Arts Creation and Spark Grants
About Spark Grants
Funded by the Mellon Foundation, Spark Grants provide seed funding for community-engaged arts projects. The competition is open to faculty, students and staff members on any Ohio State University campus for projects that center the arts and that are done in partnership with community organizations. Proposals involving communities served by our regional campuses are especially welcome and will receive priority consideration.
Grant applications are judged on the following multiple criteria:
- Innovative and/or cross-disciplinary nature of the proposal
- Proposal’s intended impact on a well-defined community or demographic
- Project’s potential for scalability or sustainability with outside funding
- Basic alignment with the goals of the Mellon Foundation’s Arts and Culture program
Consideration is also given to the geographic range of the funded projects.
Proposals for funding up to $25,000 will be accepted every spring through 2026.
The announcement of the 2024/25 recipients can be found in this article from the Office of Academic Affairs.
About Arts Creation Grants
Arts Creation Grants ($5,000-$50,000) are jointly sponsored by the Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme (GAHDT) and the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts. They are designed to foster new, impactful, arts-led research and creative work.
Priority consideration is given to individuals and projects that align with GAHDT’s current Society of Fellows theme, though open proposals are also welcome and will be considered. Proposal teams whose composition reflects interdisciplinary breadth will be prioritized, as will those who have previously not been supported by GAHDT or prior Spark Grants.
Apply
Faculty (including lecturers) and staff may apply. Proposals must be submitted by teams of two or more collaborators. A tenure-track faculty leader or PI from an arts or arts-affiliated unit in the College of Arts and Sciences (Art; Arts Administration., Education and Policy; Dance; Design; History of Art; Music; or Theatre, Film and Media Arts) must be identified. If the project involves human subject research, all collaborators should have PI status through the Office of Research, and the proposal must include verification that IRB approval has been secured (or is being sought).
Applications must be submitted online; follow the links through the current GAHDT Funding Brochure.
Impact of the Arts
Interested in applying for a Spark Grant?
Applications will be judged on multiple criteria: (i) the innovative and cross-disciplinary nature of the proposal, (ii) its intended impact on a well-defined community or demographic, (iii) the geographic scope of the project and (iv) its potential for scalability or sustainability with outside funding.