The TED Prize for 2011 Goes to a Street Artist

Street Artist JR Wins The TED Prize For 2011

October 20, 2010

Usually this post announces the newest and best grants to apply for as an artist.  But I couldn't help but share this article by PSFK.com.  The artist was recognized by TED for inspiring all people in any situation.   Something each of you as artists do on a daily basis. 

TED has announced the winner of its prize for 2011. In a somewhat unusual but refreshing choice, street artist JR has won a grant of $100,000 and the chance to work with the TED community to develop “an audacious wish that will involve the world in a brand new piece of art.” From the TED press release:

JR represents a new chapter in the TED Prize. While a seemingly unconventional recipient, his work matches the creativity and innovative spirit of TED’s community, and his art inspires people to view the world differently –- and want to change it for the better.
JR is creates what might be called “pervasive art.” Working with a team of volunteers in various urban environments, he mounts enormous black-and-white photo canvases that spread on the buildings of the slums around Paris, on the walls in the Middle East, on broken bridges in Africa, and across the favelas of Brazil. These images become part of the local landscape and capture people’s attention and imagination around the world.
In Rio, he turned hillsides into dramatic visual landscape by applying images to the facades of favela homes. In Kenya, for his project “Women Are Heroes,” he turned Kibera into a stunning gallery of local faces. (See the trailer for “Women Are Heroes” above.) And in Israel and Palestine, he mounted photos of a rabbi, imam and priest on walls across the region –- including the wall separating Israel from the West Bank.
JR remains anonymous -– never showing his full face, revealing his name, or explaining his huge portraits –- to allow for an encounter between the subject and passers-by.
“JR’s mind-blowing creations have inspired people to see art where they wouldn’t expect it and create it when they didn’t know they could,” said TED Prize Director Amy Novogratz.

You can see a gallery of recent work from Shanghai at  http://jr-art.net/.


We have gathered up some grants and fellowships that may be useful to you and will publish them early in the week.   Giovanna

Artist Grants and Other Funding Sources for Artists

Dear Artists,
Here are a few additional free grant funding sources which I promised in the last blog. These are good organizations that provide money and other supports to artists. Remember to follow the directions in the earlier article. We are in the process of publishing a grant directory for artists, but it will not be out until late Spring 2010. In the meantime I will try to add information and sources as we go along. I did not have time to get all the links, but they are readily available on the web. I'm working off my iPhone and it is hard to get everything I want. But I'm excited that we found these free grant listings and have another dozen possibilities we are checking out before we list. Hopefully you will find some grant awards for artists that apply to you. Be confident about what you do.

It has taken a long time to gather the information but I think this is worth it.

I'll post more shortly.


4Cs Foundation
The mandate of the 4Cs Foundation is to build connections between children and their communities through arts projects in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. They provide grants for community arts projects and provide support, training and networking for people interested in community arts. Deadlines for applications are October 15th, January 15th and May 15th of each year.

Suite 204, 5663 Cornwallis Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia CANADA B3K 1B6, tel: (902) 422-4805, fax: (902) 425-9560

Process IMPACT
National juried exhibition that provides opportunity for student artists whose art is about activism on civil rights, environment, health care or consumerism to apply for an award and scholarship support. Artists must be 18 years or older and currently enrolled in either an undergraduate or graduate program. Work must be completed in past 3 years. No entry fee or limit on number of submissions. Deadline is January 11

Artists are invited to send images of the work as either digital files on a DVD or CD or 2"x2" plastic or paper mounted slides (no glass). Please do not send original work unless requested. Along with the images, please include a brief statement about the work and its relevance to the theme of the exhibition and a text document with the following information:
Name, Mailing Address, Phone, Email and (for each entry) Title, media, date, size, insurance value.

Mail all materials to:
Process Impact
Eagle Art Gallery
Murray State University
604 Doyle Fine Arts
Murray, KY 42071

National Association of Women Artists
NAWA provides financial support and prizes including cash and solo show in NYC. Entry deadline is December 30, 2009. The call is for small works by women artists. Application pdf is downloaded at:
http://www.nawanet.org/users/nawa2253/docs/National%20Small%20Works%281%29.pdf

The Gunk Foundation Grants for Public Art
The Gunk Foundation is interested in supporting projects that make it out of the museum, gallery and alternative spaces, and into the spaces of daily life. For example, work that is shown in the spaces of public transportation, city streets, or work places and is seen by people "outside" of the art and academic worlds. The Foundation is looking for non-traditional, thought-provoking public work that is site specific.

The Aaron Siskind Individual Photographers Fellowship Grants
The Aaron Siskind Foundation is offering a limited number of fellowship grants of up to $5,000 each for individuals working in still photography and photography-based media. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

The Alexia Foundation for World Peace
The Alexia Foundation for World Peace Annual Photography Contest offers grants to students and professionals for the production of a proposed project. The Alexia Foundation seeks to provide the financial ability for a photographer to produce a substantial picture story that furthers the foundation's goals of promoting world peace and cultural understanding.

The Gordon Parks International Photo Competition
Fort Scott Community College began the Gordon Parks Photography Competition to honor Fort Scott's most famous photographer, Gordon Parks. Each year the Committee awards prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250 to photographers whose images reflect important themes in the life and the work of Gordon Parks, such as social injustice, the suffering of others, and family values.

College Art Association
The CAA's Professional Development Fellowship for Master of Fine Arts Candidates was initiated to help M.F.A. students to bridge the gap between graduate study and professional careers. Fellows are honored with a one-time grant of $15,000 to help them with various aspects of their work.