Forecast awarding 20 mini-grants of $500 each

As an organization dedicated to advancing the transformational power of arts in public life, Forecast believes artists can make a difference in the midst of challenging public health environments. We remain committed to artists during this difficult time.

Forecast asked artists how we can best help them and their communities NOW. In response, we reallocated $10,000 of our own resources to quickly provide mini-grants to 20 public artists to safely create and share messages of hope within their communities—a much-needed act of solidarity in the face of these stark economic and health crises.

Forecast seeks to support artists based in Minnesota and the Native nations that share the same geography who want to create and share messages of hope, solidarity, and wishes for their communities. How can we foster community and utilize public space in new ways, even as we shelter in place?

The application closed at 9 pm on Wednesday, April 8

Our goal is to get funds to artists as quickly as possible, so they can impact their communities now.

All applicants will be notified by this Friday, April 10, 2020 and payments will be made in full within one week from notification. [applications will be reviewed by a Forecast consultant and 2 other artists].

Projects should be completed between April 10 and April 30, 2020.

You’re encouraged to share on social media to expand your project’s impact. Please use: #Art4Hope #Art4Health #ForecastPublicArt and tag us @forecastpublicart [facebook, instagram] and @4castpublicart [twitter]

Your safety and the safety of your community is a priority. Please refer to the current COVID-19 stay at home order by the state of MN when creating and sharing your work.

We can fund 20 projects at this time, but are seeking additional funding partners to help us grow the amount of available funds. Please note: if we can’t fund you now, we can offer technical assistance, guidance or connections to other resources!

DONATE TO THIS FUND

If you’re able, please help us reach even more artists with a donation to launch a second mini-grant cycle, reaching 20 additional public artists (40 total), and their communities. For our next round of support we will again collaborate with artists to adapt to their ever-changing needs during this pandemic.

You can donate at GoFundMe or send a check with “mini-grants” on the memo line to:

Forecast Public Art
2300 Myrtle Ave, Suite 160
St. Paul, MN 55114

Questions?

Contact Aki Shibata: 651-271-2792, or aki@forecastpublicart.org

More Recent Initiatives From Forecast

A national initiative to support public artists and public art program administrators during this pandemic

On April 2 we began to offer pro bono consultations and technical support to any public artist or public art administrator based in the U.S. and the Native nations that share the same geography until May 31, 2020, as a response to the mounting effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

WEEKLY CONVERSATIONS FOR BIPOC ARTISTS WHO WORK IN PUBLIC

We’ve been talking to artists and hear that space is needed to connect with one another as we physically distance and projects are halted. In response, we are launching a series of conversations for BIPOC artists who work in public spaces and/or in community. These weekly conversations will have loose agendas and are open to BIPOC artists around the country.

A TOOLKIT ON CREATIVE ALTERNATIVES TO IN-PERSON ARTS-BASED ACTIVITIES

We created a toolkit with artists, arts organizations, presenting organizations, and others collaborating with artists in mind. It contains strategies for adapting in-person arts-based activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are launching the first iteration of this toolkit now and will continue to develop it based on open-source input from you.

Learn more about Forecast’s extensive public art consulting and artist support services.