Mission
Harpo Foundation was established in 2006 to support artists who are under recognized by the field.
This applies to all artists whether emerging or further along
in their careers. We view the definitions of art and artist
to be open-ended and expansive.
Eligibility
Proposals may only be submitted by non-profit institutions. Only one proposal will be accepted per institution.
Artists who apply on behalf of themselves are not eligible. Institutions in countries outside of the United States are eligible to apply but if awarded must be prepared to supply the foundation with a legal affidavit written in English qualifying its activities and structure.
Proposals
Proposals to the foundation may take the form of installations, public interventions, residencies and exhibitions where the artist is commissioned to create new work. The Foundation will not support multiple artists in a group exhibition or calendar of programs, preferring instead to support a significant opportunity for an individual artist or collaborative team at an important moment in their development.
Funding Focus for 2010
The relationship between art and site in an era defined by digital technologies is the focus for Harpo Foundation's 2010 funding cycle. Of specific interest is the dialectic between the non-locality of the digital world and the existential physicality of our everyday environment. For example, our sense of place is being drastically altered by web space, which brings geographically distant locations together to form a new kind of locality, yet what's small, local, personal, political and natural informs our vision for a sustainable future; the search for place-bound identity persists.
When site-specific art emerged in the late 1960´s, the physical and experiential qualities of a fixed and permanent location inspired the art. Since then, 'site' has been redefined endlessly, turning the tangible, grounded concept into something fluid and transient. Interestingly, in our everyday lives, the local is often seen as losing ground to globalizing dynamics, evoking the question, has place become an ephemeral, fleeting image?
The Foundation is interested in how artists are reclaiming the significance of the local while simultaneously placing themselves and their creative lives within a global context. We are interested in supporting projects that are grounded in the real world, that will draw upon local phenomena, activate social relationships to inspire a community, trigger memory to recall a place’s unique history, to name just a few of the ways we see artists addressing site today. We are also interested in supporting projects that explore the idea of place using technologies that challenge our traditional notions of what qualifies as locality.
In pursuing this direction for one year, we hope to shed light on how artists today are locating or siting their work in a dematerializing world and the Foundation will prioritize projects that expand, explore, critique, reconcile, and challenge this 21st century phenomenon.
Required materials
- Description of Project [max of 5,000 characters, including spaces] Your description should address the Foundation’s funding focus, priorities, and goals.
- Up to 20 examples of the artist's work. Follow these instructions below when preparing your work samples for the CD/DVD:
1. Images should be individually numbered, titled, and in jpeg format, not bundled into a presentation. (example: 1.artistname.jpg, 2.artistname.jpg, 3.artistname.jpg)
2. Include video and audio clips among your samples if proposed artist works with video or sound. (CD/DVD only. Do not print images and include with hard copy)
3. Include a list that identifies and describes each work sample (max 500 characters per work sample description.)
- Artist/Collaborative Team Bio [max of 1000 characters, including spaces]
- Description of Organization [max of 3,000 characters, including spaces]
- Budget identifying the artist's honorarium/commissioning fee and artist's production costs. (Grants will usually not exceed $10,000.)
- Copy of your organization's government issued non-profit determination letter
Format
1. Submit proposal online. The
online
grant application is also found on the left side of our website's menu page.
2. Send a printed hard copy of the proposal as well as a clearly labeled CD or DVD containing the complete proposal to our Los Angeles office:
Harpo Foundation
Julie Deamer, Executive Director
4423-1/2 Mont Eagle Place
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(323) 254-0532
Deadline
The next deadline is April 15, 2010. Online applications must be uploaded by 11:59pm April 15, PST and the CD/DVD must be postmarked April 15; Grantees will be notified by November 1, 2010.
All projects funded during the 2010 funding cycle need to be completed by September 2011. Projects that are scheduled in 2010 but happen prior to the November 1 notification date are eligible for funding on a retroactive basis.
Criteria
Projects and work that advance and cross the boundaries of
media and artistic disciplines will be given first consideration.
Proposals will be judged on the basis of the quality of the
artist's work, the potential to expand aesthetic inquiry, and the strength of its relationship to the Foundation´s Funding Focus for 2010.
Process
Harpo Foundation's Board of Directors is responsible for selecting supported proposals.
