IMPORTANT DATES:

• July 29th – September 6th, 2024 – Open call submission window
• September – October, 2024 – Review of applications by jury
• October 21st – 25th, 2024 – Contacting of successful applicants 
• October 28th, 2024 – Announcement of results 
• November, 2024 – Disbursal of funds

[ ten-der ] definition: 

1. gentle, loving, or kind;
2. something offered especially money, as in payment.

The Fresh Milk Art Platform, with the generous support of the US-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), is excited to launch the inaugural edition of TENDER: A Caribbean Arts Regranting Initiative.

In 2024, Fresh Milk was awarded a major grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Arts and Culture programme supporting its operating and programming expenses. This unprecedented level of funding to the platform has inspired the organisation to pay it forward, designing a programme where unrestricted grants can be accessed by Caribbean contemporary visual artists, arts-focused organisations, curators, and art historians/writers/researchers who are living and working in the Caribbean. The NCF, as one of the main entities supporting cultural activities that benefit the citizens of Barbados while also promoting cultural exchanges on an international level, has graciously joined us in this effort, extending our support even further for eligible applicants in Barbados and throughout the English, Spanish, French or Dutch-speaking Caribbean territories. 

The ethos of this programme is centred on generosity, faith, and care; Fresh Milk has always had an unwavering belief in the talent and potential of artists from this region, and as an artist-led space, we are intimately familiar with the range of challenges involved in maintaining a practice. These twenty-one (21) unrestricted grants will be awarded to eligible creatives, who can use the funds as they see fit. Whether it is towards creating new work, acquiring materials, research and development, designing new or continuing existing programmes, pursuing further studies, exhibition preparation or production, participating in artist residencies, or any general living expenses; a tender gesture of appreciation to the recipients for their commitment to working in the arts.

Along with financial support, the work of each successful grantee will be promoted widely through Fresh Milk and the NCF’s local and regional networks in the form of a featured page on our website, extensive social media coverage, and a recorded interview with the recipient discussing their practice. In this way, we also hope to strengthen artists’ networks, further contributing to a sense of community and the public archiving of Caribbean creativity.

Fresh Milk is interested in supporting experimental contemporary visual art, and curatorial and research-based practices that explore structure, content, and expanded exhibition approaches in new ways. The grants will fall into three levels of funding:

1. TEN (10) grants valued at USD $1,500.00 (BBD $3,000.00) each, which will be awarded to:

• • • FIVE (5) Barbados-based recent visual arts graduates;
    • FIVE (5) Caribbean-based recent visual arts graduates.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

1. 1. • Artists must have graduated with a BFA or equivalent degree within the last 6 years (2019-2024);
      • Artists must be currently living and practising in the Caribbean; 
      • Artists’ work can span any discipline/media of contemporary visual arts practice (painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, mixed media, sculpture, installation, video, new media, experimental audiovisual art, performance art, interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary);
      • Artists must demonstrate a high standard of work in keeping with their level of experience, and a commitment to the continued development of their practice.

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2. EIGHT (8) grants valued at USD $3,500.00 (BBD $7,000.00) each, which will be awarded to:

• • • TWO (2) Barbados-based emerging/mid-career visual artists;
    • ONE (1) Barbados-based independent/non-profit arts-focused organisation;
    • ONE (1) Barbados-based curator or art historian/writer/researcher.
    • TWO (2) Caribbean-based emerging/mid-career visual artists;
    • ONE (1) Caribbean-based independent/non-profit arts-focused organisation;
    • ONE (1) Caribbean-based curator or art historian/writer/researcher.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

VISUAL ARTISTS:

1. 1. • Artists must have been living and practising in the Caribbean for a minimum of 7 years;
      • Artists’ work can span any discipline/media of contemporary visual arts practice (painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, mixed media, sculpture, installation, video, new media, experimental audiovisual art, performance art, interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary);
      • Artists must demonstrate a high standard of work and professional endeavours (participation in exhibitions, residencies, workshops, programming etc.) in keeping with their level of experience.

ARTS ORGANISATIONS:

1. 1. • Organisations must have been operating within the Caribbean for a minimum of 3 years;
      • Organisations must be independent/non-governmental;
      • Organisations need not be registered charities/non-profits but must be able to demonstrate best practices in terms of governance and operations management.
      • Organisations must demonstrate a clear commitment to their mission and vision as it relates to contemporary Caribbean art and give examples of their work in alignment with this.

CURATORS & ART HISTORIANS/WRITERS/RESEARCHERS:

1. 1. • Practitioners must have been living and working in the Caribbean for a minimum of 7 years;
      • Practitioners must give examples of their work (whether through exhibitions, published written work, or research) demonstrating their commitment to exploring and showcasing contemporary Caribbean art practices.

