The Rasmuson Foundation is well known to Alaskans and was created in May of 1955 by Jenny Rasmuson in honor of her late husband “E.A.” Rasmuson. The goal of the Foundation is to act as a catalyst to promote a better life for all Alaskans through its grantmaking and community initiatives.
Recently the Foundation announced the continuation of its direct grants to Alaskan artists in an effort to support and nurture their creative works. The deadline for the 2009 individual artist award program will be 1 March 2009. To this point, the Rasmuson Foundation has awarded more than one million dollars to 145 talented Alaskan artists.
Speaking of this initiative, Rasmuson Foundation President Diane Kaplan says, “A focus of our grantmaking is to invest in people. With Individual Artist Awards, we invest in those around us who express themselves creatively through words, images, materials, sounds and/or original performances. We believe that direct investment in artists themselves results in substantial contributions to the culture of Alaska that we all enjoy.”
The Artist Grant Programs
There are three programs that artists can apply to with the Foundation geared to the artist’s discipline and career advancement.
- Project Awards – Up to $5,000 may be awarded to support a short-term project that would benefit the artist and further their career. Awards are available for emerging, mid-career or mature artists.
- Fellowships – This is an unrestricted award of $12,000 meant to encourage artists to further explore their craft and artistic process. Awards made to fellows can be used to support their work through attendance in workshops, purchases of supplies or equipment and required travel. Only mid-career and mature artists working in choreography, crafts, folk and traditional arts, literary arts/scriptworks and performance art are eligible to apply for a Fellowship from the Foundation in 2009.
- Distinguished Artist – One distinguished Alaskan artist is selected each year for an unrestricted award of $25,000 in recognition of their work. Only mature artists in any discipline can apply for this award.
Additional information on the Alaskan artist grant program, past award winners and application materials can be accessed from the Rasmuson Foundation website.
Copyright © 2009 by Alan Sorum
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
