News
Propeller Fund Launches Third Year of Arts Granting
Published Wednesday 16 of May, 2012
Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago and threewalls announce the third year of Propeller Fund granting opportunities for independent visual artists, curators, and visual art groups in Cook County, IL. Application Deadline: August 1, 2012, with 15 grantees announced in October 2012.
Launched in 2010, Propeller Fund is administered jointly by Gallery 400 and threewalls, and funded through a generous grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Propeller Fund provides money directly to artists, curators, and groups living and working in Cook County, Illinois, and seeks to support projects that are independent, informal, self-organized, and long-term or short-term. Propeller Fund recognizes that small, informal, and self-organized operations constitute a large catalyst for the creative activity and vitality of the Chicago visual art world. These projects are responsible for much of the complexity and richness in the art community.
Propeller Fund exists to stimulate further growth throughout Chicago; to encourage more varied models; to spread the activities into more diverse areas; to promote the public’s interaction with, and public recognition of such activities; and to spark ambitions beyond current formats.
Propeller Fund provides support at two levels:
• Five grants at $6,000
• Ten grants at $2,000
The two-tiered funding structure intends to provide substantial support for major costs—printing, rental, honoraria, material, shipping, and research time. The aim is to ensure that each project will reach completion and has the resources to live up to its ambitions.
In its first two years, the Propeller Fund awarded 30 grants to a diverse range of work, including 2010 awardees: Dorchester Project, Five Funerals, Life’s A Ball, ChicagoRICAN, Qeej Hero, Space Program, The Lady Dissident Chicago Travel Auxiliary, and The Storefront; and 2011 awardees: Disciplines Journal, Dominica, E-Dogz, Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation, Monsters and Dust, Revival, The Chicago Arts Archive, and The Happiness Project.
The full list of projects and application guidelines can be found at www.propellerfund.org.
Related Programs:
Several events will be held to explain how to write effective proposals, craft budgets, manage tax issues, organize and develop projects, and navigate the online submission for the Propeller Fund and other opportunities:
Funding and Creating Your Independent Projects: Propeller and Beyond
All-Day Workshop
Saturday, June 2, 9:45am - 4pm
Gallery 400, UIC
400 South Peoria Street
9:45am: Introduction
10-11am: Budgets, budget forms, and taxes
11am-12pm: Writing a compelling proposal
12-2pm: Lunch
• With four breakout sessions on making independent projects
2-3pm: The Propeller application process
• The online system
• A juror's viewpoint
• How Propeller helps after the award
3-4pm: One-on-one 15-minute sessions with Propeller staff
The workshop is free and open to all. Please RSVP to lauren@three-walls.org with the subject line “propeller workshop” to attend.
Presenters include Propeller Fund staff, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Chelsea Culp and Ben Foch of New Capital, Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Project, and other previous Propeller Fund awardees.
Propeller Application Process Workshops
Saturday, June 16, 12pm
Hyde Park Art Center
5020 South Cornell Avenue, Chicago
Wednesday, June 27, 6pm
Mess Hall
6932 North Glenwood Avenue, Chicago
Wednesday, July 18, 6pm
Gallery 400, UIC
400 South Peoria Street, Chicago
One-on-One Meetings
Saturdays: July 7, 14, 21, and 28
One-on-one meetings with a Propeller Fund staff member will be available each Saturday in July. Meetings must be scheduled in advance. To reserve a session please use our online calendar.
- Download a PDF version of this press release.
