Artists: Apply Now to Receive Up to a $20K Grant from Houston’s BANF

The BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Arts Network & Fund (BANF), a Houston-based organization dedicated to supporting BIPOC artists and arts organizations, will grant up to $20,000 to 50 artists through its 2023 Artist Awards.

Established in 2021, BANF has already invested $2 million into Houston-area BIPOC-founded and led organizations. Awards dispersed in 2022 ranged from $2,500 to $50,000. Some organizations that received the highest level of funding included the Emancipation Park Conservancy, the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, the Houston Museum of African American Culture, MECA, The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, and The Ensemble Theatre.

According to the BANF 2023 Artist Awards grant guidelines, this year’s awards will directly support artists who are members of Greater Houston’s Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern and/or other communities of color, and who “demonstrate a substantial contribution to their chosen community.” BANF has also been clear that it does not have a strict definition of the term “artists” and encourages traditional artists as well as creatives, community organizers using creative techniques, culture workers, and any self-defined artists with a history of creative process who meet the other criteria to apply. 

The BANF website specifies that applicants should have an operating residence and should have been working in the nine-county region of Greater Houston for the past 24 months. The counties include Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller.

While awardees will receive unrestricted funds, selected artists are committing to participate in an 18-month learning cohort hosted by BANF, as a way to build capacity and strengthen community. Applications will go through three rounds of reviews, including an initial eligibility review by BANF administration, a panel review, and a finalist review. All applicants will be notified by May 15, 2023.

The deadline to register in Submittable is Friday, February 17 at 12 pm CST, and the deadline to have all application materials submitted is Monday, February 20, 2023 at 9 am CST. To learn more about this opportunity and to apply, visit the BANF Submittable webpage.