It ain't easy to be an artist. Unless you're Britto and your work is gracing shopping malls and Beanie Babies, you're probably hungry for funds. Luckily, there's FEAST (Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics) Miami, a series of vegan pop-up dinners designed to financially support new and emerging creative projects.
FEAST has funded several cool projects thus far, including Katie Wiegman's On Board interactive dance pieces and Amanda Keeley's Exile Books pop-up artist bookstores. They're looking for the next big winner for their February 1 dinner, but applications must be submitted by December 10 to be considered.
See also: FEAST Miami Feeds You, Funds Groundbreaking Local Artists in Style
Here's how the process works: Finalists are chosen from the various proposals, and attendees to the vegan dinner (whipped up by chef and co-founder Loren Pulitzer) get to vote for their fave. The February dinner will be held at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Proposals are evaluated on several criteria.
"The three most important criteria is an application are artistic innovation, feasibility and community impact," says co-founder Susan Caraballo. "People often ask what we mean by community impact. This can be interpreted in many ways. The project should somehow involve or engage the community in some way."
As far as what they're looking for, almost anything goes.
"Applicants should be realistic in their proposals. We get many innovative projects. Therefore, feasibility becomes really important. If your project budget is $50,000, make sure you somehow state that you have raised a good portion of that. Otherwise, it will not be feasible for you to execute your project with a $1,500-$3,000 grant," she explains. "FEAST grants do not have to be matched if your project can be completed solely with the grant award."
So think big, but be realistic. The funds doled out are based on how many people attend the FEAST dinner (which has a suggested minimum donation of $30). Usually, the funds come to between $1,500 and $3,000.
"We encourage artists, small arts organizations and creative thinkers to be just that -- creative! And we encourage them to think about the community at large and how the project impacts that community."
To enter, visit feastmiami.org.
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