Art grants available from Creative Sonoma

Creative Sonoma, the county art-advocacy program, is offering grants for nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, as well as individual artists, through four separate programs. Grants will fund arts-education projects for Sonoma County youth as well as provide career support to individual artists in the genres of visual arts, literary arts and music. Funding for the grants comes from the National Endowment for the Arts and Community Foundation Sonoma County.

“Sonoma County is widely recognized as a creative place to live and work which helps us attract and retain business as well as visitors,” said Board of Supervisor Chair David Rabbitt. “These grants are a way to help ensure that our local artists, as well as students who are interested in pursuing creative careers, will have the seed funds to pursue those aspirations.”

Arts Education Innovation grants are available to nonprofit organizations that provide students age 2 to 18 with opportunities to participate in arts-learning programs. Eligible projects can incorporate any creative discipline, from photography and writing to theater, graphic design, crafts, filmmaking and more. Projects can be produced in schools, or in out-of-school settings. Grant awards will be made up to $7,500 each. The deadline for applications is Friday, April 12.

Discovered Grants for “emerging artists” are available for five visual and five literary artists whose careers may be on the cusp of breaking through. Grant awards will be $2,500 each, and will also include a professional curated exhibition at the Museum of Sonoma County, readings of the literary artists’ work, and a print catalogue including work samples from both visual and literary artists. Applicants must be residents of Sonoma County, age 21 or older, cannot be currently enrolled students, may not have representation through an agent (visual artists) or cannot have a published book (literary artists). The deadline for application is Friday, April 12.

Next Level Grants for musicians and bands are available for five musicians or bands to support activities that will advance their music careers. Grant awards will be $2,500 each and will be paired with up to 10 hours of one-on-one business consulting in areas of career need identified by the grantees. Applicants must be residents of Sonoma County and at least 21 years old. The deadline for applications is Friday, March 29.

Grant guidelines outlining eligibility and application forms are available atCreativeSonoma.org/grants. Direct questions to Samantha.kimpel@sonoma-county.org or Kristen Madsen at kristen.madsen@sonoma-county.org.