GRANT GUIDELINES

WHO CAN APPLY

Artists (all media) who are residents of the Berkshire Taconic region (Berkshire County, MA; Northeast Dutchess County, NY; Columbia County, NY and Northwest Litchfield County, CT).

NEW APPLICATION PROCESS

In 2019, Berkshire Taconic launched a new SlideRoom portal to streamline the application process for artists. Applicants will be asked to create a new account on SlideRoom, which allows artists to easily upload samples of their work. For technical questions regarding the portal and how to complete your application, email us at grants@berkshiretaconic.org or call us at 413.229.0370.

GRANT INFORMATION

The Boschen Fund for Artists supports emerging artists or artists experiencing a significant change of direction in their work. Funding supports these artists to work alone or in collaboration with other artists in the creation of new work. The Fund supports artists as they advance to the next level of their development or in the presentation of their work in innovative ways. The core belief of the Boschen Fund is that the world is made a better and more humane place if artists have the resources they need to create work and make it available to the public and have the opportunity to think in new ways about their future as artists. The Boschen Fund seeks, in its modest way, to help create a more innovative and nurturing climate for artists in the Berkshire Taconic region by making grants available at important points in an artist's career. While the focus of the fund remains on individual artists, it also accepts proposals from organizations in the region that commission artists or provide artists with new opportunities to work or present their work to new audiences.

ELIGIBILITY

Artists, both creative and interpretive, in all media may apply to the Boschen Fund; "creative artists" refers to artists who originate work while "interpretive artists" refers to artists who interpret work, such as dancers, singers, musicians, and performers. This includes visual and craft artists; writers (poets, fiction and creative nonfiction writers); installation, performance or cross-disciplinary artists; and artists who work in digital and new media or mixed media.

Applicants must have been full-time residents in the Berkshire Taconic region (Berkshire County, MA; Northeast Dutchess County, NY; Columbia County, NY and Northwest Litchfield County, CT) for two years prior to applying. Artists with a significant connection to the area are also welcome to apply. Artists who have received an award from the Boschen Fund may reapply no sooner than five years after the date of their previous award.

Beginning in 2023, funding will be available for education and training for adult artists including professional development and entrepreneurship training which will equip artists with the tools to sustain and make a living from their creative work.

AWARDS

The fund awards grants directly to the applicant artist or organization to carry out the work outlined in the application. The grants usually range between $1,000 and $5,000 and may be applied to any expense that may enhance the artist's ability to create new work. Awards are counted as income and artists are responsible for all applicable taxes. Berkshire Taconic will file a 1099 form with the Internal Revenue Service to report each award. The artist will be asked to document the work performed under the grant.

REVIEW CRITERIA

An advisory board for the Boschen Fund will review all applications. The board comprises artists and arts professionals in a variety of artistic disciplines from the greater Berkshire Taconic region. Their recommendations will be sent to Berkshire Taconic for approval. The advisory board will use the following criteria in their review:

• The excellence of the artist's work as evidenced by samples of recent work submitted as part of the application.
• The potential of the project to advance the artist's work.
• The potential of the grant from the Boschen Fund to advance the artist's work.