Scholarships for Artists
It used to be that parent’s discouraged their kids from becoming artists. Now, the world of art is broad and can be very lucrative. And if you need another reason to convince your parents you want to go to art school, there are many schools offering scholarships and funding.
Art scholarships run the gamut from drawing to painting to photography to design and even include art of the culinary, musical and literary variety. Many art scholarships are specific to a particular state, county, or even a college in addition to the art major or art interest/ability requirement.
To get you started, here are some resources:
• Your University: Most Art Departments offer scholarships to students attending their schools, either directly through the school or through business, benefactors and foundations that support the school. Many schools also offer them to prospective students.
If you’re attending or planning to attend a university, contact your Program Advisor to ask what scholarships may be available through the school or department (if you’re already attending, definitely check in with your Art Instructors, too!). Don’t forget to look for scholarship opportunities on the university department’s web site or on a bulletin board near the Art Department office on-campus, where they also are often posted. Here are some typical departmental scholarship listings:
Baum School of Art
Birmingham Southern College
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Goshen College
Hendrix College
St. Lawrence University
Most universities do offer scholarships to students attending their schools. That’s because they really, really want to keep you there. These kinds of scholarships are the easiest to find out about, but somehow overlooked by many students who could benefit greatly from the funding…and from the prestige of winning!
Just to reinforce this idea of funding from your university or college, the Department of Education reports that at public universities, scholarship and fellowship expenditures have risen consistently from 1980 through 1995.
This may be an indication that there are opportunities waiting for you. Again, at the very least, you should ask your Advisor about other sources if there are none available at your university for your circumstance.
• L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of The Future Contest. Established in 1988, the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of The Future Contest is an ongoing merit competition for new and amateur artists. Run on a quarterly basis, an eligible entry is comprised of three science fiction/fantasy illustrations done in a black & white medium rendered from the artist’s imagination. Should the artist win with this entry, he is then sent a story from the companion L. Ron Hubbard Writers of The Future Contest for which to render an illustration. This illustration then becomes his or her entry in the yearly Grand Prize competition. More
• Liberty Graphics Art Scholarship – Liberty Graphics is a Maine company, designing and printing t-shirts with concern for the environment. We are committed to the local economy and wish to encourage local talent. Liberty Graphics conducts a yearly juried art contest, and presents the winner with a $1000 award. The contest is open only to high school seniors who are a resident of Maine. Each year the contest theme may change. This year the contest title is “Art and Our Natural Environment”. Entries should reflect an appreciation of our natural environment. More
• NFAA Arts Recognition and Talent Search ARTS (Arts Recognition and Talent Search®) is NFAA’s core program. ARTS identifies high school seniors and other 17 and 18 year old artists in the disciplines of Dance, Film and Video, Jazz, Music, Photography, Theater, Visual Arts, Voice and Writing for scholarships and financial support. Through ARTS, NFAA annually awards up to $900,000 in cash awards (with individual awards ranging from $10,000 – $100)and makes available $3 million in scholarship opportunities to America’s most outstanding high school senior-age artists through its Scholarship List Service (SLS). More
• The Scholastic Art Awards -The Scholastic Art Awards honor students currently enrolled in grades 7-12, recognizing about 50,000 regional winners. Nationally, 800 young artists’ individual works receive Gold and Silver awards in each of 14 art categories. Art Categories are: animation, ceramics & glass, computer art, design, digital imagery, drawing, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and video & film. Graduating high school seniors seeking scholarships must submit a body of eight works of art or photography for Portfolio Awards to their regional office of The Awards. More
• The WorldStudio Foundation Scholarship – Applicants must be pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in the fine or commercial arts, design or architecture – one or more of the design/arts disciplines below – and plan to enter a career in the creative professions. Applicants must be matriculated (or planning to matriculate) at accredited colleges and universities in the United States for the fall of the coming academic year and intend on maintaining full-time status for the entire year. International students studying at accredited colleges and universities in the United States may apply. More
• Charitable Foundations – The competition to receive funding from charitable foundations is pretty stiff, even from the local ones. That’s because they do a very good job of soliciting applicants, and the awards are often larger than the smaller groups. Nevertheless, there are hundreds of these organizations giving away millions of dollars every year. If you know of any locally, you should inquire. Or, you can take a glance at these, too:
• National Foundations -Andy Warhol Foundation, Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts, Jackie Robinson Foundation
You can see that there’s a lot of work involved just to find these opportunities…but that’s nothing compared to the work you’ll need to put in to win them.
Bottom line: There’s plenty of scholarship money available in the arts. You just need to show that you’re worth the investment. And, if you are dedicated to pursuing a career in the arts, you may even enjoy the work it takes to stand out from the crowd anyway.
need-blind or scholarship, private high school?
i wants to get in the high school of usa as an international student and i wanna know which private high school has the need-blind policy? and which is generous with the scholarship?
thank you
About Author
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19 Comments on “Scholarships for Artists”
Is this for you or someone else…..start with the state art organization/dept in Pa it is PA council of the arts, National Endowment of the Arts is the federal version. grants are very difficult to get, not because the money isn't there but because the grant process is daunting. i would recommend start having conversations with local art organizations as to what the artist will do once they get here. Look for "Artist in Residency" programs at you local or state University. Start with the Asian Studies or Art dept to see if they have such a program. another avenue is to sit down with a grant writer and see what they recommend. Bringing in an Artist from another country is not easy it is like planning a world tour for a rock band…you have to get as many shows, lectures and teaching spots as possible…. You really didn't give enough information to get specific grants programs or ideas.
dont we all
Whatever floats your boat.
