Grant goals
To encourage innovative research on critical issues in craft theory and history
To investigate neglected questions on craft history and criticism
To support new cross-disciplinary approaches to scholarship in craft
The Craft Research Fund was created to encourage, expand and support scholarly craft research in the United States.
- Proposals are welcome from museum, non-profit gallery, and independent curators.
- Grant funds may be used to support research activities including travel for research, commissioning essays for contributors, documentation such as images or rights to use images or text, as part of the research for future exhibitions.
- The grant awards are not for the printing or web-based dissemination of already completed research, exhibition production, installation, exhibition travel or management.
- General overhead (indirect administrative expenses) is not eligible.
- No capital equipment purchases are eligible for support.
- Applicants must be able to receive taxable income in the U.S. for the duration of the grant or a charitable or educational organizations as defined under the appropriate provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, and report this grant as income.
- Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
- This grant is intended to support scholarly research and is not for the creation of artwork.
Examples of exhibition research might include:
- Addressing work by historically important or contemporary craft artist/s
- Presenting a new understanding of the relationship between hand-made production and digital technologies
- Providing a new contribution to the history of the studio craft movement
- Placing American craft in a global context
- Or other topics that offer fresh perspectives within the field
- Seventy percent of the grant will be awarded upon execution of the grant agreement and receipt of the awardee’s W9.
- Recipients will provide a status report on the project half way through the grant period (September 30, 2021).
- Recipients must provide content for at least one blog post.
- The final thirty percent of the grant will be awarded upon receipt of a final report to include a project narrative, a budget report and two copies of any publication produced as a result of the research grant. Project and final report must be completed in 18 months, with a deadline of July 31, 2022. If there is no publication, then provide a copy of the completed research in full.
- Recipients will acknowledge support from “Center for Craft Craft Research Fund” in any publications or presentations resulting from the grant.
- This application requires a $5 fee to be paid through SlideRoom. We are able to waive a limited number of fees per grant. If you would like your fee to be waived, please email grants@centerforcraft.org with the message, “I would like my fee for the Craft Research Fund Exhibition Grant to be waived.” No further information is required.
- If the timeline proposed by the applicant is affected by COVID-19, requests for extensions up to 6 additional months may be made after the grant is awarded.
Proposals will be reviewed by staff of the Center for Craft for completeness and evaluated by peer-review of readers, who are recognized craft scholars, faculty and/or curators, free of any conflict of interest, based on the following criteria:
- If completed properly, the proposal will advance scholarship and knowledge on craft in the United States
- The plan for dissemination identifies the audience, is reasonable, and has supporting documentation as appropriate
- The project is feasible based on the timeline, expertise, and budget reflected in the application
- The project addresses the goals of the Craft Research Fund
-The project is consistent with and furthers the mission of the Center for Craft.
DEADLINE: The application for 2021 Craft Research Fund - Exhibition grants must be submitted via SlideRoom no later than 11:59 pm EST on October 1, 2020.
NOTIFICATION: Notification of the results will be sent via e-mail in December 2020 for a start date of January 1, 2021. The e-mail address listed on the application form will be used to send out notifications. Please be sure that it is a valid account that you check regularly.
HOW TO APPLY: Applicants must apply using the online application program SlideRoom at http://www.centerforcraft.slideroom.com. Please review the sample application below before beginning your application. Please note there is a separate application for each Craft Research Fund category.
All applicants should create a login to be able to partially complete the form and return to finish it at a later date. Before submitting your application, you will be directed to a confirmation page where you will be able to review your form and return to edit or delete your uploaded files as needed. Once you submit your application, you will not be able to access your form again. Applicants will receive a confirmation email once the application form has been successfully submitted.
2021 Craft Research Fund – Exhibition Grant SAMPLE APPLICATION
This is only a sample application, all applications much be completed in SlideRoom.
