クリエイティブ・キャピタル Creative Capital

Creative Capital is an NPO founded in 1998 with the purpose of supporting the creative activities of innovative artists throughout the United States. It was launched as an initiative of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in response to the culture wars of the 1990s and the NEA’s termination of the majority of its individual artist grant programs. In 1999, the organization set out to award its first grants, and 2000 saw the start of its program of Artist Services. Creative Capital’s pioneering approach to artist support is made possible by contributions from foundations and individual donators nationwide.

Creative Capital provides integrated financial and advisory support valued at up to $87,000 to artists pursuing adventurous projects in five disciplines: Emerging Fields, Film/Video, Literature, Performing Arts and Visual Arts. To open the selection process to more artists, Creative Capital changed from the closed nomination system used by most grant-givers at the time to an “open call” system utilizing online applications. Through this system, the organization selects approximately 40 recipient projects for grants from an average of about 2,500 applications. In its first decade, Creative Capital has committed more than $20 million in financial and advisory support to 325 projects representing 406 artists from around the country.

In 2000, Creative Capital began to build its program of Artist Services, beginning with the Artist Retreat program that brings arts professionals together to exchange ideas and expertise with grantees. Then in 2003, Creative Capital launched the Professional Development Program (PDP) that has reached an additional 3,700 through workshops held at some 50 locations around the USA. Other artists are supported through programs at a number of levels, such as online study programs that help participants acquire new capabilities and skills.

Related Creative Capital programs include the Multi-Arts Production Fund (MAP Fund http://mapfund.org/ ) since 2004 and the Creative Capital | Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant ( http://artswriters.org/ ) since 2006.

Support Programs

Creative Capital provides integrated financial and advisory support to individual artists’ projects in a wide range of fields. For each project, grants of up to $50,000 in award monies (direct funding) are offered along with an additional suite of career development services valued at $37,000. Creative Capital seeks to maximize the support effect by providing the funding in stages for each project, including initial funding ($10,000), detailed follow-up support for project production, funding for the project’s premiere, and support for the project’s expansion beyond its premiere presentation.

Creative Capital follows a three-year grant cycle. In the first year, grants are issued in Visual Arts and Film/Video. The following year, grants are awarded in Performing Arts, Emerging Fields and Literature. In the third year, continued support of funded projects is provided, focusing on tracking progress, seeing projects to successful completion and assisting with future opportunities.

Furthermore, in the autumn prior to the grant deadline, the grant-making staff holds information sessions at several locations around the USA where artists can learn more about the application process.

Grant eligibility: To be eligible to apply, an artist must be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident, be at least 25 years old and be a working artist with at least five years of professional experience (full-time students not eligible).

Selection process: Online application, selected project application and panel review.

Artist Services

Artist Retreat
Creative Capital brings together more than 250 artists, consultants and arts professionals for the exchange of ideas and expertise at a five-day Retreat. The Retreat programs provide an engaging forum where artists can showcase their work, receive one-on-one coaching sessions, hear presentations of case studies from each field and attend sessions about current issues in the arts. In this way, the Artist Retreat leads to new partnerships and opportunities for individual grantees.

Professional Development Program
Professional Development Program workshops provide grantees with practical knowledge and tools necessary for success. The workshops are held around the U.S. in cooperation with arts organizations nationwide. The curriculums include instruction in strategic planning, fundraising, public relations and marketing, verbal communications and maximizing online impact and effectiveness. Some of the one- to three-day workshops are also offered as bilingual sessions for Spanish-speaking artists. There are also new monthly Online Learning sessions with lectures of approximately 90 minutes in duration.
From 2012, Creative Capital will award subsidy grants ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 for program organizers to subsidize part of the cost of workshop presentations, and there are plans to offer subsidy grants of up to $500 for research.