Tips

Overall

  • Read through the guidelines before filling out the application.
  • Use the Checklist to double-check your application.
  • Be clear and brief in all your answers. Ask someone who is unfamiliar with your work to read your application. Does it make sense to them?
  • Your application will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary panel of artists. Please describe your work as if the panel members are not familiar with your art.


General Application

  • Experience & Description: Think of social change as the lens through which every portion of this application will be viewed, in particular the Experience and Description/ Project Description pages, don't just save your social change ideas and visions for the sections in which we specifically ask about it, it should be infused throughout, in the way you talk about the art project, your audience, community, your cultural context, etc.
  • Experience: We do not ask for an artistic resume on purpose - we want you to thoughtfully share only relevant information about your art and social change work.
  • Experience: The review panel will look to this section to get a sense of your past art and social change work, your approach to your work, and the impact of your art and change work. This is important information, so please be thoughtful as you figure out how to best share your important art and social change experiences with the panel.
  • Financial Need/Access to Financial Resources: Leeway's grants are for people who need financial support to do their work, people who don't already have an accessible source of income to do their work. It is on you as the artist to share your need for this grant with Leeway, please make this as clear as possible.


Basic Info for the ACG

  • Your project must be about art and social change.
  • Your project must have a start and end date.
  • Experience: please share work that is related to your opportunity. If you do not have experience in the area of your opportunity, please share information that shows how your work has led you to this point. All experiences should be related to your art and social change work in some way.
  • Project Description: The review panel will look to this section to get a sense of the following:
  1. Is it clear how this project will create change, or how it is one step towards long-term change?
  2. Is it clear why you want to take on this project?
  3. Is your cultural context clear? Do you give a sense of who you are and why you are doing this work? 
  4. Are you working with a group or community? How do you portray this relationship/connection? Is it one of collaboration?
  • Project Budget (Project Expenses): Your detailed Project Expenses illustrates the scope of your work and how you will make this project a reality. Please list all of your personal expenses for the project, regardless of whether you are asking Leeway to provide funding for them. If needed, add a brief description to make it clear why you are requesting funds for these items.
  • Project Budget (Project Income): If you are putting your own money into this project, state whether you have these funds now or, if you do not, how you plan to get them.


Basic info for the Leeway Transformation Award

  • Experience & Description: Since this is not opportunity based, you have to show how your art and social change work for the past five years has made an impact.
  • Experience & Description: This Award is for folks who have at least five years worth of art and social change work/ experience, it is on to you to get across to the review panel your investment and dedication to this work, how long you've been doing it and why you continue to do so.
  • Description: don't just talk generally about your work, give specific examples of projects, pieces, etc. you have created in the last five years or beyond, tell us how they created social change, how you knew if it was successful or not, what you learned, how you moved forward, etc.
  • Description: The review panel will look to this section to get a sense of the following:
  1. Do you have experience with art and social change work? Is it clear that social change is an intentional part of your artmaking and sharing?
  2. Is your cultural context clear? Do you give a sense of who you are and why you are doing this work?
  3. What is your connection to the communities you write about? Is it a mutually respectful relationship? Is it clear why you are working with this community and how you are impacting this community or group of people?
  4. Are you someone who rarely gets foundation support or does not have access to resources because of the nature of your work or who you are?
  5. Do you need funds to continue your art and social change work? Do you have financial need?