Exhibition Requirements and Parameters – Overall
· Curators shall not include more than two of their own artworks in the exhibition (new for FY25).
· Curators are responsible for planning, promoting, and hosting an opening reception, and at least one other exhibit-related educational program, such as artist talks and/or closing reception. These events are subject to approval by CAH and shall be planned in coordination with CAH.
o With prior arrangement, CAH will coordinate extended gallery hours on evenings and weekends for exhibit-related educational programs or receptions.
· CAH will provide curatorial guidance and editorial support to Curator in order to achieve the intent of the exhibition.
· The curator shall write informational wall texts that discuss artwork by each artist featured in the exhibition. Multilingual text is highly encouraged.
· Curators shall ensure that CAH has the right to use exhibition-related images for any promotion or archival purpose that CAH may require. Although images of the artwork and installation shots of the exhibition are subject to CAH use, images will not be replicated for commercial use.
Exhibition Requirements and Parameters – At Time of Application Submission
*The following application documents are mandatory for all submissions* These are in addition to the required narrative questions within the online application. Documents must be uploaded as PDFs through CAH’s online grant portal prior to the application deadline.
- Exhibition proposal with a curatorial statement as it relates to the proposed exhibition. The theme of the exhibition should be clearly defined, with an explanation of how each artist fits into the exhibition concept. (maximum 500 words).
- An optional (though recommended) rendering of proposed exhibition design and layout illustrated to scale, indicating the number of proposed artworks, placement of exhibited artworks, dimensions of each work of art, and technology required to present exhibition. (See Addendum A for gallery layout.) If the exhibition has been previously presented elsewhere, applicants should provide 1.) documentation of the show; 2.) A description of how the show would be modified for CAH’s gallery; and 3.) the total number of artworks and dimensions of each work. If not including a rendering of the exhibition in the application, please upload a document stating its absence into the required document upload section.
- Proposed timeline of exhibition (including installation, display, and deinstallation dates) and detailed outline of all programming and events, with a description of each event, its purpose, target audience(s), and the curator’s plan for audience development and promotion. Outline should take into account the gallery’s hours of operation (Monday- Friday, 9am-6pm), any events that may fall outside these hours, and note any technology required for programming. Templates for this proposed timeline are available here:
- Social Justice Art Exhibition Timeline Template
- Veterans’ Art Exhibition Timeline Template
- World Pride Exhibition Timeline Template
- Curator, co-curator or mentee resumes/CVs, including past curatorial projects with project budget.
- Letter of consent from co-curator/mentee indicating agreement to participate in curating the exhibition.
- Comprehensive, detailed budget outline describing how grant funds will be utilized, including: curator fee (not to exceed 20% of budget), artist fees, co-curator/mentee fees, insurance, installation, gallery signage, events, equipment rental, marketing materials, art transport, frames and/or pedestals.
· A template is available here.
- Individual artist statements (maximum 250 words each) from each artist proposed for the exhibition referenced in the curatorial statement. If the curator seeks to work with nonprofit organizations to create artwork in group or anonymous settings, providing a mission statement for the organization(s) will suffice.
- Image list for proposed artwork (including title, date, medium, dimensions, approximate weight if over 10 lbs). Note that these works can be subject to change based on curation and availability, with final image list submitted one month prior to exhibition installation.
- Images of each artwork proposed for the exhibition. If new works or site-specific installations are being commissioned, a sketch or rendering must be submitted, indicating dimensions and weight. Electronic files should not exceed 5MB each.
· Use the Media Viewer to upload images as jpegs.
· File names must include the artist’s last name followed by the artwork title and must correspond in number with the uploaded image list. Example: “Number on Image List_Artist Last Name_Artwork Title”
- Compliance documents (forms and instructions are available at Resources for Grant Applicants).
- Certificate of Clean Hands (must be dated within thirty (30) days of application). See: mytax.dc.gov
- Statement of Certification (signed at the time of application).
- Signed IRS Form W-9 (Note: Post office boxes are prohibited. The address on the W-9 must match the address in the grants portal, the DC Government’s PASS system, and the DC Vendor Portal. The October 2018 version of the form must be used and be dated at the time of application submission.)
