Office of the Vice President for the Arts
Faculty Creative Project Seed Grant – How to Apply
Application Information
Purpose
The Office of the Vice President for the Arts is pleased to offer grants to support faculty creative projects with significant impact on campus and beyond.
Not sure if this grant is the best fit for your project? View our comparison guide for guidance.
Criteria
Proposals can be for projects that are already in the works, or can be used to launch new projects. We are happy to consider proposals in any creative arts discipline, including, but not limited to: the performing arts, the visual arts, creative writing, film, multimedia arts, and heritage arts. We will prioritize projects that work towards the presentation in a public forum (gallery exhibition, screenings, performances, etc.) during the grant period.
Grants range from $10,000-$20,000. Each grant is for a two-year term; shorter terms may be considered depending on the applicant's University appointment terms and/or project needs. Grant recipients have the possibility of requesting approval for a one-year extension based on unforeseen circumstances.
These grants are appropriate for faculty who are artists and artist-scholars working across disciplines; however, the central output must be a creative work (not a scholarly publication, symposium, etc.). Applicants should have an active creative practice that is connected to their University teaching and research.
Proposals should connect projects in question (be they new projects, or existing projects that are being expanded) to an applicant’s overall body of creative work. Funds can be used for any portion of the project lifecycle.
We anticipate that this program will be offered annually for at least three fiscal years (2023, 2024, 2025.) Program criteria and eligibility may differ between cycles as we iterate on the program design based on applicant feedback.
Eligibility
- Open to Academic Council (of any rank) and Senior Lecturers.
- Priority may be given to artists and artist-scholars with appointments in the following departments: Department of Art & Art History, Program in Creative Writing, Department of Music, Department of Theater & Performance Studies.
Use of Funds
Grant funds can be used for the following:
- Travel support
- Compensating key collaborators (including Stanford affiliates)
- Materials and equipment
- Organizing public exhibitions/performances/workshops relating to the project
- Hiring research assistants and/or apprentices
- Salary payments for the PI
These grants are not intended for the following:
- Supporting departmental productions & exhibitions
- Analytical or interpretive works (such as scholarly publications, symposia, conferences, panels)
- Consider the Humanities Seed Grants from the Changing Human Experience.
- Bringing visiting artists or scholars to Stanford for academic engagements
- Consider the Denning Visiting Artist Fund from the Office of the Vice President for the Arts
- Emerging artists seeking funds for small-scale projects
- Consider the Burt McMurtry Arts Initiatives Fund from the Office of the Vice President for the Arts
All activities must be in accordance with current University travel and safety policies. For more information, visit:
How to Apply
Applications will only be accepted via Seed Funding and must include the following:
- Applicant info
- CVs for all PIs and key external collaborators
- Project summary (up to 128 characters)
- 2-3 page project proposal (PDF)
- Project timeline (PDF)
- Itemized Budget (PDF)
- FYI: OVPA will cover the cost of ISC so grant recipients receive the full amount of their award.
- Expectation Agreement
We strongly encourage you to review your budget and research plans with your DFO/Department Manager/Grants manager in your department/center to make sure they are in keeping with university norms.
Application Timeline
- Application Opens: March 1
- Application Deadline: April 15 @ 11:59pm
- Award(s) Announced: mid-May
- Grant Period:
- Begins Sept 1, 2024
- Ends either August 31, 2025 or August 31, 2026, depending on project timeline
Selection Criteria
- Project’s connection to applicant’s current creative practice.
- How the project can attain visibility and engage an audience beyond the academy.
- Opportunities for future exhibition/presentation beyond the grant lifecycle.
- Demonstration of a reasonable plan of action for the creative project and its dissemination, and specify a budget that clearly shows how the funding will be used.
Expectations for Funded Projects
- These grants are considered University Research Awards and are subject to the University's research policies.
- VPA will transfer grant funds to your department/program. We ask that you work with your department/program financial administrator to process all logistics and transactions relating to the proposed activity, and to ensure that all transactions and activities adhere to University policies.
- We may award partial grants. In these situations we encourage the recipient to work with your department to identify additional funds to support your project.
- All grant recipients are required to submit the following reports:
- An informal midpoint progress report halfway through your grant period.
- Upon completion of your project, please submit a final report summarizing the project, outcomes, and response. The report is due within 1 month of completing your project. Grant recipients are encouraged, but not required, to include photos (with photographer credit) from the activity as part of their report.
- We may ask grant recipients to participate in a review committee for future grant cycles.
- Awards via one funding stream cannot be combined with any other grants from the Office of the Vice Presidency for the Arts (e.g. artsCatalyst, Off the Farm, Burt McMurtry Arts Initiative Fund, Powers Performing Arts Fund, Denning Visiting Artist Fund, Faculty Creative Project Seed Grant, other VPA co-sponsorship or discretionary grants, etc.) or the Humanities Seed Grant from the Changing Human Experience.
- If the project/activity is no longer taking place, please notify Sabrina Wilensky to discuss next steps.
FAQs
- Purpose
- Criteria
- Eligibility
- Use of Funds
- How to Apply
- Application Timeline
- Selection Criteria
- Expectations for Funded Projects
- FAQs
- Contact
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