smART Ventures Grant is sponsored by City of Seattle. This grant supports innovation and participation in arts and culture for organizations that may not qualify for other funding. While not directly technology innovation, it could support small businesses innovating within the creative economy.

smART Ventures grant - Arts | seattle. gov To apply you must attend an information session first. Read the Guidelines and FAQs to check your eligibility.

As a small awards program, smART Ventures encourages innovation and widens cultural participation, particularly by individuals, organizations, and communities that may not qualify for other funding programs. Accepting applications year-round, smART Ventures is flexible, inclusive and simple. It provides support ranging from $500 to $1,500, proving that small investments can have big impacts.

If my organization is more than three years old, may I apply? No matter what your organization's age, you may apply if your group is not currently funded by our Centering Art & Racial Equiity, Youth Arts, or Neighborhood and Community Arts funding programs. If I've received funding from your CityArtist Projects, may I apply?

If you are currently funded through our CityArtist program or if you've received funding from our CityArtist program within the last four (4) years, then you are NOT eligible to apply for smART Ventures. If I've received funding from smART Ventures before, may I apply? I'm under the age of 18.

May I apply? Yes. We are happy to receive project ideas from young people!

But you will need an adult who can sign the contracts and receive the funds on your behalf. What if my project takes place in Seattle, but I or my group is based outside of Seattle? If you are based just outside the city of Seattle but your project or event will take place in Seattle and will benefit Seattle residents, you may still be eligible to apply.

Please bring this issue to the attention of staff in your initial conversation. If you are out-of-state or not based in the greater Seattle area, you are NOT eligible to apply, even if your project will take place in Seattle. Are all criteria for funding weighed equally?

Yes. Projects will be evaluated based on the following criteria: audience expansion, innovation, community impact, artistic potential, public access, and feasibility. Descriptions of these key criteria can be found in the smART Ventures Guidelines .

Priority consideration will be given to projects that serve or represent underserved communities and/or are not eligible for our other funding programs. What do you mean by underserved community? Any community that might not have as much access to cultural opportunities due to age, geography, ethnicity, physical differences, income or other barriers.

The more you can demonstrate why the communities you represent or plan to target are underserved and how your project will benefit those communities, the more competitive your application will be. Do I have to have a business license to apply? No. But if your project is approved, you will need a City of Seattle business license to receive funding.

For information on getting a business license in Seattle, call (206) 684-8484 or visit the Business Licenses website . You may include this cost in your budget. Whose contact information should be listed in the grant?

Please provide contact information for the person who can best represent the project and take responsibility for making sure the project is completed and the paperwork is submitted. Who is considered the "Authorized Representative"? The person who is willing to sign all documents and take responsibility for the money if awarded is the Authorized Representative.

This needs to be someone who is legally able to sign for the entity associated with the tax identification or social security number used for the grant funding if awarded. What happens if I receive an award amount less than I requested and then can't do my project? Discuss this with your Project Manager.

We know you may need to make changes. If the project cannot be completed with a partial amount and no other funding option is available, you may decline the award. If funded, how soon will I get payment?

City funding is awarded after your project is completed. Expect payment three to four weeks after all required documents, including your final invoice and report, have been received by our office. Missing documents or incomplete paperwork may delay payment.

Information Sessions and Draft Application Review Come learn more about this grant and how to submit your best application. Virtual Information Sessions After reviewing the SmART Ventures Guidelines, attend a group session to learn how to submit your best application. Information Sessions are available on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month (excluding City Holidays), 11:30 a.

m. -12:15 p. m.

Virtual Draft Application Review Sessions Must attend a smART Ventures info session first. Attend this group session and bring 2-3 questions you may have regarding your application to share. Draft Review Sessions are available on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month (excluding City Holidays), 12:15-1:00 p.

m. RSVP for a session on our calendar. Email SmARTVentures@seattle.

gov with additional questions or to schedule a one-on-one meeting with a SmART Ventures Project Manager. You are the best person to reach your networks and all the people who are most interested in your work. We've seen the best results when artists promote themselves and their events on their own channels, e.g. your own social accounts, email lists, networking, and word of mouth.

