For more than a decade and a half, the Rasmuson Foundation has stood with Alaskan artists. Their Individual Artist Awards (IAA) nourish the artist because the foundation believes artists nourish the state. Since 2004 through 2019, the foundation has granted 516 individual artist award grants, to the tune of $4.76 million, according to their website. Those awards have been spread through 50 communities around Alaska.
Applications are due in just a week, on March 2. Yet experienced program officers know that the bulk of the artists’ applications are still outstanding, even this close to the deadline. What better time than now to get some hot tips on successful applications, and a clear understanding of how the selection process works.
To that end, two program officers for the Individual Artists Awards will join us on Hometown Alaska, along with a successful applicant, to talk about what works. This includes information on how the application process progresses, who reviews and decides on the awards, and lots of tips from artists who’ve succeeded, even if not on the first try.
As always, your calls, questions and comments are welcome throughout the program. And we direct you to the LINKS list on this page for a direct route to many helpful video and story summaries of the process successful applicants followed.
HOST: Kathleen McCoy
GUESTS:
- Sharity Sommer, program officer, IAA, Rasmuson Foundation
- Enzina Marrari, program officer, IAA, Rasmuson Foundation
- Keren Lowell, artist and successful IAA applicant in 2016
LINKS:
- Rasmuson Foundation Project Awards and Fellowships, webpage that includes four videos with encouragement and application tips
- Meet Keren Lowell, mid-career artist, IAA recipient in 2016, her tips for application success
- Rasmuson Foundation Facebook page
- The thinking behind Rasmuson Foundation support for the arts, excerpt from the 2018 annual letter, section on Strengthening the Arts
- Past Individual Artists Awards: scroll through 516 awards to see a brief description of how artists use their funding
- Rasmuson artists profiles written by 49 Writers, a collaboration
- Artists’ Toolkit, help in the application process, website
PARTICIPATE:
- Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (2:00 – 3:00pm)
- Send e-mail to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (e-mails may be read on air)
- Post your comment or question below (comments may be read on air
- LIVE: Monday, February 24, 2020 at 2:00 p.m
- RE-AIR: Monday, February 24, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
