VIA Art Fund
/OVERVIEW: The VIA Art Fund supports innovative programs and projects in the field of contemporary art.
IP TAKE: This funder emphasizes the importance of contemporary visual arts as a catalyst for social change, which means proposals must center on how your work facilitates social change and up-ending the status quo. The Fund limits grantmaking to U.S.-based organizations and artists. This is a funder that is willing to take on some grantmaking risk. VIA supports nontraditional and experimental contemporary art works; however, note that it does not fund traditional museum or gallery exhibitions.
VIA accepts letters of inquiry for its artistic production and incubator support grantmaking programs, as well as nominations for its curatorial fellowship program. Guidelines, instructions and due dates are provided at the organization’s website. This is an accessible and supportive funder that wants to help artists and organizations expand their reach.
PROFILE: Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the VIA Art Fund was established in 2013 by a collective of enthusiastic visual arts patrons. The fund supports “innovate” arts projects with a strong focus on “direct engagement with contemporary art” and “thought leadership.” The fund currently runs grant making programs for artistic production and incubator support, as well as a curatorial fellowship program. Recent funding has supported projects in a broad range of visual arts media.
Grants for Visual Arts
Contemporary visual arts are the focus of VIA’s grantmaking, with grants for visual arts stemming from each of the organization’s funding programs. Artistic production grants support “the production, exhibition, (semi)permanent installation of institutional acquisition of new artistic commissions in the public realm.” One recent production grant supported the development of Jacolby Satterwhite’s interactive video game “Dawn,” which doubles as an exhibition of objects and locations inspired by the history, folklore, pop-culture, queer culture and environmental crisis. Another grant supported the work of Rose B. Simpson, who created a public performance that relates to her solo exhibition, “Transformance,” at the Nevada Museum of Art.
VIA’s incubator support grants go to nonprofit arts organizations “whose activities are rooted in programs, platforms and/or initiatives that embrace innovation, progress and risk.” One recent recipient, Stove Works, serves the Chattanooga, Tennessee community with contemporary art production, exhibition and education programs. Other grantees include Midway Contemporary Art of Minneapolis, Alabama’s Coleman Center for the Arts and Space, an arts collaborative in Portland, Maine.
VIA also supports visual arts through its curatorial fellowship, which provides discretionary funds for research, travel and other expenses to a “visionary” curator of contemporary art. Curators from institutions including the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, New York City’s the Kitchen and Los Angeles’s Institute of Contemporary Art have received this fellowship in recent years.
Grants for Art Education
VIA supports community arts education through its incubator support grants, which often go to organizations whose work involves arts education and participatory programs. One recent grant supported Tucson’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which used funding for public arts education programs that focus on “regional sociopolitical themes.” Another grantee involved in arts education is Cincinnati’s Wave Pool, an organization that engages the public in participatory projects and workshops.
Important Grant Details:
The VIA Art Fund made about $650,000 in grants in a recent year. Its grants range from $10,000 to $100,000, and the curatorial fellowships are awarded in the amount of $25,000. VIA’s grants tend to support organizations with broad outreach in their communities. Funding is mainly limited to the U.S. For additional information about past grantees, see the fund’s grants in action page.
VIA accepts letters of inquiry for its artistic production and incubator support grants, as well as nominations for its curatorial fellowship award. The fund runs two annual grant cycles each year, with due dates varying by program. For application guidelines, instructions and due dates, see the fund’s application page. General inquiries may be addressed to the fund’s staff via email.
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