Photo credit: Flickr user micn2sugars.

This Thursday, I’ll be at MOCAD in Detroit, to talk with folks and answer questions about the Knight Arts Challenge, which is offering a share of $3 million to local arts and cultural projects.

We’ll be talking a lot on Thursday about how to make your application stand out, in addition to the nuts-and-bolts of challenge requirements, and whatever else is on people’s minds.

What we won’t go into is what kind of ideas we’re looking for. Here’s why: We mean it when we say that we believe artists and cultural orgs in Detroit know their communities best, and have the most innovative and culturally relevant ideas. In challenges in Miami and Philadelphia, we’ve funded hundreds of ideas we would have never come up with on our own. As long as your idea fits within our three rules, it’s game.

That said, here are a few things to think about when shaping your idea:

1. Think big: This isn’t the ‘I am going to play it safe’ contest. Throw us your crazy ideas. We just may fund them.
2. Remember the community: If you’re an individual artist seeking funding, remember the larger goal is to engage the community through the arts. Don’t start your application with “I’d like to…” Look at your project through the frame of how it will make Detroit a better place to live and work.
3. Stick to the arts: The challenge is primarily an arts contest, and winners have to reflect artistic excellence. If you work between the arts and social services, make sure your entry emphasizes the artistic element of your project.

The conversation starts at 7 p.m. You don’t need to register, but please feel free to sign up via our Eventbrite.

Hope to see you there!

By Tatiana Hernandez, arts associate at Knight Foundation