As part of its commitment to support projects that promote engaged and informed communities, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced a five-year, $1 million grant to the national grantmaking and advocacy organization United States Artists.
Through this grant, United States Artists will award $50,000 in grants to 18 artists across the country, in communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. These artists have been selected as USA Knight Fellows.
The artists are allowed to use the grants without restriction, and will receive an additional $5,000 to engage local residents through talks, workshops and other events.
"Whether in Miami or Macon, San Jose or St. Paul, the USA Knight Fellowships will highlight the importance of the arts in our society, and the great financial needs of the artists who enrich our communities while earning a living from their artistic practices," said Dennis Scholl, a program director for Knight Foundation.
In addition to the USA Knights Fellows, United States Artists awards 50 fellowships each year to artists in all disciplines, the 2009 recipients of which will be announced on December 14.
This grant is not the first of its kind for the Knight Foundation, which established the five-year, $40-million Knight Arts Challenge to bring together the South Florida’s community through the arts. The challenge awards endowment grants to local art institutions, and sponsors community contests to fund the best ideas for the arts.
The time could not be more appropriate for these art grants, as a recent report from Leveraging Investments in Creativity, Helicon Collaborative, and Princeton Survey Research Associates International found that more than half of artists across the country reported a decrease in their art-related income in 2009 compared to 2008, exacerbated by the fact that two-thirds of artists only made $40,000 or less in 2008. 