Post about your event and tag us. We'll get notified and can boost as our capacity allows. The sooner you tell your project manager about your event, the more likely we’ll be able to fit it into our editorial calendar.

If you have promo materials, please remember to send anything you've produced (flyers, posters, promo graphics, etc.) to your project manager. These items should all include the Office of Arts & Culture name and/or logo . We recommend posting on social and circulating these items at least two weeks prior to your event to increase awareness and attendance.

Press kits provide useful background information for the media when they write previews or reviews of your event. They can take awhile to assemble, so maybe only create them for larger events that media are confirmed to attend. Search the internet for a description and walkthough of how to write a press release and create a press kit.

For 2018 onward, see who's received smART Ventures funding on our blog . smART Ventures 2017 Partners The Veteran Captive Art exhibition will feature primarily art created by U.S. military combat veterans who have returned from service carrying the burden of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, and other unseen wounds and who have become incarcerated because of difficulty overcoming psychological injury.

The Somali Artifact Exhibit will feature Somali artifacts including traditional clothing, jewelry, baskets, drums, wood carvings, and dinnerware. An opening event will take place at New Holly Gathering Hall. Community Arts Space is a temporary activation of a store front that will be filled with arts classes for the community on Beacon Hill.

An Infertile Graphic Novel is a novel that details the experience of infertility. The book will be accompanied by an art show at a local comic book store, Push/Pull. Arts Against Trump: Vol 2 + zine release show will feature the artwork of queer and POC artists and their response to the current political state.

The curation and creation of murals of artwork created in workshop settings for people living with dementia to be displayed at the Phinney Neighborhood Association Gallery and at the Pacific Science Center.

Artwerks DBA Fremont Abbey Arts Abbey Next Stage: Youth Artist Showcase Event is a concert at Fremont Abbey Arts Center that features the works of youth artists who participated in an artist-training program that builds their business and artistic collaboration skills.

The Pulse Performance Project is a multi-disciplinary residency at the Olympic Sculpture Park that explores dance research and the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine through pulse readings, poetry and individuals. Cultures Closer Together! Is a series of traditional movement and storytelling classes at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.

Summer Mixer and Marketplace is a free community art fair celebrating African American culture and entrepreneurship at Franklin High School. It will provide a platform for artists to sell their work and engage in their community, network, promote and sell their artwork as well as have performances and activities for the whole family.

Black Arts West Friends & Family Reunion The Black Arts West Friends & Family Reunion is an event to celebrate the legacy of and artists who contributed to Black Arts West. The event will take place at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute.

Patti & The Kid is a work-in-progress of an original theatre/dance piece that is set in a mythical tent city in the American West and explores poverty, homelessness, addiction, technology, and violence. The performance will take place at Base in Georgetown.

Between Americans is a visual story of a year of conversations between 12 Hillary and 12 Trump voters, initially strangers, which will culminate in a physical and web-based installation. A book that will explore the first-hand experience of the only foreign guide on South Africa's Tugela River.

The book will be accompanied by a discussion at Columbia City Library about personal transformation, a nation in transition from a visitor's experience and the effects of the rafting industry on the local economy. CascadiaNow! /Vibrant Palette Arts Center The Digital Animation Collaboration is a video collaboration that explores the life and aspirations of a local artist with a disability.

Iconic is a collaboration of Visual Art, Dance and Music to celebrate female artists and will feature displays of large-canvas portraits painted by Kathreen Absuelo, live performances of choreographic work by Emily Curtiss and vocal improvisation by Maiah Manser at Fred's Wildlife Refuge and Piranha.

Dare to Dance 7 is an annual professional-quality showcase for original dances created and performed by dance enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels that feature diverse dancers and choreographers. Untitled Seattle Musicians Project is a feature film, narrative drama made by and about Seattle musicians as both a portrait of the music scene and a deeply personal story rooted in identity, ambition, addiction and mental health.

Georgetown resident gardeners will host Cross Pollinate, an opportunity to host plein air painters, artists will create site specific installations in green spaces, and musicians will perform under The Hat in the Hat n' Books Park.

The project will support performances and interactive workshops at Bailey Gatzert Elementary School as well as scholarships for youth composers and young musicians to attend workshop sessions as part of Flute Day.

