Why as an artist you should be applying for arts grants? In any country that has them this is something that more artists than I can count either decide that they can go without or they solely aren’t aware of it. Either that, or they simply believe it’s a mind-bending prospect to write a simple proposal. It’s not.
Why you should be applying for arts grants
1. The world functions around the exchange of money for goods and services and while the idea of being a starving artist may seem romantic from the outside, being one and enjoying that journey you’ll soon find isn’t. A roof over your head and food in your stomach matter. It’s not that complicated of a concept.
2. Governments globally understand the healing power of art and the need for a society to expand their minds/escape. They offer these grants as part of their budgets, so why not throw in your hat?
3. A proposal isn’t as hard as it seems and if it doesn’t end up paying out to you, what have you lost? Some wasted time arguing with a loved one? A few more episodes to binge watch? It doesn’t take long to give a grant proposal a try.
The problem a lot of younger people assume is that they’ll be denied, this seems to have such an impact the people don’t even try.
What becomes a revelation is when you pass a certain age and these grants are no longer applicable, a situation I’ve now encountered. I’m a tad regretful of this, but I accept it. I kept warning myself of the constraints of time, but didn’t actually take heed of my own warnings and the years passed with distractions of different forms, as you’d expect, and I just didn’t. However, there are many available to me. Many which I shall apply for. My advice is that you should be applying for any and all categories that you qualify for. It’s not hard to see the reasoning behind why as an artist you should be applying for arts grants, it’s obvious.
Daily inspirational quote:
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Theodore Roosevelt
*** Like most things online it’s hard to say whether these quotes originate with the person they’re attributed to. Regardless, they’re a tool to hopefully inspire you and so does it matter as much as the point the words convey?