The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC) is excited to announce Thrive Grants, a new grant for artists program that celebrates innovation and exploration in the visual arts in Oklahoma. Thrive Grants is funded by and in partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts through their Regional Regranting Program.

Thrive Grants funds 12 artist-led, collaborative projects from across the state of Oklahoma through grants of $5,000 each. The funded projects must culminate in a public-facing program such as an exhibition, performance, screening, or other publicly accessible outcome. As COVID-19 is limiting in-person events, these programs may also be accessed digitally such as a live stream, digital meeting, website, or other virtually accessible platform. Thrive Grants aim to fund artists’ visions and provide creative projects for community engagement.

“It truly is an honor for OVAC to be asked to join the highly esteemed Regional Regranting program,” says executive director, Krystle Kaye. “We are thrilled to be a part of this network of 14 organizations across the country and to be able to direct these funds to Oklahoma artists to help them realize new creative projects.”

The grant applications will be reviewed by a panel made up of a local artist, arts administrator, and someone from the Regional Regranting family. The selection committee will score applications in categories including: Career Altering Potential, Artistic Merit, Community Impact, and Ability to Complete. Artist projects that create new collaborations, feature BIPOC artists, or serve non-urban communities will be prioritized.

The grant application opens on April 1 ^st and closes on June 1 ^st . Applicants will be notified by July 15 ^th . Awarded artists then have one year to implement their proposals. At the end of the award period, all of the funded artists will come together to share their projects in a fun, lively presentation. At the end of the presentation event, the awardees for the following year will be announced. For a full timeline and dates, visit thrivegrants. org.

OVAC is offering a free information session through Zoom on May 6, 2021, from 6-7pm. During this session applicants will learn more details about the program, what projects qualify, and how to write a winning application. On May 21, 2021, from 11am-7pm, OVAC is offering time slots where applicants can sign up for one-on-one Zoom meetings to get feedback from their Grants and Outreach Manager on their application before applying. Visit thrivegrants.org to register today.

About OVAC: The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC) grows and develops Oklahoma’s visual arts com munity through education, promotion, connection, and funding. For 32 years as a nonprofit, OVAC has helped Oklahoma artists enrich the state through their creative endeavors.

About The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts: In accordance with Andy Warhol’s will, the mission of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is the advancement of the visual arts. The Foundation manages an innovative and flexible grants program while also preserving Warhol’s legacy through creative and responsible licensing policies and extensive scholarly research for ongoing catalogue raisonné projects. To date, the Foundation has given over

$200 million in cash grants to over 1,000 arts organizations in 49 states and abroad and has donated 52,786 works of art to 322 institutions worldwide.

OVAC is honored to be invited by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to participate in the Regional Regranting Program. This unmatched funding for visual artists’ projects in our state will have an astounding and residual impact in our arts community.

If you have questions concerning the Thrive Grant application, call Krystle Kaye at (405) 879-2400 or email at krystle@ovac-ok.org. For more information about the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition visit, ovac-ok.org.