Living with Conviction is a documentary photography project at Impact Hub that is comprised of portraits and profiles of formerly-incarcerated individuals who are trying to survive under fines and fees called "legal financial obligations." Aisha Farhoud (Odd Babes Productions) Odd Babes Production presents Janelle James, a comedy show that is hate-free and specifically aimed at celebrating women, queer, POC and ally comics.

Seattle Interprets Jobim is a concert featuring various local musicians honoring Brazilian composer/pianist Tom Jobim at Columbia City Theater. At the Glow Girls Creative Sessions, an artist from the community will facilitate a creative project and speak to participants about how they pursue their passion in the arts at Beacon Hill Community Arts.

A five-week series of two-hour classes using artistic exercises with the goal of creatively building emotional resilience, compassionate communication and an empathetic community with youth from diverse backgrounds. Quota is an art show that is centered around the theme of experiences of marginalized communities.

The show will feature 2D, 3D and performance-based works by 12 artists of color to examine how Eurocentric narratives may limit and inhibit the types of work that artists of color are expected to make. Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) The project is a creation of an InterPlay People of Color performance troupe that incorporates movement and personal storytelling to build community.

A pop-up gallery that will support diverse local artists in a warehouse space in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Jimi Hendrix Park Foundation Jimi Jams Jazz Concert is a free community event that will feature live music from diverse musicians of all ages and food trucks to Jimi Hendrix Park. Bahli Night is a tribute to a memorable Eritrean artist.

The New Music at Gallery 1412 will feature a night of newly composed experimental music by local composers and musicians. Vanishing Places is an installation of storefronts in South Lake Union that will highlight the rapid development in Seattle and the effects of climate change on the planet. The Intersessions Intro to DJ-ing Workshop provides a safe space for underrepresented individuals and youth to learn DJ-ing skills and network.

The ART of Infertility is an international art and oral history project and is also a traveling exhibition that shares the stories of people experiencing infertility. Dozer's Warehouse Book seeks to document the process, artwork, and community experience of Dozer's Warehouse. The project featured 75 regional and national artists to paint 103 murals inside a warehouse on Beacon Hill.

Let the Strings Speak Unity: The Intimacy of Collaboration is a weeklong project offering educational workshops, culminating in a musical performance. The project aims to build intergenerational bridges while working with professional musicians. A world-premiere production of Veronica Tjioe's play about a diverse group of characters camping during an ever-spreading forest fire.

The play will examine environmental protection issues and partner with community and environmental organizations. A Hip Hop Opera by Marshall Massengale is based on the work of Joseph Campbell. The performance will blend Hip Hop with classic literature and themes, and use cutting edge installation art and lighting technology to create a unique experience.

The community will be invited to participate in the creation of the mural "Homecoming: Bringing Fishers Back to Washington". The mural will be a 22'x11' canvas mural of a fisher's forest habitat and will incorporate locally-made illustrations of the species.

The Queens Project encompasses the creation of a photography book as well as public presentations and exhibitions featuring women activists, educators, artists and professionals who give back to their community. Northwest Film Forum (Franco, Juan) Two-day performance festival centering artists in Seattle who are challenging social, political and economic structures and identities.

Pacific Northwest Cultural Exchange Council The Chinese New Year Concert, performed by the Traditional Chinese Orchestra from China, will be presented at Benaroya Hall. The Bibliophilia Storytelling Festival is a three-day storytelling festival that feature the voices of diverse artists and combines prose and poetry with improvisational performance.

The Womxn's Creative Community Meet Up is an interactive resource-sharing event that aims to bring current and aspiring media makers together to explore how womxn work toward equity in creative industries through their creative practice.

Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool The Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool Fall Festival is an annual festival open to the community with activities for all ages at the Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool's new location on Beacon Hill.

A production of the Noel Coward play "Private Lives" that incorporates non-traditional casting to expand the play's exploration of relationship dynamics between two couples to also include gender representation and identity.

The Seattle Music Exchange Project will present the music of Seattle composers and performances to audiences abroad and bring music and musicians of other cultures to Seattle audiences through concerts, residencies and education programs. Sapience Dance Collective An annual Seattle contemporary dance festival to support diverse dancers and choreographers at every level of their career.

