QUEER|ART|AWARDS is an initiative of grants, prizes, and residencies that includes a spectrum of support—monetary and otherwise—for LGBTQ+ artists.
THE QUEER|ART|PRIZE
Queer|Art|Prize is a national awards program honoring LGBTQ+ artists making significant contributions to queer culture. The Prize awards two cash grants in the areas of Sustained Achievement and Recent Work. At $20,000 for each award, Queer|Art|Prize is the largest cash grant specifically for LGBTQ+ artists based in the US. Queer|Art|Prize is made possible by VISU Contemporary.
THE QUEER|ART DESIGN Grant
The Queer|Art Design Grant supports new creative projects exploring queer histories, legacies, and futures, while helping provide visibility and opportunity for emerging LGBTQ+ design talent. The program will award two $10,000 grants to emerging queer creatives across the design industry, making it the largest cash grant for LGBTQ+ designers in the country.
ILLUMINations grant for black trans women visual artists
Developed in partnership with Mariette Pathy Allen, Aaryn Lang, and Serena Jara, this annual $10,000 grant sheds light on the under-recognized contributions of Black trans women visual artists. Winning artists receive professional development resources to bolster their creative evolution.
Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant
This $6,000 grant is awarded to lesbians for making visionary moving-image art. The grant, named in honor of legendary filmmaker and QAM Mentor Barbara Hammer, is supported directly by funds provided by Hammer and administered through QA every other year by lesbians for lesbians, with a rotating panel of judges.
The grants below are currently on temporary hiatus, and Queer|Art is actively seeking new funders and partners to help sustain them! Contact Río Sofia, QA Executive Director, to inquire about supporting Queer|Art|Awards.
Eva Yaa Asantewaa Grant for Queer Women AND NONBINARY
Dance Artists
This $7,000 grant is awarded to queer women and nonbinary artists for making cutting-edge dance and/or movement-based performance work. Named in honor of visionary dance curator, critic, and educator Eva Yaa Asantewaa, the grant seeks to highlight the important contributions queer women and nonbinary artists have made to dance throughout history.
Robert giard grant for emerging lgbtq+ photographers
Through a partnership with The Robert Giard Foundation, QA’s first international grant of $10,000 supports the creation of work by emerging LGBTQ+ photographers whose projects address issues of sexuality, gender, or LGBTQ+ identity. The grant is named in honor of photographer Robert Giard (1939-2002), a portrait, landscape, and figure photographer whose work focused on LGBTQ+ lives and issues.
PAMELA SNEED AWARD FOR BLACK QAM ARTISTS AND ORGANIZERS
This $10,000 award acknowledges Black QAM Mentors and Fellows who uplift critical histories of Black queer mentorship. The award highlights Black queer artists within the Mentorship community that uphold guiding principles like intergenerational exchange, creative resilience, preservation of Black queer legacies, and an engagement with grassroots organizing within their creative practice and beyond.