Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists
Frequently Asked Questions

 
GENERAL

Q. How do we choose Judges?

A. Participation as judges is by invitation. In an effort to expand the network of artists who comprise our judging pool, Queer|Art welcomes recommendations for new judges from individuals who have been judges in past years of the grant.

Considerations are made each year around regional, racial, and creative diversity within the expansive field of visual art.

Q. How many people tend to apply for this grant?

A. In 2023, Queer|Art received 51 applications for the Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists. 

Q. Is there an application fee for this grant?

A. The Illuminations Grant is free to apply for. Application fees are covered with support from Mariette Pathy Allen.

ELIGIBILITY

Q. How do I know if I am eligible for this grant?

A. This is a grant for self identified Black trans women who are early-career working in visual art. We recognize that language is slippery and evolving, and that the terms for self-identification may carry different meanings for different people. We don’t police how applicants self-identify, so only you can determine your eligibility in this regard; we will ask you to fill out demographic information in the grant application. Please note that the grant’s intention is to support Black trans women, who are systematically overlooked and often excluded from formal visual arts institutions due to racialized transphobia and socioeconomic barriers to entry in the visual art world.

Q. How do I know if I qualify as an early-career artist?

A. This grant defines “early-career” as follows:    

- Likely to be receiving grant or fellowship support at this level and amount for the first time
- May be of any age
- May be self-taught or already have a fine arts degree
- May have experience self publishing their work (but not with major publishers)
- May have exhibited in regional or local galleries or museums (but not major galleries or museums)
- May have previously received limited grant funding

Artists with commercial gallery representation should not apply.

Q. How does this grant define ‘visual art’?

A. The Illuminations Grant defines visual art broadly to include art forms including, but not limited to: ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and fiber arts. While this grant is particularly interested in supporting artists working within 2D and 3D art forms, time-based mediums, such as performing arts and video/film, and beauty arts (makeup, hair, nails, etc.) may also be considered, if the artists see their practice within the  realm of visual art.

Q. I don’t live in the U.S., can I still apply?

A. No, this is a grant for U.S. based individuals, including the 50 states and its territories. 

Q. I live in the U.S. part time, can I still apply?

A. This is a grant for U.S. based individuals. Please honestly self-determine your eligibility in this regard.

Q. I’m currently enrolled in school, can I still apply?

A. Yes, artists currently enrolled in college, university, or other educational programs are welcome to apply for this grant.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

Q. How do I submit my application?

A. You will be directed to SlideRoom application via the link on our website. You will create an account via SlideRoom which will allow you to work on your application and save changes in draft form before submitting. It is suggested that you also save a working draft of your essay questions on another platform such as Word, Notes, TextEdit, Google Docs, etc. 

Q. What is SlideRoom?

A. SlideRoom is an online application software that we use to help us manage the volume of applications we receive for the Illuminations Grant each year. You can learn more about SlideRoom here.

Q. Where do I send my work samples?

All work samples must be uploaded through SlideRoom.

Q. What makes a good work sample?

Work samples should be clearly, thoughtfully documented representations of your strongest work. Your work samples provide judges with an opportunity to see what you consider part of your artistic practice. While format will depend on the medium, all work samples should be accompanied by a description that tells the judges a) what they’re seeing, and b) what you want them to look for when considering the sample as part of your narrative about your artistic practice. 

Q. Who should I select as references? 

A. Someone who can speak to your work as an artist. Applicants typically chose professors, mentors, colleagues and/or collaborators in their field, etc. You should always contact your references ahead of time, in order to ask for permission to list them and to contextualize the opportunity you’re applying for.

Q. Will my references be required to write a letter of recommendation? 

A. No, references are not required to write letters of recommendation. The judges may reach out to your references, as needed, via phone and / or email if they have any questions as they finalize deliberations. 

Q. I’m having trouble uploading my work samples. What should I do?

A. Please do not wait until the last minute to try to upload work samples so you have time to troubleshoot.

Allowed Media Types:

• Images (up to 10MB each)

• Video (up to 500MB each)

• Audio (up to 60MB each)

• PDFs (up to 20MB each)

• External media from YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud

Images do not have to be a particular size, as SlideRoom's servers will process them to fit their system. Their processors will resize anything larger than 1280 x 1280 x 72 ppi to fit within those limitations.

Image file formats accepted: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .tif, .tiff, .bmp, .tga
Video file formats accepted: .m4v, .mov, .mp4, .wmv, .flv, .asf, .mpeg, .mpg, .mkv
Audio file formats accepted: .mp3, .wma, .ogg, .flac

Q. I’m submitting a YouTube or Vimeo link, but want it to be password protected.

We cannot accept links that are password protected. You can upload your videos directly to SlideRoom if you do not want them publicly available online.

Q. Can I submit more than 12 work samples?

A. No, our limit is 12 work samples.

Q. What’s a CV? What’s the difference between a CV and a resume?

A. A CV is a list of your accomplishments as an artist that includes your education, shows, publications, and awards. It does not include employment outside your art practice. For instructions on how to create a CV, with samples, visit: https://thepracticalartworld.com/2011/02/12/how-to-write-an-artists-cv-in-10-steps/.

Q. When will I be notified about the status of my application?

A. The judges will review applications throughout July and August. All applicants will be notified about the status of their application by October 2024.  

DEADLINE QUESTIONS

Can I get an application extension?

No, to be fair to all applicants, we cannot grant individual application extensions. 

Q. In what time zone will applications close?

A. Applications will close at 11:59PM EST (Eastern Standard Time) on the listed date of the application deadline.

Q. Can I apply after the application deadline?

A. We do not accept applications after the deadline has passed. Please try again next year.

For further questions or more information please contact
Co-Director Rio Sofia at rsofia@queer-art.org

Further Reading

How do you write a good artist statement? What work samples should you include? What kind of story should your application tell about you? Learn about all this and more through two of our blog entries below, written by Queer|Art staff members. There may be some things in there you find useful as you prepare your application.