Artist Access Grants
Artist Access Grants
Grant to produce fine art prints to help in becoming a self-sustained artist.
Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, Cultural Programming Coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
The goal of my project is to produce fine art prints of my paintings to make my artwork more accessible to a wider audience, and to generate income to fund my artistic endeavors in painting. I am an oil painter, and the pricing of my work is based on previous sales, the size of the work, the cost of materials required, and the time and labor invested in the work. Not everyone who has expressed interest in my paintings has the means to purchase the original, and I am often asked if I have prints available. With this grant, I would be able to produce fine art prints, making my artwork accessible to more people in my audience, increasing my revenue from my artwork, and it would further my goal of self-sustained artistry. The measurable outcomes would be the income generated from print sales, a larger audience as a result of my artwork becoming more accessible, and an increase in productivity as a painter, having income from this project to fund the expenses of producing paintings. The success of this project will be measurable in a number of ways. I have an existing website showcasing my artwork with an online store. Through this online store I will sell fine art prints and reproductions of my artwork. I maintain a social media presence as well, which drives interest to my website and online store. Through my website I can track sales and income generated from my prints. This data will be an indication of how access to my artwork has increased by offering fine art prints, and the amount of income I have generated from this specific project to fund my practice as a painter. The additional income from the project this grant is for would give me the needed financial resources to increase my productivity as an artist. The cost of materials required to produce an oil painting can be a barrier to how productive I could potentially be as a painter. The funds generated from this project would enable me to freely purchase painting materials as needed. Currently I produce six to eight paintings per year, and my goal is to double the number of paintings I produce in a year. With increased productivity as an artist, I would be able to secure more solo exhibitions and be more readily available to participate in group exhibitions, which would be a great stride in furthering my career as an artist. The increase in my productivity as a painter is the second measurable indicator of the success of this grant request.
In the first month I have made three print sales. After launching this project, the traffic to my website increased considerably, garnering interest in my work and my prints, increasing potential for future sales.