I went to a grantwriting workshop at the Gage Academy of Art in Capitol Hill to see what they’re about and what kind of stuff they’ve got going on. About 40 visual artists (some teens, some seniors) showed up to see how they could get free money.
Zhi Lin of the University of Washington’s Department of Art has apparently won a zillion grants for his work, and now goes around the country to judge other people’s applications.
He offered this advice, which is universal if you’re promoting an idea, service or product and want to get noticed.
Present your best work, make sure it shines. No one is going to give your slide presentation more than a couple of seconds, at most. A panel of judges will flip through the piles of slides, only stopping to check out your work if one of them is vaguely intrigued. Don’t use anything that’s not technically perfect.
Location. Start local to find sources of funding. Later you can look into state, regional and national fellowships and grants. But begin at home.
Write to your audience. (This is what we say at Design Kompany, too!) Good advice for anyone trying to get her message heard loud and clear. A grant-giving organization is going to have a mission statement. Read it. Package your application to meet their vision and goals. Cause people aren’t going to want to know, he said, about your “inspiring walks on the beach.”
0 Responses to “How to Get Noticed”