Cover sheet
1. Name (applicant/s and/or organization)
2. Your Title
3. Your Personal Website or Project Website
4. Grant Amount Requested (up to $15,000)
5. Are you over 18 years old (yes or no)
6.Are you able to receive taxable income in the U.S. for the duration of the project period (yes or no)
7.Please provide a project title (up to 15 words)
8.Please provide a summary of your research proposal (no more than 50 words)
Application
1. Please summarize the following (500 words):
2. Please provide a historiography for the ideas central to this exhibition. Identify three other scholars who have written significant works on/around your topic, and describe how your work parallels and pushes the topic forward (500 words or less).
3. Timeline and schedule for completing the project. Projects must be completed by June 30, 2022 (18 months from start date).
4. Budget Form. Provided in SlideRoom.
5. Please provide a budget narrative if necessary.
6. CV of relevant education and experience (no more than 2 pages).
7. The exhibition description (no more than 5 pages, in no less than 12 point type).
8. A bibliography of at least ten sources.
9. One letter of support from the hosting institution that includes why this exhibition is supported.
10. Optional page for image/s that compliment or add clarity to the proposal.
recipients
The Center for Craft is pleased to announce the recipients of 2020 Craft Research Fund grants. This year 11 organizations, curators, scholars, and graduate students will receive a total of $94,310.04 to support craft-centered research, exhibitions, catalogs, and projects in the United States.
4 out of 9 Exhibition Grant proposals awarded.
Museum of Arts & Design
,
Materials that Make a Difference
$15,000
Support for Materials that Make a Difference (opening February 2020), a multi-year exhibition featuring the Museum’s permanent collection that highlights the multiple historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts for craft in the post-World War II era.
View SiteLearn more
Milwaukee Art Museum
,
Currents 38: Christy Matson
$5,000
Support of a publication and the production of educational materials related to the exhibition, Currents 38: Christy Matson, presenting the work of the highly skilled weaver, Christy Matson.
View SiteLearn more
Shannon Stratton
,
$6,000
Support for SOFTWARE, an exhibition that overlays histories of weaving, technology, and women's labor with modern and contemporary artworks drawn from the digital and fiber studio disciplines at The Mint Museum and Arizona State University Art Museum.
View SiteLearn more
Cranbrook Art Museum
,
$8,000
Support for the monograph publication and concurrent exhibition Olga de Amaral: Alchemy.
View SiteLearn more2020 Selection Committee
Elizabeth Essner
Elizabeth Essner is an independent curator, writer, and researcher based in Brooklyn, New York. A 2017 Curatorial Fellow with theCenter for Craft, Elizabeth has curated exhibitions for institutions including the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Arizona State University Art MuseumCeramics Research Center, UrbanGlass, and the Woodlands, a historic house in Philadelphia. Elizabeth serves as a researcher for two forthcoming craft-focused publications and is currently working on an exhibition about the history of Peters Valley School of Craft. She received her MA from the BardGraduate Center in New York.
Dr. Catherine L. Futter
Dr. Catherine L. Futter is the Senior Curator of Decorative Arts at Brooklyn Museum. As the formerDirector of Curatorial Affairs at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, she completed several reinstallation projects for the museum as well as a major international loan traveling exhibition, Inventing the Modern World:Decorative Arts at World’s Fairs, 1851–1939.
Dr. Anya Montiel
Dr. Anya Montiel is an Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Arizona. She teaches courses in Native American art, museum studies, and global arts and crafts. Previously she worked in the museum field for more than ten years, including eight years at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
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In order to increase the value and relevance of craft to society, the Center works to advance the understanding of craft in higher education, museums and cultural institutions, and across disciplines. Field building strategies include convening thought leaders, creating, documenting and disseminating research, and launching innovative leadership initiatives. We provide grants and fellowships to emerging and established craft artists, curators, and scholars in order to build a future for the field of craft.
Recognizing that Asheville and the surrounding area has been a bastion for craft in the United States dating back to the Cherokee, the Center is actively working to preserve and advance the craft legacy of Western North Carolina through the development of our property in downtown Asheville, North Carolina and through a series of exhibitions and community-focused initiatives.
67 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 785-1357 | info@centerforcraft.org
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