Chatham County artists looking for the means to advance their careers can apply to the Emerging Artists Program for grants of up to $1,500 by Oct. 31.
Managed by the Durham Arts Council, the Emerging Artists Program (EAP) has been offering emerging and established artists financial support critical to reaching the next stages in their chosen professions since 1985. Primarily funded by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, the EAP supports artists throughout five North Carolina counties — Durham, Granville, Orange, Person and Chatham.
This year, like every year since 1991, the Chatham County Arts Council has partnered with the Durham Arts Council to bring the opportunity to Chatham artists.
“Funding opportunities for individual artists are rare — particularly in the performing arts — so this is pretty special,” the Chatham Arts Council wrote in its September news release about the program.
To apply, artists can visit the Durham Art Council’s website at durhamarts.org/eap/ and choose the application that matches their art forms. Any type of artist — be it a writer, painter or musician — can apply. Applicants can ask for funds up to and including $1,500.
Eligible Chatham artists have lived in the county at least one year prior to the application deadline. Only individual artists 18 years or older may apply for the program. The EAP won’t consider grant applications from groups, ensembles or artists enrolled in degree or certificate programs in their chosen art forms on Oct. 31.
“The program defines ‘emerging’ as any artist who is moving from one point to another, so they are not necessarily at the beginning of their careers, but they are attempting something new,” the Durham Arts Council’s director of artist services, Margaret DeMott, told the News + Record. “It can be a change in their work or in how they conduct their business.”
According to DeMott, the grant applications ask artists to propose projects that help their professional development.
“The main items they are asked to provide are a narrative, a budget, a resume and work samples as well as basic contact information,” she said.
The application period closes on Oct. 31 at midnight. Afterward, a group of local professional artists will review the grant applications of those who match their own art forms. They will then share their recommendations with the EAP committee, who makes the final decisions.
“The number of grants awarded varies from year to year depending on how much funding we can raise,” DeMott said. “This current cycle we will probably award 13 to 14 awards. We receive between 75 to 100 applications each year.”
According to the EAG’s website, successful applicants will make clear how their proposed projects will catapult their careers forward. Judges will also award grants based on these additional criteria: quality of an applicant’s artwork, an applicant’s professional commitment to his or her art form and the proposed project’s feasibility.
In the past, grant recipients have used the funds for self-promotion, travel expenses related to workshops or artistic research, equipment or facility services, supplies, and training, among other purposes.
According to DeMott, these small grants have helped some past recipients achieve big acclaim — and even on a local level, she’s seen most recipients walk away with a “sense of affirmation ... from being recognized by their local arts community.”
“It can also be an important item on a resume and helps an artist get other awards — again, the funder sees that they have received an award locally and sometimes that makes a difference,” she said. “Of course, the cash is useful ... we have had artists attract national talent to get involved in their work as a result of being able to make a recording funded by the grant.”
For more information about the grant program or application, interested artists can attend two Zoom information sessions at 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 and Oct. 13. To register for a session, email DeMott at mdemott@durhamarts.org.
Reporter Victoria Johnson can be reached at victoria@chathamnr.com.