- Additional Mandatory Documents For Organizations
- IRS Letter of Determination
- DC Tax Certificate of Incorporation
- IRS Form 990 from Fiscal Year 2023 or most recently completed fiscal year.
Exhibition Requirements and Parameters – At Time of Award
Curators must provide proof of commercial general liability insurance in their name with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence, and property insurance with limits equal to the estimated completed value of the work, to cover any potential personal injury or loss/damage of the artwork during the installation, exhibition, and de-installation periods. Applicants should demonstrate research/awareness of insurance costs within the budget portion of the application.
Exhibition Requirements and Parameters – 30 Days Prior to Installation
At least one month in advance of installation, curators are required to submit for approval the following items:
o finalized exhibition layout
o object checklist
o artwork labels
o wall text
o artist bios
o marketing and promotional materials - CAH and Curators are responsible for implementing communication strategies for the exhibit. Curators must coordinate with CAH on all public relations, promotions, and any media. See Addendum B for list of communication resources available to grantees
o final programming dates and times
o written letters of consent from each exhibited artist indicating agreement to display the works in the final exhibition
o background checks for programming participants involving youth under 18 years of age
Exhibition Requirements and Parameters – Upon Completion of Exhibition
Within thirty (30) days after acceptance of the return of the galleries to original condition, or by October 13, 2025, whichever date comes first, the award recipient must submit through the grants’ portal to CAH:
o a CAH Grant Budget Form, including receipts for all eligible exhibition costs
o a Final Report
see reporting section below for further form information
Application Submission
CAH utilizes an online grant portal to receive grant applications.
- Read the RFA guidelines (for the desired program) and determine eligibility.
- Visit dcarts.dc.gov and navigate to the “Grants” menu and select the “Grant Application Portal” to register using the “Sign Up today” link.
- Once registered, select My Open Applications, and click on “New Application” on the right side of the screen, then select “Art Exhibition Grant” Program from the program list.
- Complete the application questions, budget, and other uploads.
- Upload all required documents, supplementary material, and work samples.
All applications must be submitted online by 9:00 PM ET on Friday, July 1, 2024. A confirmation email generates automatically upon submission of the application. Technical issues or failure to receive a confirmation e-mail should be brought to the immediate attention of CAH staff.
Incomplete or late applications or applications that do not follow the instructions and guidelines are deemed ineligible for review and funding. CAH does not accept mailed, emailed or hand- delivered copies of grant applications and/or the required attachments. CAH will accept reasonable accommodation requests from applicants with disabilities in advance of the application due date to assist them in submitting grant applications via mail, email or hand- delivery. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Travis Marcus at [email protected] and await request approval.
CAH’s grant application process is competitive and subject to the availability of funds. Applicants may not request or receive funding for the same activities through more than one CAH program or grant category. Multiple applicants may not apply for funding for the same project, whether through the same or different grant programs. The same project cannot receive multiple grants from CAH. Applicants may submit only one application per year for this grant program.
Applicants are fully responsible for the content of their application packages. CAH staff is not permitted to make corrections to applications on behalf of applicants. An automated confirmation of an application’s submission does not guarantee an applicant’s eligibility or recommendation for funding by the advisory review panel.
The grant period is from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. Grant funds may not be used for activities that occur outside of this grant period.
INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND ACCESS (I.D.E.A.)
CAH embraces a commitment to the philosophy of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (I.D.E.A.) and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq.) in its work. CAH encourages applicants and grantees to be as inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible in their work throughout the District of Columbia, beyond participants with disabilities. Successful applications will consider a broad definition of “accessibility” by addressing financial, geographic, demographic, cultural, and developmental access in their programming/projects. Please review Addressing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (I.D.E.A.) in Grant Applications in the Guide to Grants for full details.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
CAH staff members are available to assist grant applicants with preparing the application through group or individual technical assistance. CAH staff members will not write applications for applicants. CAH staff members are available to review draft applications for thirty (30) minute appointments, on government business days up to one (1) week prior to the grant application deadline.
To schedule an individual technical assistance meeting, please contact Michelle May-Curry, CAH Curator at 202-215-9486 or [email protected]. Please note that CAH requests the applicant prepare and deliver (by e-mail or via the online grants portal) their full draft application proposal along with any questions in advance of scheduling a meeting for agency staff assistance.
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