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3. THREE (3) grants valued at USD $7,500.00 (BBD $15,000.00) each, which will be awarded to:

• • • ONE (1) established Barbados-based visual artist
    • TWO (2) established Caribbean-based visual artists

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

1. 1. • Artists must have been living and practising in the Caribbean for a minimum of 20 years;
      • Artists’ work can span any discipline/media of contemporary visual arts practice (painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, mixed media, sculpture, installation, video, new media, experimental audiovisual art, performance art, interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary);
      • Artists must demonstrate a high standard of work and professional endeavours (participation in exhibitions, residencies, workshops, programming etc.) in keeping with their long and influential careers.

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SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

ALL applications must be submitted through the official Google Form provided (any submissions sent by email or in hard copy will not be eligible for review).

The APPLICATION FORM includes the following:

FOR VISUAL ARTISTS:

1. 1. • Submission of a brief bio (250 words maximum); 
      • Submission of an artist statement, providing an overview of your practice to help contextualise the artworks shared for review (250 words maximum);
      • Submission of an up-to-date CV (2 pages maximum);
      • 5-8 clearly labelled samples of work that best showcase your practice (accepted file formats include JPEG, PNG, GIF, MP4, MP3, DOC, DOCX and PDF. In the case of video works, YouTube or Vimeo links may be provided, along with passwords if applicable). Document files should not exceed 10 MB. Image/audio/video files should not exceed 100MB.

FOR ARTS ORGANISATIONS:

1. 1. • Submission of an overview of the organisation, including its mission, vision, key personnel, and a brief history of the work it has done in the Caribbean (500 words maximum); 
      • Submission of a list of the organisation’s projects/programming and any notable accolades achieved (2 pages maximum);
      • 5-8 clearly labelled samples of work that best showcase the organisation’s output (accepted file formats include JPEG, PNG, GIF, MP4, MP3, DOC, DOCX, and PDF. In the case of video works, YouTube or Vimeo links may be provided, along with passwords if applicable). Document files should not exceed 10 MB. Image/audio/video files should not exceed 100MB.

FOR CURATORS:

1. 1. • Submission of a brief bio (250 words maximum); 
      • Submission of a statement outlining main curatorial interests and concerns (250 words maximum);
      • Submission of an up-to-date CV (2 pages maximum);
      • 5-8 clearly labelled samples of work that best showcase your curatorial output (accepted file formats include JPEG, PNG, GIF, MP4, MP3, DOC, DOCX, and PDF. In the case of video works, YouTube or Vimeo links may be provided, along with passwords if applicable). Document files should not exceed 10 MB. Image/audio/video files should not exceed 100MB.

FOR ART HISTORIANS/WRITERS/RESEARCHERS:

1. 1. • Submission of a brief bio (250 words maximum); 
      • Submission of a statement outlining main areas of writing/research (250 words maximum);
      • Submission of an up-to-date CV (2 pages maximum);
      • 3-5 clearly labelled samples of written work, no more than 2500 words each (accepted file formats include DOC, DOCX, and PDF). Document files should not exceed 10 MB. 

All applicants will also be asked for a brief statement on why the receipt of this grant would be timely for their practice. Those fitting the above criteria and based in the following countries may apply:

Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands. 

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SELECTION PROCESS:

Applications will be independently reviewed by a 3-member jury comprising one Barbadian, one Caribbean, and one international jury member, each of whom will be an expert in their field and familiar with contemporary art practice in the Caribbean. Jurors will assign scores to each segment of the applicants’ submissions, and a jury meeting will be held once scores have been collated. The jury’s decision will be final, and a jury report will be released publicly when successful applicants are announced. Neither the jury members nor the Fresh Milk Team will be able to offer feedback on individual applications.

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JURY MEMBERS:

1. 1. • Dr. Therese Hadchity, Art historian and professor in Cultural Studies at The University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Barbados;
      • Tirzo Martha, Visual artist and co-founder of the Instituto Buena Bista, Curaçao;
      • Maria Elena Ortiz, Curator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

About Fresh Milk:

Fresh Milk is an artist-led, non-profit organisation founded in 2011 and based in Barbados. It is a platform which supports excellence in the visual arts through residencies and programmes that provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for development, fostering a thriving art community. Fresh Milk offers professional support to artists from the Caribbean and further afield and seeks to stimulate critical thinking in contemporary visual art. Its goal is to nurture artists, raise regional awareness about contemporary arts and provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for growth, excellence and success.

About the NCF:

The National Cultural Foundation (NCF) is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament in 1983. Its mandate is to oversee the cultural landscape of Barbados. The NCF’s role revolves around the preservation of our cultural heritage and promotion of all forms of art and culture, both tangible and intangible through developmental and commercial programmes and products. The functional spectrum ranges from, generating cultural awareness at the grassroots level to promoting cultural exchanges at an international level. In its developmental role, the Foundation uses culture as a tool for national development, fostering and supporting the various art forms and new cultural products. In its commercial role, the Foundation is responsible for the promotion, production and hosting of cultural festivals and associated events.

About the Mellon Foundation:

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the USA’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive.