Money and Access: A Closer Look at Artadia's Awards for Visual Artists

When someone says, "There's more to life than money," they themselves usually have a lot of money.

That doesn't mean the statement isn't entirely devoid of meaning. There is more to life than money. But let's be real here. Money is pretty cool. And when coupled with something else meaningful—say, networking opportunities, access to a residency program, etc.—the money, in a weird way, seems even more valuable.

Which brings us to Artadia's Fund for Art & Dialogue. It's a national non-profit organization that supports visual artists with unrestricted, merit-based awards to the tune of $5,000 to $20,000. In the past 15 years, Artadia has awarded over $3 million to more than 300 artists throughout its participating award cities of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

That was the money part.

And that brings us to the non-money stuff. Artadia fosters valuable networking opportunities in host cities by creating exhibitions for artists, arranging studio visits with local as well as national curators, establishing residency programs, and more.

That was the non-money stuff.

Therefore, it may come as no surprise that over 20,000 artists have applied for the Artadia Awards program since its inception.

And that brings us to the 10 New York Artadia Award Winners: Park McArthur, Georgia Sagri, Yevgeniya Baras, Joe Fyfe, Donna Huanca, Bill Jenkins, Jennie Jieun Lee, Eric Mack, Sara Magenheimer, and Kameelah Rasheed. McArthur and Sagri will receive unrestricted funds of $10,000 each, while the others will each receive $5,000 in unrestricted funds. All 10 will get access to the New York residency program, as well.  Artadia currently offers grants on a cyclical basis, rotating through the host cities of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Please also note that there are two tiers of Artadia Artist Awards. The smaller Artadia Awards, which range between $5,000 and $10,000, "enable talented and promising artists to receive the critical validation that they need and deserve at a pivotal time in their career." Meanwhile, the larger Artadia Awards, which range between $15,000 and $20,000, are awarded to artists who "demonstrate artistic excellence."

Click here to learn more about Artadia Awards and the application process.