Live, free performances of diverse artists at the University District Food Bank as well as an opportunity for youth from YouthCare to interact with music equipment.

The Around the World with Children's House is a free educational series that encourages children to explore and engage with the world around them in a fun, inclusive environment that includes curated books, films and activities in partnership with the U District branch of Seattle Public Library.

The 2017 Spanish Literary Contest is a contest and opportunity for Washington State writers that will support workshops in partnership with Seattle Public Library as well as a final event. A free one-day web series festival that will feature original series from around the globe as well as those produced in the Pacific Northwest.

A unique interdisciplinary festival that brings artists from different artistic genres together to create new work around the theme of Unity. A family-friendly concert at the Good Shepherd Center that will include music by local composers and incorporate fixed electronics, accelerometers, and mathematical patterns.

The InterPlay Exploration Drop-In Series is a project that will support six drop-in sessions and one performance for people to use improv and personal storytelling to create healing and community. The Beautiful Carcass Project is an interdisciplinary project that examines the complexities of living in a female body in America featuring a diverse cast that will host a community discussion and youth workshop.

Southeast Seattle Senior Center Youth and seniors will work together to create a quilt around the theme of BLACK LIVES MATTER. The finished quilt will be on display in various locations. Taiwanese Student Association The Night Market is an evening event that combines Taiwanese vendors and cuisine, games and performances from student groups and well-known performers at University of Washington.

The latest episode of the web series will focus on human trafficking in Seattle and will follow the experience of a single mother and her daughter who was the victim of human trafficking when she was 16. The Ritual Exile is a photo and VR exhibition by South Asian artist Poulomi Basu about Nepali women and the Hindu tradition of chaupadi as part of the South Asian Film Festival.

An exhibition of artists whose work is related to politics of illegibility in art featuring diverse artists that have not been presented in Seattle before. Crystal Serenity is a new body of work that originated in Norway and projects a female-led world drawing on perceptions of the North as magical and idyllic. The pieces are created by layers of photographic prints and reflective surfaces.

A series of performances of James Baldwin's "Blues for Mister Charlie" that will take place in community spaces with the goal of furthering dialogue around race and violence in diverse Seattle communities. A performance and workshop by contemporary Chinese choreographer and dancer. Gu Jiani will perform his groundbreaking piece "Right & Left."

2016 smART Ventures Partners 21 Progress will host a Social Justice Art Gallery with work selected by a community panel that will be available for individuals and organizations to borrow throughout the year without any cost. The 51 Percent $700In Context is a pop-up art gallery exhibition during the Seattle Art Fair featuring the work of local female artists utilizing an empty storefront in Pioneer Square.

Our Own reflections: Writing Complex of Characters of Color is a workshop intended to explore with writers of color how they portray characters from a wide variety of races and backgrounds. The workshop will take place in South Seattle.

This project will support one week of art classes for Somali Youth 10-15 years old at Somali Community Service of Seattle and offer them the opportunity to gain inspiration and draw Somali culture and landscapes. American Romanian Cultural Society The third annual Romanian Film Festival in Seattle that will feature a rich selection of films and genres to take place at SIFF Cinema Uptown.

Amigos de Seattle will host the Guatemalan and Mexican Card Making Workshop which will offer classes on paper crafts and card-making to Latino underserved youth and families in South Park. The Art Makes You Children Art Camp is a project that supports arts activities for low-income youth and will include a final showcase featuring photography, painting and drama.

The Artist Within is an art exhibition at City Hall featuring 50 artworks by people, aged 60-101, who live with dementia. The exhibit will also feature several public talks with representatives across sectors of health and policy as well as people living with dementia and their caregivers.

Conversations with Women is a collaboration with experimental feminist fiction writer and birder Caroline Belle Stewart which will produce a deck of cards featuring different birds and their natural history as it relates to cultural history of feminism in the arts and sciences. Events will also include a Bird Walk through Discovery Park.

Bilingual outreach opportunity for a community screening of "Delano Manongs" that will engage the Filipino and Latino communities to take place at El Centro de la Raza. The Cherry Street Festival: Celebrating Little Ethiopia is an all-day event that features live performances of contemporary and traditional music and dance from East Africa to take place in the Central District.

