Artist Opportunities

Organized below by region, opportunities include Requests for Qualifications (RFQs), grants, other calls for entry, as well as employment, fellowship, workshop, conference, and volunteer opportunities. Our best practice is to post Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) for artists/artworks, rather than Requests for Proposals (RFPs). If you would like to learn more about best practices for public art calls, please reach out to our consulting team at consulting@forecastpublicart.org

Have an opportunity to share? Please contact jen@forecastpublicart.org with a clear description of the opportunity and a live link.

For a list of Emergency Relief, Grants, Funding, and other artist resources in response to the pandemic, please follow this link to our message regarding COVID-19.

We are making every effort to share up-to-date artist calls and are checking the open status of these calls, but, due to the ever-changing nature of uncertainty around COVID-19, we suggest that you confirm the status of an opportunity before applying.

Minnesota / Midwest

RFQs, COMMISSIONS, & CALLS for ART

The Arts@MSP Program is creating an Artist Roster of emerging, mid-career and established artists who will be prequalified for future public art opportunities at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). This roster will be one method of selecting artists to develop temporary, permanent, free-standing or site-integrated artwork of various complexities, forms, and sizes, indoors and outdoors, at MSP Terminals 1 and 2. This call is open to professional artists residing in the United States. Regional talent is preferred. Project budgets for roster-based selections will vary, depending upon project complexity. Contract awards above $175,000 are subject to approval by the Metropolitan Airports Commission. Applications will be accepted at any time, and reviews are anticipated to be conducted quarterly in January, April, July, and October.

FELLOWSHIPS, RESIDENCIES, & SCHOLARSHIPS

Pillsbury House Theatre is excited to continue to administer the McKnight Community-Engaged Artist Fellowship program as it enters its second year! Community-Engaged Artists are artists who use their artistic practice to engage relationships aimed at producing social transformation. The goal of the McKnight Community-Engaged Artist Fellowships program is to identify talented Minnesota community-engaged artists whose community-engaged work is of exceptional artistic merit and who are at a career stage that is beyond emerging. The program will use an independent jury of three arts professionals to award two fellowships. The fellowship will run for one year: January 1, 2021– January 1, 2022. Artists from all areas of Minnesota are encouraged to apply. The two selected artists will receive $25,000 in unrestricted funds, which may be used to enhance any aspect of the artist’s life. They will also receive $3,000 in additional funds for a pilot initiative leading to the development of new community-engaged work. Apply by October 9, 2020.

EMPLOYMENT & PAID INTERNSHIPS

Don’t You Feel It Too? (DYFIT) seeks an Operations/Administrative Director. DYFIT explores the liberation we all have inherently, something that is too often not acknowledged and not practiced with our movement. We are in our 13th year of this exploration, and we are ready to welcome a new member of our team. We seek a new member who builds vision through managing operations and careful strategic attention. The Operations and Administrative Director will have the second-most hours in the organization to help continue the growth of our genre-defying practice. This position reports to the Artistic Director and will be the key to keeping our organization running smoothly. Part-time, contract. Compensation: $25-30/hour as independent contractor (no benefits). Apply by 5:00 PM CDT October 19, 2020.

Forecast Public Art is hiring a Program Manager. There is ongoing demand by private and public partners seeking our support to engage artists in creative problem solving. To help meet this demand, we are hiring a new Program Manager with strong project management skills, interest in our mission and values, and familiarity with the field of public art. Our Values: Public art plays a crucial role in shaping culturally vibrant and sustainable communities. Public art offers opportunities for community collaboration, for ideas to shape our environment and to influence change. It is our value at Forecast Public Art that our staff, board members, grantees, applicants and panelists reflect the racial, cultural, gender, artistic, range of physical ability, and geographic diversity of our country, and the stories and perspectives of the artists and communities we serve through public art. Those from BIPOC and indigenous communities, and groups that are traditionally excluded, are strongly encouraged to apply. This member of our highly independent team will be responsible for managing, coordinating, and developing programs to support Forecast’s strategic direction. This is a full time remote position with benefits, open to candidates based anywhere in the United States. Status: Full-time (40 hrs/wk). Compensation: $50,000 – 55,000 DOQ; 100% health, 100% dental + PTO. Reports to: Director of Programming. Submit your letter of interest and resume by November 1, 2020 at 11:59 PM CDT.

