SMAC: Artist Equity Grants

The SMAC Artist Equity Grants provide essential funding for Black, Indigenous, and artists of color at any career stage to enhance their artistic skills and expand their audience. Grants of up to $4,000 support various activities, including equipment purchase, mentorship, and professional development. The program aims to address historical disparities in the arts, ensuring equitable access and resources for marginalized communities in the SW MN region.

The Artist Equity grant program provides funding to Black, Indigenous, and other artists of color at any career stage for activities that foster the development of their artistic skills and career, expand their audience, and increase their ability to live and work in the SW MN Region. All arts disciplines are accepted.
SW MN Arts Council acknowledges that systems currently in place have historically marginalized and underserved indigenous people of the Americas and communities of color.
Artist Equity applicants may request funding for costs including, but not limited to:

• Purchase of supplies or equipment
• Compensated time or childcare costs while working on a specific body of work
• Research
• One-on-one study with a mentor
• Attending workshops or conferences for professional or artistic development
• Rental of facilities for presenting work or for studio space
• Website or portfolio production
• Framing
• Recording
• Editing or other costs related to publishing
• Funding
• Artist Equity grants are available for up to $4,000.

Eligibility

The Artist Equity grant program is open to indigenous artists and artists of color, including those who are:Indigenous

Middle Eastern/North African
Southeast Asian/Asian/Pacific IslanderIn the SW MN region, this could include those who are Black, Dakota/Lakota, Hispanic/Latinx, Hmong, Karen, Micronesian, Somali, etc.The Artist Equity grant program is open to permanent residents within the SW MN Arts Council service region, consisting of eighteen counties (Big Stone, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Meeker, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Swift, and Yellow Medicine counties) and two tribal nations (Pezihutazizi/Upper Sioux Community, Cansayapi/Lower Sioux Community). Applicants must be a region resident for at least six months prior to submitting an application and remain a resident throughout the contract period. Applicants may be asked to provide proof of residency, which must be demonstrated by the following, each showing an eligible address:A valid MN state ID/driver's license or other federally recognized documentation andBills for utilities or mortgage/rentApplicants must be at least 18 years old by the time of signing their grant contract.Artists may only have one pending SMAC grant request at a time, across all grant programs for individuals.

Ineligibility

Artists with a current SMAC grant project in progress may not apply for another individual grant until reporting on the first grant is completed. Applicants with overdue final reports are not eligible to apply.Artists who will be acting as grant review panelists in a particular round cannot apply in that round. SMAC Board Members are not eligible to apply during their tenure on the Board or until two years following their resignation from the Board. SMAC staff and the immediate family members (children, parents, or spouse/partner) of SMAC staff or SMAC Board members are ineligible to apply.The following requests and activities are not eligible for these grants:Projects that do not have an art focus.
Equipment requests not specifically tied to the proposed project.
Activities of a for-profit project or business or projects intended for mass-market distribution.
Credits or materials necessary to fulfill degree requirements for students, including tuition, class projects, and school-related exhibits, performances, or shows.Projects that primarily involve developing curriculum plans, teaching materials, or other related activities intended to advance your professional teaching career; or applications that are primarily educational projects within a school system.Requests for new building construction or purchase of real estate.
Fundraising events. Grant funding should allow projects to break even, not make a profit.
Activities essentially for the religious socialization of the participants or audience.
Activities that attempt to influence any state or federal legislation or appropriation.
Applications submitted for the purpose of regranting, lobbying, or scholarships.
Projects in which funds are to be used to match other SMAC grant projects.
Requests for funds to account for deficits in projects begun prior to the project earliest start date. In other words, payment of debts incurred before the grant activities begin or outside of the grant project scope of activity.