DETROIT —(March 18, 2013)–Beginning March 25, Detroiters can apply for the Knight Arts Challenge, offering a share of $3 million for arts and culture projects that engage and enrich the city. The deadline for the contest, a project of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is April 22.
“We’re excited by the creative momentum on the ground in Detroit – by the artists, entrepreneurs and residents who are driving this city’s future. We hope the Knight Arts Challenge builds on that energy to bring the city to new artistic heights,” said Dennis Scholl, VP/Arts for Knight Foundation.
The challenge is open to everyone – artists and artist collectives of all types, businesses, established arts institutions, and any individual who has a great idea for the arts. The application, to be available at KnightArts.org, consists of only two questions and is deliberately designed to be simple to encourage non-traditional applicants.
There are only three rules for the challenge:
1) The idea must be about the arts.
2) The project must take place in or benefit Detroit.
3) The grant recipients must find funds to match Knight’s commitment (within a year).
“This contest is about ideas – big ideas, inspiring ideas, authentically Detroit ideas. We want people to tell us what moves them, so that together we can help engage the soul of the community,” Scholl said.
The challenge is part of a $19.25 million investment in the Detroit arts that Knight Foundation announced last fall. It includes support for the three-year challenge, which provides funding, exposure and momentum to smaller arts efforts, and $10.25 million to some of the city’s premiere cultural institutions: the Arab American National Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit School of Arts, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theatre and the Sphinx Organization.
Challenge applicants can get questions answered by Knight Foundation at a Town Hall meeting taking place from 7 to 9 p.m. April 4 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), 4454 Woodward Avenue. To register for the event, visit knightartschallengedetroit.eventbrite.com.
Detroit is the third city to host the Knight Arts Challenge, following Miami and Philadelphia, where the challenge has fueled the grassroots arts scene by funding a variety of projects across disciplines. To learn more, view past winners of the Miami and Philadelphia challenges.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.
Contacts:
Peter VanDyke, Berg Muirhead, [email protected]; 313-872-2202 or 313-530-7882, [email protected]
Andrew Sherry, Vice President/Communications, (305) 908-2677, [email protected]