For our 2023 program, CultureSource looked to our partner WolfBrown’s An Investment Framework for Supporting the Artists Ecosystem for inspiration. The report recommends support for those who strengthen ties between artists and audiences, recognizing their critical role in enhancing a flourishing, local arts ecosystem.

From these recommendations, three profiles of people will be eligible for the 2023 Creators of Culture program:

• Arts Curator — Someone who independently curates and pulls together exhibitions or performances as the focus of their creative practice. They primarily work to organize and present artistic products or processes other than their own. Examples of curators include people  spotlighting artists through performing arts festivals, visual arts exhibitions, literary readings, and more.
• Arts Organizer — Someone who unites a group of people around a shared artistic activity that is not focused on the organizer’s own artistic work. Examples of arts organizers include people who facilitate regular playwriting workshops, quilt-making groups, ceramics classes, people who are responsible for monthly arts events at local venues, etc.
• Arts Journalist — Someone who consistently writes about local artists and arts activity in order to share the impacts and importance of that work with a greater audience. Examples of arts journalists include podcasters who feature local musicians, writers who highlight upcoming theater and dance performances, and critics who review recent visual arts exhibition openings, etc.

The roles of curator, arts organizer, and arts journalist are each different but thematically share the responsibility of highlighting artists and uplifting their careers to audiences who may or may not already be familiar with their work. They help to build a culture of support, appreciation, curiosity, and engagement through their writing, events, exhibitions, performances, workshops, and more.

Successful applicants will clearly fit the eligibility criteria, identifying either as a curator, arts organizer, or arts journalist. All successful applicants will share and split the total funding amount equally. We expect grants to be around $2,000-$3,000 each. This funding program is focused on curators, arts organizers, and arts journalists working independent of 501(c)3 nonprofits, meaning they are not receiving funding for their work at these institutions but external to them.