Participating in an artist-in-residence program costs money. Some residency programs cover all costs, some don’t cover any costs at all. In general residential art centers cover the costs for some part, which makes it necessary to find additional funding.

We guide you to information sources on funding opportunities – make sure to check our Artist-in-Residence funding tips, including many links to guides, mappings, lists and other directories.

In the pages about funding, we focus only on grants where individual persons can apply and in which residencies are an eligible activity.

Funding Resources for Artists Seeking to Travel

What are the resources for creatives seeking funding to make art in India and other parts of the world?

Artists who have applied and been accepted for a residency with KALANIRVANA International Art Center will receive an official acceptance letter which can be used in requesting funding.  A prospective budget for accepted residents is also available upon request to aid in this process. KALANIRVANA makes no claim as to the likelihood of funding from these resources for your particular needs, but we do encourage artists to pursue these options and organizations to learn about the process.

We encourage artists to try the FUNDING OPTIONS and do not stop just because you do not have fund for a creative residency .

Crowd Funding

Crowd funding is the practice of raising funds for a project or venture through many small gifts from a large number (crowd) of people, typically via the internet. Inviting people to become part of the story of your art residency through crowd funding is a practice that is on the rise …as there are a number of websites offering competitive and creative plans. See a starter list of the most commonly used sites below .

Note that “***”  indicates more artists have funded residencies  through this platform!

Kickstarter  –  Indiegogo *** –  RocketHub  –  Peerbackers  –  Pozible  –  SponsuMe***  –  YouCaring.com *** –  ProjectTravel.com***  –  GoGetFunding – GoFundMe *** – FanFunded ***

Arts Council Funding

Municipal and educational governing bodies invest in the arts. Chances are pretty good that the local arts council of the city nearest you may be interested in helping to send local artists into other contexts to make their art so that when they return, the city benefits culturally. The same is sometimes true at universities, where their may already be a program through which artists can apply for funding for art travel/residency.

Private Foundation Grants

There are numerous private foundations started by individuals and groups whose sole interest is to empower creatives and culture-shapers in their work for the good of humanity. See the list of links below. It is not uncommon for these foundations to have a fairly specific culture, geographic location, social issue or even artistic medium in their funding profile.

Read ArtInfo’s helpful blog post on the 20 top Artist Grants and Fellowships You Might Actually Be Able to Get

Self-Funding – an entrepreneurial solution

Many professional artists wisely consider their vocation as partly a business venture requiring setting financial goals and making realistic plans for their production. Does your annual plan allow for you to grow and develop beyond your current work? Consider the price and quantity of paintings you might be able to complete in 6 weeks time away in your own studio in an inspiring new place … and add to that the number of paintings you might then go back home and finish, or even start. It is not impossible to think of having an exhibition within 6-8 months of a residency, during which you could sell 2-3 paintings and pay for the whole trip.

Embassy Sponsored Creative Exchange

Offering your skills, stories, workshops, exhibition, or other professional asset to your country’s Embassy or cultural attache can grow into an amazing opportunity to share across cultures in exchange for full or partial funding. In Morocco, the American Language Centers also offer such an exchange for any strong English speaking artists traveling in-country. This usually entails cutting into your residency time OR lengthening your stay beyond your project proposal by up to 5 days to accommodate traveling to and presenting at multiple ALCs in-country. Contact us about these opportunities to begin the dialogue.

Asian Cultural Council

The Asian Cultural Council supports transformative cultural exchange by awarding grants to artists, scholars, and arts and humanities professionals, as well as organizations and educational institutions from the United States and Asia for research, study, and creative work in the United States and Asia and within the countries of Asia.

www.asianculturalcouncil.org

Eligiblity: individuals and institutions that advance cultural exchange between the U.S. and countries in Asia as well as among countries in Asia.

Euro region…

Resources by Country …

American (USA)

Lighton International Artist Exchange Program (LIAEP) –  Support for visual artists and arts professionals to travel to international residencies and artist communities and for foreign visual artists to travel to and work in the United States.

Rauschenberg Foundation Artist as Activist Grants – ‘Artist as Activist provides game-changing resources to artists (of all disciplines – visual, performing, media, and beyond), designers, and other creative professionals who are addressing important global challenges through their creative practice. In years past this support has included a commissioned print edition to benefit a particular cause or organization.’

