Grassroots initiatives from the Telluride Council for the Arts & Humanities

14 Feb Grassroots initiatives from the Telluride Council for the Arts & Humanities

The Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities is pleased to announce Small Grants and Artists Fellowships are now available online. The beloved Small Grants program funds artists and non-profit arts and humanities organizations up to $1,000 – $2,000 each. Artist Fellowships fund individual visual artists up to $500 to undertake formal or informal education, or small individual projects that display artistic merit and originality.

The deadline for applications is Monday, March 8 at 5 p.m., via email. This year TCAH continues to go “Green” – all information, applications and announcements will happen online!

The Small Grants Program, funded by the Telluride Commission for Community Assistance, Arts and Special Events, and the Telluride Foundation, is a unique aspect of the Council's programming. Small Grants is designed to accommodate smaller projects not qualified for other non-profit funding within the county. Giving these grants realizes TCAH's grassroots mission of developing a flourishing cultural environment in the Telluride region from the ground up. For more information, visit www.telluridearts.org and click on “Grants” or call 728-3930.

Please note: due to funding constraints, the Council is only able to offer one grant cycle for 2010 – in March.  There will be no September grant cycle.

In addition, the Council and Talking Gourds invites submissions to the thirteenth annual Mark Fischer Poetry Prize.  Started by former Council director Art Goodtimes in 1997, and sustained by Mark’s widow Elaine Fischer and the Fischer family, the prize is named in the memory of Telluride’s much-loved poet, lawyer, skier and raconteur.

Mark Fischer was a daring experimenter who combined a polyglot’s command of languages with a quirky sense of humor and a passion for obtuse words. In that spirit, prizes will be awarded to the entry that best exhibits the qualities of originality, novelty, complex meaning, linguistic skill and wit. All styles and content matter are acceptable. (The wilder the better.)

Danny Rosen, of Lithic Press, determines the winnters. Awards of $250 first prize, $150 second prize, and $100 third prize will be presented at a ceremony in Telluride on April 27, during National Poetry Month.