The Luminous Soundscape is new multisensory art installation using digital technologies at Jack Straw Cultural Center where visitors will be able to see soundwaves and listen to patterns of light. Lusio is a light and ambient sound event that makes art gracefully and playfully come to life in an interactive setting in Volunteer Park.

Central Area Senior Center Juneteenth Community Celebration is a multigenerational community celebration to share the history of Juneteenth and its significance in the lives of African-American people featuring performances and story-telling to take place and the Central Area Senior Center.

The Design Lecture Series brings world-class designers to Seattle to give free lectures at the Central Library to help stimulate conversations about creativity and innovation in our community. The lectures will feature Emory Douglas and Kenny Hara. ONE is a dance concert that presents new works by five West coast choreographers.

The pieces will explore human relationships, breath and fire and be performed at Velocity Dance Center and accompanied by free workshops to schools and community centers throughout Seattle. Carmen Cortez $950Los Ausentes, a group of artists and activists from Santa Ana California, will support poetry and music workshops for women and domestic workers that will culminate is a community concert at Casa Latina.

Succession is a site-specific mixed media social change installation project that addresses personal sense of place through themes of home, homelessness, belonging and heritage.

The project integrates the work of the homeless community with Pioneer Square artists and businesses and will take place at the Gallery 4Culture Being is a collaborative split-bill production from Seattle dance artists Anglica DeLashmette, Kelsey Diane Hamon and Sarah M. F. Oxford that will premiere at Velocity Dance that examines the ideas around human existence.

Vigil will be an exhibit of large-scale panoramic documentary photographs to be shown at Art/Not Terminal Gallery at Seattle Center that detail two flower vigils held shortly after 9/11 at Seattle Center and Alki Beach.

Filipino American National Historical Society of Greater Seattle Chapter A screening of Delano Manongs, a documentary film revealing the involvement of Filipino Americans during the farm labor movement and Civil Rights efforts. The screening will also include a conversation with the director Marissa Aroy at Hing Hay Coworks.

First Hill Improvement Association In partnership with Only in Seattle: First Hill, Second to None is a video project featuring residents of First Hill, describing their perfect afternoon-evening in the neighborhood that will feature cultural and artistic opportunities as well as businesses and public spaces.

A 21-day residency program called collaborate: create will bring artists together across disciplines to create new works focused on a socially relevant theme. The process will culminate in a public exhibition at Fremont Abbey Arts Center.

Fly Traps is an effort to support an artist-in-residence partnership with Recology to develop a sculptural installation from materials collected from King County that will include tours of the recycling plant and studio in SoDo.

Boys on the Inside is a feature documentary film project that focuses on 'boy' identity in women's prisons in Washington state and will include a public rough-cut screening of the film for community feedback at Northwest Film Forum. Groundswell Arts Collective En Vogue is a monthly celebration of Ball culture and pride in being Queer at Hillman City Collaboratory.

GAY WITCH is a multi-art showcase of intersectional queer magic that aims to be a celebration, remedy, invocation, and altar, to lift up resilience, rage and love to take place at Gay City Arts. DRAWTASTIC is a festival committed to the art of pencil illustration for all ages that will include workshops, vendors and a screening of animated films to take place at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.

Hmong Association of Washington The Hmong New year is a festival event to celebrate the new year through contemporary and traditional performances including a concert by Hmong-Canadian band Sudden Rush to take place at Seattle Center. The Encanto Holiday Concert shares an evening of Opera, Aria, Classical Piano and Mariachi Bolero, featuring a cast of Latino artists to take place at The Moore Theatre.

Irish Reels Film Festival The 9th annual celebration of new Irish cinema at SIFF Film Center that will feature a screening of "The Queen of Ireland" and special panel on the one-year anniversary of the Marriage Equality Referendum. Ge*nome50 is a live art performance that highlights ideas and generalizations about race/gender to take place at Westlake Park.

Through a residency at Twilight, the event Stories Told & Forgotten will allow artist to collaborate with women of color living in Seattle to collect personal stories that will be transformed into vessels that will later be installed at METHOD GALLERY in Pioneer Square. An opportunity to showcase the art and talent of the seniors living at Nikkei Manor Assisted Living.

