Is There Money For Artists?

No. 192: Then & Now (Art & Writing); Rabbit Hole (Grants and Residencies for Pacific Coast Artists and Writers, Articles & Videos); Soundings (Earl Vickers, and Old Salt)

THEN & NOW (ART & WRITING)

Then

Here’s a quick ink brush sketch of the first building I lived in: 1351 Stockton Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown. It looks like some of the old brick tenements in NYC’s Chinatown, except not as tall. When I was a baby, there was a Woolworth’s department store on the bottom floor. Now it’s the May Shun Trading Company. In front of the store are shelves holding kitchen supplies and racks displaying brooms and mops.

We lived there for only a few months after I was born, then moved across the street to an apartment building at 702 Vallejo St.

Next time, I think I’ll try using a smaller size brush. On the other hand, sometimes using a large brush helps you to loosen up and not get lost in the details:

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Now

With so many reports of federal funding for grants being withheld or rescinded, I’ve decided to curate, in this issue, a few links to interesting sites and articles about funding and residency opportunities for artists and writers, especially in California and the Pacific Northwest. There are grants and residencies out there for artists in 2025—so don’t give up!

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RABBIT HOLE

Grants

• CCI (Center for Cultural Innovation) grants (California)

• ACTA (Alliance for California Traditional Arts)

• California Arts Council (heads up: deadline is soon, June 5)

• California Writers Club Kelli Devan Edwards Memorial Writers Fund (small grant, $200)

• Fleischhacker Foundation Small Arts Grants (SF Bay Area, small arts and culture organizations)

• Ford Family Foundation (Visual arts, Oregon)

• Miller Foundation (Oregon Literary & Media Arts)

• Allied Arts Foundation (Seattle)

• Artist Trust GAP Grants (Washington State)

Residencies

• Djerassi Resident Artist Program (Santa Cruz Mountains)

• Headlands Center for the Arts (San Francisco Bay Area)

• Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency (JTHAR, Joshua Tree, CA)

• In Cahoots Residency (Sonoma County; next applications due June 2!); fully funded, partially funded, and full-pay residencies

• 20 Writing Residencies on the Pacific Coast (list by San Diego Writers Ink)

Articles & Videos

• Audrey Gidman’s list of “writing (and art) residencies in the so-called US” inspired my own Pacific Coast list of artist grants and residencies. And check out her list of “letter-writing resources for the creative and hopeful heart.”

• Art Prof’s funny take on writing and preparing images for a grant application. I write grant applications for a community (cultural) nonprofit, and although our process is somewhat different than it is for visual artists, that OMG! moment two hours before the deadline is so familiar!

• In a time of need, Oregon Community Foundation’s $21 million gift to Oregon Arts

• Samuel Reinhard: “How the Desert Taught me to Rest and Listen.”

• “With Federal Funding in Question, Artists Can Navigate a Perilous Future by Looking to the Past” (The Conversation).

The Trump administration has forbidden federal arts funding from going to artists who promote what the administration calls “gender ideology.” There’s been a purge of the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with Trump appointing himself chair. And the administration has canceled National Endowment for the Humanities grants.

• Oregon Humanities Sues over Federal Funding Cuts

• Postcards for Democracy: I found information about this exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum, and learned that it’s an ongoing mail art project that was started four years ago by recording artists and composers Mark Mothersbaugh (of Devo)¹ and Beatie Wolfe:

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SOUNDINGS

• I was going to post a couple of music videos by Earl Vickers, but it turns out you can’t view them here on Substack. Anyway it was difficult choosing which one to post, because they are all so funny and touching. But you can go to Earl’s YouTube channel; I suggest you start with Nocturne op. 9, No. 2. From there, check out (age restricted) “Stoned Out of My Room,” or perhaps “Even Without You (This World Would Be Amazing).” Explore and enjoy!

• “Rain and Snow” by Old Salt; vocals (and song) by Dan Wall:

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My gratitude goes to everyone who reads Eulipion Outpost regularly, and especially to those who have subscribed or donated on my Ko-fi page to support my efforts.

My ongoing appreciation goes to the Mysterious M. for his excellent editing skills.

Website and blog: Jeanvengua.com

A Crooked Mile (a blog)

CommonwealthCafe (Filipino American & AAPI history and print culture)

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1. Mothersbaugh says he’s been a postcard mail artist since the 1970s!