Catalyst Arts seeks Community Producers to curate poetry readings for Our Kitchen series. (Curators identify the theme and 3 guest artists). A modest stipend is offered. Catalyst Arts is an Arts Incubator interested in the intersection of Art + Activism and Artists who define themselves as Changemakers. We place a particular emphasis on increasing the visibility of and providing a platform for artists whose voices have historically been underrepresented in the arts, including (but not limited to): artists of color, LGBTQIA+ artists, women, new and recent immigrant communities, Native and Indigenous artists, low-income artists, and artists exploring non-traditional pathways to success. We are committed to nurturing the development of new work…serving and encouraging emerging artists, career professionals and experimentation. Email interest and inquiries to info.catalystarts@gmail.com. Closing date not specified.

VOLUNTEER, INTERN, APPRENTICESHIPS, & BOARD OPENINGS

Art Shanty Projects seeks board members. If you are passionate about Art Shanty Projects and want to support art in our community, join our Board! We have a variety of roles for you to make an impact. We are seeking participants with skills and experience in a range of areas: fundraising, outreach, communications, marketing, event planning, legal, web skills, and artist backgrounds. Ours is a working board supporting an organization in a growth phase. Board members help map out how our organization is shaped. We are a passionate and collaborative group, committed to making Art Shanty Projects sustainable and to bringing equity and inclusion to our programming and organization. Previous board experience is helpful but not required. Board members dedicate an average of 10 hours per month for committee and board meetings, in addition to other planning activities. To apply for membership on the Art Shanty Projects Board of Directors, please fill out the interest form and upload a brief bio and resume, or email to: admin@artshantyprojects.org. Open until filled.

Minneapolis Art Lending Library (MALL)  Seeks dedicated board members and volunteers. MALL’s mission is to provide exposure for artists, build ongoing support of the arts, and share the joy of art with all members of our community through the free lending of artwork. All residents of the Twin Cities have the rare opportunity to borrow original works of art for a three month period, free of charge.

The Franconia Sculpture Park Arts Administration Internship Program provides “hands-on” immersion in the daily operations of a progressive arts organization that provides residence and work space to emerging and mid-career artists in a 43-acre sculpture park. There are two different types of administrative interns. Program interns will support Franconia’s education & public programing. The Development intern will work directly with the development manager to support fundraising campaigns. Both interns work closely with Franconia’s staff so interns have a rare opportunity to be immersed in many types of projects and work experiences. Applications ongoing.

CONFERENCES, SUMMITS, WORKSHOPS & EVENTS

Check back soon.

PROGRAMS, GRANTS, & AVAILABLE FUNDING

Springboard for the Arts announces Artists Respond: Combating Social Isolation, a new, state-wide call for artists to help people in their communities connect with one another while staying safe and healthy. This is an open call with a rolling deadline for artists with creative ideas, with $500 in project support available. Projects with a focus on higher-risk groups, including but not limited to those in care facilities, elders living at home, new immigrant communities, families lacking access to broadband, and essential workers who may be self-isolating, will be prioritized for funding. Artists should already have a connection with or into the group – through yourself, someone in your family or close network, or other existing relationship.

Southwest Minnesota Arts Council Artist Equity Grants provide up to $4,000 to aid Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other artists of color with projects that will advance their skills and artistic careers. No match requirements. Application Deadline: Ongoing, September 1, 2020 through May 1, 2021 or until funding for the year has been expended.

The Creative Capital Award is valued at $100,000, including $50,000 in project funding and $50,000 in career development services. 2020 applications are closed; next year’s free application opens February 2021.

The City of St. Louis Park has funds available to pay for the graphic wrapping of city-owned utility boxes. Community and Neighborhood Organizations may apply to wrap a box. Original local artwork is encouraged. If you have a design you’d like to bring to life and need to find a community partner to support the project, contact info@slpfota.org.

Metro Regional Arts Council (MRAC) offers a variety of arts project support and learning grants, for all artistic disciplines. Varying submission dates.

Springboard for the Arts offers a Community Emergency Relief Fund, which provides up to $500 to use art to respond to community emergencies. The Emergency Relief Fund exists to meet the emergency needs of artists living in Minnesota. The Fund helps to support artists with personal emergencies and to support artists who want to respond to emergencies in their own communities. There is not an expectation of repayment, but the Fund is replenished in part by recipients paying back into the Fund so that others can benefit later. Whether they apply for funding or not, artists can also get a free hour of consulting with Amelia Brown, founder of Emergency Arts. July 2020 update from Springboard: As of July, we have funded 2,101 applications, and allocated $1,050,000 to artists and creative workers. We have paused accepting applications to the Emergency Relief Fund as we assess this work and plan for the future, as well as replenish the fund. We hope to re-open the fund in August in its original iteration, to help artists in Minnesota recover by helping pay an unanticipated, emergency expense.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS, INITIATIVES, & CONTINUING EDUCATION

Check back soon.