If you have alot of self discipline, I would highly suggest online classes. They're just as accredited as a campus college but you can work at your own pace as much or as little as you want. They're fairly priced, but since you're working full time you can get alot of grants and/or other financial aid!
I know that Penn Foster has an artist program, I'm in there right now for veterinary assistant, the website is pennfoster.edu
Good luck!
G'day,
Visit http://www.ausaid.gov.au for Australian Government scholarship programs.
Good luck for your study and welcome to Australia
Dawn til Dusk
They offer 14 day classes that are real hands on folowed by a free 14 day special effects class. They include a kit and are strong on proper safe techniques without cross contamination. They offer courses in differetn cities. I was a model for the special effects class and got an amazing drag application. I lterally didn't recognize myself. The students all seemed knowledgable from the first 14 day session. I don't think these meet state requirements but they are very good.
… Are you being serious?
VERY REALISTIC ! I started off in MAC and i built up clientele .. a very high class clientele i might add, that's how I'm put myself through college for my doctorate !
universities.atwebpages.com – try this site. It has info about different US scholarships for college students and their grades requirements.
That's great…
That sounds like a wonderful undertaking!
Here's an article on setting up Scholarship Funds… it includes some suggested resources, which will probably be helpful:
http://www.foundationnews.org/CME/article.cfm?ID=1510
Here's a link to an FAQ (frequently asked questions) regarding setting up scholarships:
http://fdncenter.org/getstarted/faqs/html/scholarshipfund.html
Good luck!
Look online for sites like http://www.fastweb.com, I know there's more but I can't remember the names. Also make sure you fill out the FAFSA forms. They will help a lot too.
Encourage him to do community service as well. I got my biggest scholarship ($50,000 to be used over 4 years) because of all the service I did. It also looks GREAT on his applications because he would look like a good, well-rounded person.
Find all the scholarhips you can and apply for everything you can! And the earlier you apply, the better! Even $50 will help when it comes down to paying off those loans. Even if it involves writing essays and stuff. Just get him to do it. It will save you so much frustration in the future. Take loans if you need to, but get them early and try to get the lowest rates you can. Search around for the best ones. Many colleges also offer specific loans like the Perkins Loan or Stafford Loan which are much lower interest and are provided through the school. Your local bank should be able to help you with all the details on other loans. Don't worry too much about the money though. Let him go where WANTS to go and where he knows he will get the best education for his money.
And don't shy away from private schools! Even though they might have a $50,000 price tag, they typically give out MUCH more financial aid than the $10,000 state schools. I go to a private school and it ended up costing thousands less than the two state schools I was looking at because they provided so much additional aid. Look into every college you can! You never know what they might have to offer!
Encourage him to go to college in-state if you can. Then you automatically get a state grant. You also get a cheaper tuition if it's a state school (same tuition if it's a private school).
Good attendance is also a huge plus. College do look at attendance and if they see he is always in school, that will also help his acceptance rate. Also focus on tests like the SAT, ACT or other standardized tests. They're not a sole factor on acceptance or anything, but also make you look like a good student and they might offer extended financial aid.
Have him take honors classes if he feels up to it. Don't push too hard, because it's NOT true that a C in an Honors class is equivelant to an A in a regular class. He can also take SAT II subject tests. I think there might be additional aid involved if he does well on those tests. It also make him look like a better student. The tend to cost around $100 each though.
Have him talk to his art teacher(s) and basketball coach(es) about possible scholarships as well. And if he's planing on playing at the college level, definately have him contact colleges and invite them to come watch him play. (Make him do the contacting though, it makes him look more mature and independent if he does it himself instead of you doing it). Many college coaches would love to see him play so they can get an idea how he would play on the college's team. If he has any art work hanging up in an art show or exhibit, also contact schools and invite them to come. Assuming they're not too far away of course. I don't think they'd fly across the country for a two hour basketball game or anything.
Have him work hard on his application!! Don't let him leave it go until the week before the due date! The earlier he gets it in, the more money the school has to distrubute for financial aid. Take a couple weeks doing it, proofreading it, perfecting it, and definately re-reading it. He would also less likely to forget stuff. If you wait too long, the money is already all given out. If he decides what school he definately wants to go to, no doubts, have him apply for early enrollment. It's basically a guarantee that he WILL go to the school and he gets tied into it, however they offer additional scholarships and grants for early enrollers. But that means he needs to have his application in by August I think. That determines how much money is left to be distrubuted among the regular admisisons.
Encourage him to join and be involved in as many clubs and organizations as possible. National Honors Society, Spanish Club, Leo/Key Club, etc. The National Honors Society offers a pretty hefty scholarship to it's members, and many other clubs are willing to give other small scholarships. Make sure he goes to his guidance counselor as well and asks about his options. Many high schools have a whole book full of possible scholarships that students could get.
That's all I can think of right now. Good for you on trying to get a jump start on this!! It's never too soon to start looking!
The answer has to be "d". The other statements are false.
Yes, you can receive more than one scholarship. Many times these are based on need and/or merit.
As long as the school is accredited, all scholarships and grants should be okay.
If you are an American citizen, then apply for grants by filling out the FAFSA.
Good Luck!
Just describe yourself. They are getting all kinds of smart people applying, so they are looking for people who are about more than studying. So definitely tell them about your art. But if you do other things, mention that too. Like volunteer work, music you like, helping at home, tutoring, non-academic books, what you do for fun. Show them you have a broad range of interests. Or talk about what your art means to you and what you want to do with it in the future. (Even if not as a career, but as a side thing.) Let them know what you do besides study. That's what they mean by multidimensional. Because they say you can express yourself in anyway, include a piece of art, original or copied. (Don't expect to get it back.) Or photographed if it's three dimensional.
I would think that author holds Marian A. in great respect and admiration.