Assembly for the Arts is now accepting applications for the Boost Fund. About 40-50 Cuyahoga County artists will be chosen, completely at random, for $1,500 awards. The first round of applications closes April 7.
Deidre McPherson, Assembly’s chief community officer, said choosing randomly will “level the playing field” when administering funds from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, which distributes money raised from the county cigarette tax for the arts.
"Since these are public dollars, everyone has access and we realize that there are a number of artists that have never been awarded CAC dollars before," she said. "They may have been intimidated by some of the application processes associated with completing a grant proposal. This program ... doesn't require presenting a proposal in a way that, oftentimes, grant programs do."
Applicants must be over 18 and will have to submit contact information, a short narrative response and a link demonstrating their creative practice. Meg Matko, Assembly’s director of grant programs, leads an online information session about the process Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
This is the first of three rounds of lottery-style grants planned by Assembly this year. Another information session is May 22. The next opportunities to apply for the Boost Fund grants are in July and October.
McPherson said 140 practicing artists will be awarded in total.
“Not a hobbyist, but someone who's committed to creative profession,” she said.
