminating Downtown Program combines art, high-tech strategies and environmental sustainability to physically manifest San Jose’s aspirational goals for creating a more engaging Downtown that looks, feels and acts like the Capital of Silicon Valley (2012).
• $485,000 to Art-Force Program, led by the Public Art Collaborative (Siler City, Greenville and Sanford, NC). Artists, art, and design are at the center of manufacturing renewal in three North Carolina communities through this cross-sector program that places artists in residence at under-capacity manufacturing plants and supports the production of artist-conceived and designed works (2012).
• $250,000 to The Chicago Avenue Arts District (Pillsbury House + Theatre (PH+T) – Minneapolis, MN). PH+T, an award winning theater embedded in a human service organization, will engage community residents, artists, youth, businesses, arts nonprofits and others in this highly diverse, burgeoning cultural district to animate the community through a concentration of art-based projects (2012).
• $250,000 to The Art House Resident Program (Out North Contemporary Art House – Anchorage, AK). Out North will be a collaborative, dynamic community space where a dozen resident groups can create, present, produce, teach, and reach out through art, music, education and journalism to build community pride, resilience and resolve (2012).
• $250,000 to Home + Place (Houston). Bringing opera into the streets in an unprecedented way, Home + Place, a project of the Houston Grand Opera will use oral histories conducted with diverse communities in the city to generate projects created by students and local groups that will be performed at neighborhood festivals. By using opera to stimulate intimate, personal storytelling, the project will bridge cultures and generations and foster a stronger sense of civic identity (2011).
• $176,177 to Building Imagination in California’s Central Valley (California State University, Stanislaus College of the Arts – Modesto, CA). The Imagination Center activates a stagnant downtown Modesto strip with a new exhibit space for time-based media, featuring indoor and outdoor video screenings, training and art-making activities, and a visual art exhibition space (2012).
• $153,500 to Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (New Orleans). As part of its contribution to the development of more vibrant communities in New Orleans, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra has continued its community outreach at newly rebuilt or renovated community sites in three distinct neighborhoods across the city: Algiers, Central City, and Lakeview. By initiating activities in these areas, the LPO and community leaders from each of the selected sites are creating dynamic spaces where neighborhoods of people can come together to participate in community-building by engaging in cultural and educational activities (2011).
• $100,000 to Farm/Art DTour (Sauk County, WI). This unique crossover collaboration by the Wormfarm Institute, also supported by the county economic development organization and state tourism office, will feature the Farm/Art Dtour, with the creation of farm-based ephemeral art installations, artist-made Roadside Culture Stands, tastings, demonstrations, seminars, farm tours and more (2011).

A full list of funded projects is available here.

Fit for public broadcasting: This is a potential funding opportunity for public media outlets with innovative ideas for engaging communities through art. Stations that have been or are involved with NEA’s Our Town initiative may be particularly interested. Proposals will be strengthened by strategic partnerships. It’s worth noting that many of the participating foundations have a long history of support for public media.

Eligibility: Grants are made to organizations nationwide, including organizations in both urban and rural communities. Due to the specific interests of some of the participating funders, special preference is given to projects serving Akron, Charlotte, Detroit, Macon, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Jose and St. Paul, as well as communities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. Applications may be submitted by 501(c)(3) organizations or government entities. Individual artists may apply via a fiscal agent. There is no matching funding required.

Deadline: Letters of Inquiry will be accepted between September 17 and November 1, 2012 for ArtPlace’s third round of funding.

How to apply: ArtPlace accepts online letters of inquiry during specified application windows. Detailed guidelines can be downloaded on this page and provide considerable useful information. A webinar on ArtPlace giving can be accessed here. ArtPlace does not want to receive letters of support. Questions should be directed to Program Director Bridget Marquis at Bridget@artplaceamerica.org.

Giving range: Grants have ranged up to $1 million. ArtPlace also makes loans to finance costs associated with a capital project such as pre-development, acquisition, construction and real estate improvements.

Total giving: As of September 2012, ArtPlace has awarded 80 grants to 76 organizations in 46 communities across the U.S. for a total of $26.9 million.