Applications are now open for the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod’s (AFCC) Capacity Building Grant Program which supports artists on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket in taking the next steps in their creative endeavors.
Artists can submit their application at artsfoundation.org. The deadline to apply is Friday, Nov. 17.
“This is a great opportunity for local artists to spend six months learning the skills they need to achieve financial sustainability in their practice,” said Arts Foundation Executive Director Julie Wake. “Artists will emerge from this program with a business plan that gives them actionable items they can implement into their work, connect with a cohort of their peers to support one another in moving towards their professional goals, and receive funding to support their art once they have completed the program.”
Artists of all skill levels, abilities, and mediums are welcome to apply. A maximum of 15 individual artists will be selected for the 2024 cohort by a panel of local artists who have achieved success in their field. The cohort will be named in December with the program taking place from January to June of next year.
This is the second year that the Arts Foundation has managed the Capacity Building Grant Program. In September, the inaugural cohort of 11 artists completed the first iteration of the program.
It is intended to support artists in thinking holistically about their artwork with a focus on the business side of their practice. Participants in the upcoming cohort will have access to several workshops including Taxes for Artists, Freelancers and Creative Businesses taught by artist Hannah Cole; the Art of Licensing by illustrator Allison Cole; and more.
Members of the cohort will also receive one-on-one mentorship from local professionals. This mentorship will guide artists as they develop their own business plan. And each member will receive a $2,000 working capital grant which they can use to invest in their creative practice.
“This is the spark that someone needs to grow. That is what the Capacity Building Grant Program did for me,” said visual artist and art teacher Laura Shabott of Provincetown, who was part of the AFCC’s inaugural artist cohort. “What is success as an artist? It is a fundamental question we have to ask ourselves. It is different for each person and where this program was so great for me.”
The Capacity Building Grant Program is funded through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from the state of Massachusetts as well as support from the Cape Cod Foundation, William Raveis Real Estate, Cape Cod 5, the John K. & Thirza F. Davenport Foundation, South Shore Playhouse Associates, the Kelley Foundation, and the Woods Hole Foundation.
