LIFT - Early Career Support for Native Artists

The LIFT – Early Career Support for Native Artists program will provide critical support to early career Native artists with one-year awards to develop and realize new projects. The program encourages artists to uplift communities, advance positive social change, point courageously toward environmental sustainability, and foster communal meaning making. The program will consist of a suite of activities that includes grantmaking, artist professional development, and artist convening. The primary objectives of this opportunity are to support artists who are developing their voices and for whom the award may serve as a launching point in their career.

PROGRAM SERVICES

• Grantmaking: One-year awards of $10,000.
• Professional development: Artist awardees will participate in trainings facilitated by NACF and its partner organizations that are designed to provide education around project management, small business development, career advancement, and artistic development.
• Convening: Current recipient artists will gather to share best practices and develop relationships.
• Culturally Appropriate Evaluation: Support from NACF to develop project deliverables, outcomes and internal/external NACF program reports.
• Communications and marketing support.
• In response to a pandemic environment, some of these services will be offered in virtual environments, as needed or possible.

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

In order to be eligible for the LIFT program, applicants must:

• Be 18 years or older;
• Currently reside in the United States;
• Be an enrolled member or citizen of a federally-recognized or state-recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native corporation, or of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Applicants will be asked to provide documentation of their Native citizenship or ancestry.
• Be an individual practicing artist working in the disciplines of dance/choreography, fiction/poetry writing, film/video, multi-disciplinary arts, music, performance art, theater and screenplay writing, traditional arts or 2D + 3D visual arts.
• Be early in their artistic career with ten years or less experience. Early career may be defined as an artist who is 18-30 years old, or who is more than 30 years old, but who started their arts career later in life.
• Not have received a singular award of $10,000 or more in their artistic career;
• NOT BE enrolled in a university or higher-education institution during the 12-month award period.
• Propose a new project that can be developed and presented within one year of the award, or prior to July 31, 2023.

Visit https://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/lift-eligibility for more information.