Dear Artist,

What difference does winning a $50,000 grant really make?

More to the point: what difference does winning a $50,000 *Guggenheim* grant make, which is likely going to be the top award on your resume? 

For some, it’s a year off work, allowing you time and resources to design your dream project.

For some, it’s a larger studio and several months’ rent, giving you the space to work on sculptures and public projects.

For some, it’s being able to pay off current debts to feel less stressed so you can paint without guilt or shame. 

For others, it’s freedom to tackle a more ambitious project like an installation of multiple large scale paintings, or a film, or a public project when you are inspired to do it, without having to do it all yourself because you can hire help and work with collaborators now.

Regardless, it’s a wonderful surprise, and it allows you to pursue your creative aspirations without worrying about where the money is going to come from.

Here’s a voicemail one of the winners, Vicky, left me:

“Brainard, it’s Vicky. You’re the first person I’m calling and the first person I’m telling that I got it! I can not believe it! I’m hoping to talk to you today because I just want to thank you for all of your help and encouragement. I’m just so thrilled! So, we’ll talk when you get this, and I’m ecstatic! I’m ecstatic! Okay, buh-bye!”

The excitement and hope this grant can bring is life changing in itself.

The award money you could win by applying can make a real, tangible difference in your life. 

And the best part? 

The Guggenheim Grant is something that stays with you - you feel a part of something - you feel recognized - more than any other grant. Winning the Guggenheim feels like there is a level of respect that you get that you always wanted and deserve.

I know it is a bit daunting to explore the profile pages of previous winners and see the exhibition history that some of them have. But it’s actually all about the art, not your exhibition history. 

I interviewed the President of the Guggenheim foundation for Yale University Radio. His name is Edward Hirsch, and he is a published poet himself. I asked him how he selects people for the Guggenheim Grant, and he said:

“Brainard, we all [the jury of artists] just look at the art, and we pick the art we like, that’s all, and I hope we do a good job, we try our best.”

This is hopeful to hear, because it is just about looking at the art, not politics or who you know.

It’s true that applying to the Guggenheim grant takes effort. But is it worth it?

Absolutely.

For most artists, the award money, approximately $50,000, is truly life-changing. And it is external validation that your art is “worthy” of this prestigious award-  that you are doing what you are meant to be doing - especially if your work isn’t commercially viable and the lack of sales are making you doubt yourself.

For many artists, the relief from the guilt of taking time off and only focusing on work -. spending more on a larger studio - and hiring people to help you with larger projects is enough to make it worth the effort. 

Not only is it worth the effort, but it’s entirely doable. 

There is no pre-screening for the grant; all applications are reviewed.

And once you’ve successfully applied to one grant, you have a “base” you can adapt for future applications. For example, the “Career Narrative” and the “Statement of Plans” can be reused for other grants. 

So what would earning a $50,000 grant this year mean to you?

I know it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or discouraged when you look at how much work goes into a grant application. Then you cherry-pick the “best of the best” from previous winners and begin to compare your exhibition history with theirs to “convince” yourself not to apply. 

Well, for one thing, winners who have already received a Guggenheim Fellowship are not eligible to apply for another. So that’s that. 

And there isn’t one “winner”. Approximately 175 Fellowships are awarded each year.

But more importantly, what do you have to lose by applying? 

Nothing. Nothing to lose, and everything to win. 

Don’t you owe it to yourself to give it a chance?

Don’t you owe it to that little girl or boy who dreamed of growing up to become an artist, and who held onto that dream through the tears, and the sweat, and the heartbreak?

Just do it. Just start. You can download the application which will be up any day now. It’s due in the second week of September. 

If you have applied before and not gotten it, try again. Three of my clients who won it had applied before as well and were turned down previously.

Also, you should know, this grant is juried by artists, so you are judged sensitively on your art, as only a fellow artist can do. 

If you want me to work with you one on one to help you with the grant and look closely at your art and your history to select the best images, as I did for artists such as Marsia Alexander-Clarke, Mary Mattingly, Dara Birnbaum and Vicky Sambunaris, please reply to this email as soon as possible and ask me about it and I will tell you the fee structure. 

I work with a total of 10 artists on this on a first come first served basis and then it is closed.

Reply to this letter to ask any questions and also to find out the fee structure of hiring me. I work with you step by step for every element of this grant including image selection and looking closely at your art.

Sincerely,

Brainard Carey