New this year: Groups and collaboratives can apply


For Immediate Release
Contact: Lisa Demer, 907-334-0529
ldemer@rasmuson.org

Anchorage, AK – Rasmuson Foundation is accepting applications for the 2020 Individual Artist Awards (IAA). Applications will be accepted through March 2.

In addition to individual artists, groups and collaboratives — two or more artists working together — for the first time will be eligible for Project Awards and Fellowships. A musical band, a dance company and a multimedia collective are some examples.

The awards support artistic growth and exploration of new creative ground for artists living and working in Alaska. In 2019, award recipients came from 18 different communities including Chevak, Nome, Big Lake, McCarthy, Sitka and Wrangell as well as Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau.

The Foundation recruits a panel of experts in the arts from across the country to review applications and ultimately select 10 fellows and 25 project award recipients.

Artists can apply at this link for either a Project Award or a Fellowship. Additional resources, including a recorded webinar and tips on how to write an artist statement, are available at the same link by scrolling down.

Project Award: $7,500 for a specific, short-term project that clearly benefits the artist’s growth. Artists at all career stages — emerging, mid-career and mature — are eligible to apply for an award in 11 recognized disciplines.

Fellowship: $18,000 for mid-career and mature artists to focus their energy and attention on a yearlong period of creative exploration. In 2020, the Fellowship categories are: media arts, multidiscipline, music composition, new genre, presentation/interpretation and visual arts.

Award recipients receive a grant as well as professional development and promotion of their work. In 2020, professional development will be provided by the Anchorage Museum to focus on continued skill development in marketing, finances, creation of work samples and more.

The Foundation promotes artists through social media, rasmuson.org and stories on each artist in collaboration with the literary nonprofit 49 Writers.

“The Individual Artist Awards reflect the creative brilliance of artists working across Alaska. Each year, a new and different panel of national experts review the submissions and are exposed to the rich and diverse assembly of artists who apply,” said Foundation Program Officer Enzina Marrari, who helps to oversee the IAA program. “We encourage artists to continue sharing their works, experiences and visions — and to keep applying.”

To help artists with the application process, the Foundation is offering workshops in Anchorage and other communities as well as online. The first one is set for Tuesday, Jan. 7, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Anchorage Museum. Other dates and locations will be announced soon. Follow us on Facebook or check back on rasmuson.org. The Foundation also is creating short instructional videos on how to apply.

Artists with questions can email staff at arts@rasmuson.org or call the Foundation at 907.297.2700. Media representatives can contact communications manager Lisa Demer at ldemer@rasmuson.org or 907.334.0529.

Download here: Press Release_Time to apply for Individual Artist Awards FINAL

About the Foundation
Through grantmaking and initiatives, Rasmuson Foundation aims to promote a better life for all Alaskans. Main funding areas are housing, health care, arts, culture and humanities, recreation and organizational and community development. The Foundation was created in 1955 by Jenny Rasmuson to honor her late husband, E.A. Rasmuson.

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