Mass Cultural Council has a wide range of resources for working artists. We’ve compiled links to funding, services, blog posts, and other forms of support to serve as useful tools in your work as an artist.
MASS CULTURAL COUNCIL FUNDING FOR ARTISTS
- Grants for Creative Individuals: direct grants to artists, culture bearers, and creative practitioners
- Local Cultural Council Program: grants to artists and groups in local communities
FUNDING RESOURCES
- ArtSake’s weekly round-up of calls-to-artists and other artist opportunities
- Tips on applying to the Grants for Creative Individuals
- Fundamentals of Applying for Grants
- How to find funding as a Massachusetts artist or culture bearer
- Fact Sheet about Grants and Public Benefits
- Tips on applying as a Culture Bearer or Traditional Artist
- How to have a successful school residency in the arts, sciences, and humanities
- Artist Travel, Residencies, and Exchanges
- Crowdfunding and Membership Platforms as an Artist
- Interview with Gigi Rosenberg, author of The Artist’s Guide to Grant Writing
BUSINESS RESOURCES
Mass Cultural Council’s Business Resources for Creatives & Entrepreneurs page compiles local and state resources for artists and entrepreneurs to help them take the next step, turning their creative endeavors into businesses and/or equipping their current business operations with what they need to continue to thrive.
JOBS/SALES/CREATIVE SPACE
- Need a job in the arts? Go to hireCulture.org
- Need gigs in the arts? Create a profile on CreativeGround
- Need sales opportunities for your art? Locate and join an open studios event in your community
- Need a creative space or live/work space? Have a space you’d like to list? Check ArtSake’s Creative Space Classifieds
- Need resources for affordable housing and workspace? Check out Assets for Artists’ Space Finder
USEFUL TOPICS EXPLORED ON ARTSAKE
- Artist Discussions: we pose questions to artists in a range of disciplines, focusing on topics affecting their work and lives
- Guide to Writing a Call to Artists
- Virtual Programming: Getting Started
- Captioning your videos
- Connect with your local community
- Writing an Artist Statement
- Tips for artists on approaching funders
- Advice for artists holding open studios
- Getting more out of getting online
- Finding presentation opportunities for your visual art
- Copyright, Appropriation, and Intellectual Property for Artists
UNIVERSAL DESIGN
- CAST tips and resources for Universal Design
- Towards a Culture of Access Report from Open Door Arts
- Making your events accessible
- Making hiring more accessible
- Smithsonian resources for accessible exhibition design
- Read insightful tips about interacting with people with disabilities
- Free tools and tips from the National Center for Accessible Media
- Learn about exhibitions at Open Door Galleries
- Learn about the Institute for Human Centered Design’s programs and resources
RESOURCES FOR NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS ARTISTS
- ArtSake’s Guide to Opportunities for Native American and Indigenous Artists and Culture Bearers
- Cultural Survival
- Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship for Native American and First Nations artists
- First Peoples Fund
- The Impact Award for Native American Art from Harpo Foundation
- Native Arts & Cultures Foundation
- Northeast Indigenous Arts Alliance
- Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples
- Ucross Foundation Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists
Images: work in progress in the studio of Janice Jakielski (Crafts Fellow ’19).