A production of the play Mariela in the Desert by Karen Zacarias at Theatre Off Jackson. The Lair of the Red Widow is a new short film that is part of the continuing story of the Brass Family, a clan of Victorian science geniuses whose story is being told across radio, stage and film.

The Sundowning is a choreographer movement study on cerebral degradation to be performed at Velocity Dance Center as part of an emerging choreographers showcase. The Sunnier, Rainer: A String Quartet for Seattle is a project centered on the commission of a new classical string quartet inspired by Seattle's unique climate which is composed of interchangeable movements. The piece will be performed for the public free of charge.

Ekphrastic Assimilations is a cultural exchange project that will involve poets and visual artists from Washington State and China that will culminate in a public event at Seattle Asian Art Museum. A Monster is born is an interactive public performance that includes a monster puppet suit to take place at Rainer Valley Heritage Parade and Westlake Park.

In Broad Daylight is a performance that will address the issues of police brutality, with an emphasis on cultural separation and perspective in the Seattle Area and will incorporate film and dance. The performance will take place at Ballard Underground. Art & Play!

WA supports the presentation of Art Cart at community events in various neighborhoods including Ballard, Pinehurst, Greenwood, Rainier Valley, South Lake Union and University District to provide art-making activities for youth and their family. Essential Skimming in art illustrates the experience and hyper-condensation of modern life through the work of 20 diverse artists from Seattle, New York, L. A.

, and Mexico City. The show will be held at Common Area Maintenance in Belltown. PYLON-Phase 1 is an installation and performance piece to take place at Olympic Sculpture Park that explores the relationship between oppressive structures and oppressed individuals.

An interdisciplinary dialogue and performance that pairs teen musicians with professional visual artists to take place in Greenwood in celebration of the community coming together after the gas explosion. Chat Room is a series that examines the way the internet has changed art.

Each event features a mix of presentations by diverse artists, scholars, and other community members that include interaction, games, videos and surprises to be held at Northwest Film Forum. Drums Not Guns is an interactive performance that will be a "hands-on drumming" village-style community-building exercise for youth to take place at Rainier Beach Community Center.

Summer Art Uprising is a community event showcasing artists, businesses and the community surrounding Mount Baker Lofts that will feature live performances and visual art. Please Touch is an exhibition for visually impaired artists will be paired with sighted artists to create tactile pieces of art and will also provide arts workshops for the community at Mount Baker Neighborhood Arts Center.

The Silk Road is a performance of music by the Eurasian Consort, and early music ensemble that reflects the cultural exchanges that took place over 2,000 years via the Silk Road. The performances will take place at John Muir Elementary School and be available online.

A two-part art exhibition called Sanctuary and Sustenance: The Story of Many Journeys featuring the work of a team of international photojournalists and musicians offering a glimpse into the lives of refugees around the world. The first part will be a multimedia projection on the building of the Odegaard Undergraduate Library at UW and the second part is a photo exhibit focused on resettlement.

An exhibition space housed in the garage of a Greenwood area cottage featuring a 2-person exhibition format, pairing the work of Seattle-based sculptor Francesca Lohmann, and new paintings by New York City-based artist Katie Gegenheimer. A free one-day folk festival to celebrate the 50th year of the Seattle Folklore Society to take place at Phinney Neighborhood Center.

Do it for Umma is a production of the play written by Seayoung Yim and directed by Sara Porkalob that is a tragicomic feminist retelling of Hamlet, set in a Korean-owned convenience store to take place at Theater Off Jackson. Seattle Historical Arts for Kids Starry Messenger: The Life and Times of Galileo is a 50-minute performance which brings history to life with the arts of the period, performed by youth 7-18 years old.

Performances will take place at Graham Hill Elementary School and Town Hall. Revolution is a multidisciplinary work that explores the intersection between social justice and sexuality, featuring solo and ensemble performance art pieces from diverse performers to take place at Theater Off Jackson.

Life Stand Still Here is a solo exhibition at Glassbox Gallery featuring photographic works that challenge traditional notions of the medium as photographic images will take sculptural form through silk banners, floor installations with wood mounts and multi-paneled compositions that also explore