Artist Resources, Grants for Artists, Creative Projects, Making Money for Artists

Toni Morrison speaking at “A Tribute to Chinua Achebe — 50 Years Anniversary of ‘Things Fall Apart’”. The Town Hall, New York City, February 26th, 2008 It is almost impossible to explain the impact of a phenomenon like Toni Morrison. It is infinitely more impossible for me to explain, as a Black woman and artist, what it means to lose her less than a year after losing Ntozake Shange. I have more feelings than language and have asked my colleagues at Fractured Atlas to help me honor a great by sharing their reflections of her persona, words, and work.

One of the most frustrating things about making art is figuring out how to finance making said art. What does it even mean to “make money as an artist”? What is fundraising? How do I get paid? This guide will walk you through what it means to make money as an artist and give you some tips on how to get started. We’re going to go step-by-step so you can develop a money-making plan.

Are you an artist or creative looking to execute a project or take your work to the next level? Has someone told you that you or your arts organization should be fiscally sponsored? Are you curious about “physical sponsorship”?

Fractured Atlas member Renegade Performance Group at Brooklyn Bridge Park Attention all presenting artists and arts organizations: If you’re fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas and interested in applying for the MAP Fund, keep reading to find out important grant review deadlines, and how to apply.

In October 2016, Fractured Atlas presented its commitment to anti-racism/anti-oppression. Specifically, As part of Fractured Atlas’s commitment to supporting individual artists and the arts sector overall in firmly planting themselves in justice, we are especially committed to ensuring that our environment, and those created by our member artists, are welcoming to all individuals, regardless of race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and disability, or any other bias that may present itself. Each day we are working, to paraphrase Mr. Baldwin, to dismiss the vocabulary we have hidden behind for so very long. [Emphasis added.]

When preparing a grant application, it can seem counterintuitive to think of the funder you’re applying to as a resource. However, no one can answer questions about an application better than the institution that made it! Calling the funder is one of the most effective tools in your grant-writing toolbox.

As part of our commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression, Fractured Atlas has been hosting race-based caucuses since late 2016. Each space serves a unique role in our work. We’re sharing our experiences in the hopes that more organizations will implement the practice.

Party On, Artists! Warmer weather brings many social events: why not use some of those events to support your fundraising! Before you do, however, Fractured Atlas would like to remind you of some of the best practices for planning your fundraising events. We’ve talked about planning, marketing, and running a fundraising event before, so now felt like a great time to revisit some of the best tips and tools for your reference.

Facebook has become one of the most dominant marketing tools of our time. It’s impossible to interact with the platform without encountering creative projects promoting themselves. While using Facebook socially is fairly simple, using it to market your project — particularly for fundraising — is much harder. One of the consistent questions we receive from our fiscally-sponsored projects is “how can I solicit donations via Facebook?” Luckily, Facebook’s “call-to-action” feature has made it much easier. Here’s how it could work for you.

Each month we feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. This month’s featured project is Catacomb of Veils.