516 ARTS announces the open call for proposals for the 2023 grant cycle of the Fulcrum Fund. The deadline is December 20, 2022. The Fulcrum Fund is an annual grant program created and administered by 516 ARTS as a partner in the Regional Regranting Program of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, with additional major support from the Frederick Hammersley Fund for the Arts at the Albuquerque Community Foundation. The fund serves as an essential support structure to enable artists to expand existing work and explore new directions in creating and showcasing projects that inspire curiosity, engagement, and dialogue.

This year, 516 ARTS will award a total of $90,000 in grants of up to $10,000 to support projects strongly rooted in contemporary visual art practices. This opportunity is intended to be a springboard for independent artistic processes that are experimental and forward thinking, while celebrating projects that are produced outside traditional museum and gallery systems. Examples of funded projects are new exhibitions or series of exhibitions, the ongoing work of an experimental arts venue or collective, public art projects, one-time events and performances with a strong visual arts component, publications directly related to the visual arts, online projects, artist residencies, and film festivals, to name a few.

Since its inception in 2016, the Fulcrum Fund has awarded a total of $645,600 to 313 artists, artspaces, and organizations statewide.

GUEST JURORS:
Each year, 516 ARTS invites respected national curators and museum professionals, academics, cultural workers, and artists to serve as jurors to carefully review all of the proposals. This provides a valuable opportunity for local artists to have their work seen by leaders in the field. This year’s jurors are: Michelle Grabner, artist, independent curator, art critic and Senior Chair of the Department of Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Milwaukee, WI; America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) publishing editor of First American Art Magazine, art writer, visual artist, and independent curator, Norman, OK; and Julio César Morales, Executive Director and Co-Chief Curator, MOCA Tucson.

ELIGIBILITY:
Fulcrum Fund grants are for individual artists for the creation and support of self-organized artistic activity that can be experienced by the general public. Artists and collectives whose work centers around visual arts and who live and work in New Mexico are encouraged to apply. Students who are currently enrolled during the grant cycle, commercial businesses, and 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations are NOT eligible. Artists that identify as Black, Indigenous, POC, LGBTQIA, and immigrant are strongly encouraged to apply.

For complete eligibility requirements described in the FAQ as well as application tips, visit: 516arts.org/fulcrumfund