Interchange is a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance made possible with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Interchange is designed to strengthen communities and individual artists within our region by supporting artist-led projects focused on social impact.
Interchange grants will be awarded to sixteen artists with an active socially-engaged creative practice in the Mid-America Arts Alliance region through:
You are eligible to apply if you:
What determines a socially-engaged creative practice?
Artists working in and across a range of disciplines may apply. Priority will be given for projects that include performing and/or traditional arts. You will be asked to identify all the disciplines that apply to the project you are proposing.
You are not eligible to apply if you are:
*If you are an artist working within a 501c3 nonprofit organization, K-12 school or post-secondary institution, proposed projects must be separate from the scope of your compensated work for that organization or educational institution.
The Interchange Artist Grant program is interested in projects that make change in communities by actively engaging people around social issues, opportunities and challenges. A community may be defined geographically (e.g., town, neighborhood) or by relationships and characteristics (e.g., identity, heritage).
Interchange grants will support a new project, or a significant component and/or further development of an ongoing project.
Projects do not necessarily have to take place in the community where you reside. Depending on scope and intent, projects may have a reach outside of the city or town where you live. You will, however, be required to make a public presentation about your project in your community of residence in 2020. Priority will be given to projects that take place in the M-AAA region (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas).
Examples of projects include:
A competitive project application must:
*The grant may be used for any project-related expenses (e.g., documentation, artist fees, travel, or the purchase of equipment or materials). The budget should show both expenses and income and include in-kind contributions.
To apply for an Interchange Artist Grant, applicants must complete the online application that includes the following:
Artist and project information:
Key questions about your project:
Required documents to be uploaded:
Optional documents to be uploaded:
Applications Open
April 1, 2019
Applications Close
June 3, 2019
Notification of Awards
July 12, 2019
Grant Payment (25% of award)
July 15, 2019
Professional Development Retreat #1
August 9-11, 2019
Grant Payment (75% of award)
January 10, 2020
Professional Development Retreat #2
August 7-9, 2020
Public Project Presentations**
August-December, 2020
Final Reports Due***
December 31, 2020
**You are required to make a public presentation about your project in your community of residence.
***We are conscious of the nature of artist projects, and social practice projects in particular may require changes that would extend the timeline beyond this deadline. We do, however, want the primary project activities to occur within the time frame we have outlined above.