ASCA: Harper Arts Touring Fund Grant

ASCA: Harper Arts Touring Fund Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Alaska State Council on the Arts
Last Updated: December 01, 2025

Summary

The ASCA: Harper Arts Touring Fund, managed by the Alaska State Council on the Arts, supports diverse arts initiatives in Alaska. Established in 2002, it provides grants for travel and freight expenses related to touring performances and exhibitions. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) organizations and government units. The fund promotes community engagement through arts presentations that reach underserved populations. It aims to enhance access to quality cultural experiences across Alaskan communities, fostering local artist development and audience growth.

Overview

NOTE: Submit an application at least 90 days prior to the planned activity. This deadline may be flexible, contact the program director with questions. About Alaska State Council on the Arts The Alaska State Council on the Arts funds applications in all areas of the arts: dance, visual arts, literature, music, theater, media arts, and traditional Native arts. The Council also encourages applications that promote and develop the cultural heritage of Alaskans and the creation of new works by Alaskan artists. Harper Arts Touring Fund The Harper Arts Touring Fund was established by the Rasmuson Foundation in 2002 to increase access to high quality performing arts, visual arts and culture exhibitions in communities throughout Alaska, and is named for Alaskan arts leader, Jerry Harper. The Harper Arts Touring Fund now continues as a program of the Alaska State Council on the Arts, supported by Rasmuson Foundation. The program is designed to encourage tours of Alaska’s arts presentations and exhibitions; build the capacity of organizations in small communities to present and exhibit; and to build audiences for cultural events and exhibitions. The Fund provides grants to subsidize travel and freight expenses associated with the presentation of touring performances, or visual arts and material culture exhibitions in communities without regular access to these types of programs. Through a partnership with the Alaska State Council on the Arts, training and technical assistance are provided to help communities strengthen their ability to successfully present performing arts activities and visual arts and material culture exhibitions.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible Applicant Organizations:Alaskan organizations that have received 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service and are classified as "not a private foundation" under section 509(a) of the Code.Units of government and tribal entities.A school, college or university if the proposed activity is open to the general public and the primary purpose of the project is not a school residency or to generate academic credit.Eligible Projects: Arts presentations and exhibitions including but not limited to: theater, dance, opera/musical theater, music, performances for young audiences, literary readings/storytelling, folk &traditional arts, media arts, and visual art and historical exhibitions are eligible provided they meet at least one of the following criteria:Presentations/exhibitions will engage Alaskan communities that do not have regular access to arts experiences.Presentations/exhibitions will feature Alaska-based artists or arts organizations touring to communities in Alaska.Presentations/exhibitions are specifically designed to attract new audiences or reach underserved populations within a community.Multi-community tours within Alaska that address some aspect of criteria 1-3 above, and that are coordinated by a lead organization.If a presentation/exhibition is traveling from outside of Alaska, then block-booking between at least two Alaska communities is required (See Lead Presenter/Exhibitor Coordination Details).The proposed activity must be marketed and open to the public. Where possible, the tour should include an educational/outreach component.Lead Presenter/Exhibitor Coordination Details:Presenters/exhibitors are encouraged to share presentations/exhibitions with rural and underserved communities. Lead presenters may submit a single application to support a multi-community tour. A tour qualifying for Lead Presenter/Exhibitor Coordination must include at least two communities: for example, the lead presenter community and one other community.Responsibilities of the Lead Presenter/Exhibitor:To make contact with rural and underserved communities letting them know what presenting/exhibiting opportunities may be availableTo partner with identified communitiesTo coordinate the tour and travel arrangements between the presenters/exhibitors, curators and participating artistsTo gather commitment letters for the grant application from each community presenter/exhibitor. Letters of commitment of support for an individual community presenter on a tour should including the specifics of the community presenter/exhibitor commitment to the project. Letters should specify the dates and venues of the presentation/exhibition, brief description of presentation/exhibition outreach and educational activities to be undertaken, the community’s contact information, the community’s financial support for the presentation/exhibition beyond Harper Arts Touring Funds ( which may include in-kind support and ticket sales, and statement of commitment to work with the lead presenter to ensure the implementation of the tour. To distribute and administer the Harper Arts Touring Fund award amount in support of the travel and freight to the individual host communities, in partnership. Prepare and submit a final report for the tour.Other items for a Lead Presenter/Exhibitor to consider:It is key for the lead presenter/exhibitor to work with all the individual community presenter/exhibitors to determine how Harper Arts Touring Fund grants will be administered across the partnership. A clear plan—in advance—for how funds will support the tour is important to a strong application.In some cases, artists or arts organizations may prefer to include travel and freight in an all-inclusive artist fee in relation to a tour block. If travel is not calculated separately across a tour block for a presentation or exhibition, it will be appropriate to estimate travel costs based on number of individuals traveling, amount of freight moving, and travel/freight options available to the communities included in a tour.Template letters of support are available to share with individual community presenter/exhibitors; contact the Harper Arts Touring Fund Grant program administrator.Eligible Expenses:Travel and related freight: Artist travel and related freight costs associated with the presentation of touring performers and exhibition touring within Alaska.Administrative Costs: Applicants may utilize up to 10% of their grant award to off set administrative costs directly associated with the activity funded by the Harper Touring grant. Lead presenters may include not more than $1,050 and individual communities not more than $350 in their application requests.Grant Award Amounts:Organizations may apply for up to 75% of direct travel and freight expenses per tour.Individual community tours may apply for up to $3,500. Lead presenter/exhibitor coordinated tours may apply for up to $10,500 for a tour including multiple tour blocks, with at least two communities in a given tour.Presenters/exhibitors may apply for and receive no more than two Harper Arts Touring Fund grants per presenter, per fiscal year.

Ineligibility

Ineligible Expenses:Travel/freight for fundraising, benefit concerts or exhibitions are ineligible for support. Production and other expenses (i.e., costs associated with preparing a presentation/exhibition for tour including artist fees, set and crate fabrication, venue, hotel accommodations, etc.) should be included in a Harper Arts Touring Fund Grant budget, but are not considered travel and related freight or administrative cost. Underwriting for an organization’s ongoing programming budget is ineligible for support.The Harper Arts Touring Fund Grant is not intended for ongoing support of an exhibition/presentation of the same artist, within the same community, year-over-year.