Sustainable Arts Foundation Grants – Our program focuses on awards to individual artists and writers with families. Specifically, the applicant must have at least one child under the age of 18. There are no geographic restrictions on our applicants. The foundation offers awards in two major categories: visual arts and writing

State of Indiana

Indiana Arts Commission – Individual Artist Grants

State of Minnesota

Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant – Travel and Study Grant Program for emerging artists.  This program rotates disciplines every other year. In even years, the program is open to literature; film/video and digital production; and dance. In odd years, the program is open to music; theater/performance art; and visual arts..  The program is open to “generative” artists who have a record of creating original work.  The program is also open to arts administrators in Minnesota who work at organizations who support such artists.

New York City artists

Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant – Travel and Study Grant Program for emerging artists.  This program rotates disciplines every other year. In even years, the program is open to literature; film/video and digital production; and dance. In odd years, the program is open to music; theater/performance art; and visual arts..  The program is open to “generative” artists who have a record of creating original work.

Australian

Australian Council Arts Funding – a broad ranging list of grants available to Australian Artists/Creatives

Creative Australia, New Work Grant

Grants for developing artistic  work internationally

Creative Development Grants – Western Australia

Southern Australia, Funding and Grants

Canadian

Ontario Arts Council – The Ontario Arts Council currently offers more than 65 granting programs to individual artists, collectives, ad hoc groups and organizations in twelve sectors.

United Kingdom (UK)

Arts Council England – “We invest money from government and the National Lottery in arts and culture across England. This funds a wide range of activities – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, crafts to collections; and helps us achieve our mission of Great art and culture for everyone.”

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust – “Nowadays it’s much easier to travel but the travel grant gives you the time and space, with full financial support, to learn, reflect, network and develop in your chosen field, returning revitalised and with renewed enthusiasm for your subject. You may have to operate out of your own comfort zone and will learn from doing so.”

Paul Hamlyn Foundation – Paul Hamlyn Foundation artist grants are typically by nomination only, but this new site points artists to their directory of grants to which artists can apply directly.

Jewish Culture in Europe – “The mission of the European Association for Jewish Culture will be pursued through grant-making programmes” … specifically for artists seeking to explore Jewish cultural impact and heritage internationally.

Indonesia

Crowd funding in Indonesia –  Kita bisa  –  Ayo peduli  –  Crowdtivate  –  Wujudkan

Crowd funding explained for the Indonesian artist by Kita bisa.

Read more about grants available through Arts Network Asia and also about 2014 grants related to Indonesia/Asia by Luce Initiative

Brasil

Crowd funding in Brasil –  Catarse  –  Kickante  – Pontapés  –  Guigoo

Netherlands

Stichting Gerbrandy Cultuutfonds – AiR 2016 Maartje Jaquet received funding from this organization.

“De Stichting heeft ten doel het stimuleren van beeldende kunst in Nederland in de meest brede zin van het woord. De Stichting tracht dit doel onder meer te bereiken door het verstrekken van beurzen aan beeldend kunstenaars, die voor hun kunstzinnige ontwikkeling enige tijd in het buitenland willen verblijven. Bijvoorbeeld, voor het volgen van studies, het volgen of geven van workshops, het verblijven in kunstenaarsdorpen, het werken met speciale locale materialen, zulks ter beoordeling door het bestuur van de Stichting.”

Seek funding world wide:

Types of International Residency in KALA NIRVANA:

1. ONE WORLD ONE FAMILY : International Open Residency: ( Minimum 15 Days to Maximum 3 Months + )
2. YOUNG ART NIRVANA : Semi-Sponsored Residency for STUDENTS GROUP  under age of 30. ( 15 Days )
3. CULTURE CURRY : SPECIAL : International Curated Residency :  ( Minimum 15 Days to Maximum 30 Days  )
4. CURATORS’ MEET : International  : ( Fully Sponsored Residency for  8 days )
5. EXPLORE  INDIA : International Photo Tour / Culture Tour  : ( Minimum 15 days and maximum 30 days )