About this Survey

Tacoma-based arts, culture, heritage and science organizations that provide public programming in Tacoma are invited to complete the Tacoma Creates Pre-Application Survey. This survey is intended to help the City of Tacoma’s Office of Arts & Cultural Vitality understand the field of organizations who may be eligible to apply for Tacoma Creates funding.  It will also help in planning appropriate Tacoma Creates funding programs and capacity building opportunities.

Only one person per organization should complete the survey.

Fill out the Survey

Visit https://tacomaarts.submittable.com/submit

Survey Deadline-May 20, 2019

Organizations are strongly encouraged to complete the survey by Monday, May 20, 2019 in order to help build the most informed funding programs possible. Surveys will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis after this date. All organizations that intend to apply for Tacoma Creates funding will be required to complete this survey first. 

About Tacoma Creates

Tacoma Creates is a voter-approved initiative to increase access to arts, culture, heritage, and science experiences throughout Tacoma by reducing barriers to access and expanding offerings, particularly for underserved youth. Tacoma Creates was established to expand equity and access to Tacoma’s arts, culture, science and heritage programs. Examples of public benefits include:

• Increased opportunities for children and youth through before and after school, and summer programs

• Financial and technical support for community programs, events, and activities

• Free and reduced-price tickets, admission, and memberships to arts, culture, heritage, and science experiences, with a focus on lower income families and public school students

Under state law, eligibility for Tacoma Creates funding extends to any 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural organization in Tacoma, whose primary purpose is the advancement and preservation of science or technology, the visual or performing arts, zoology, botany, anthropology, heritage, or natural history. These organizations must also have at least a two-year track record of directly providing programming or experiences available to the general public. Programs and projects can be fiscally sponsored by eligible organizations. 

Excluded from eligibility is any agency of the state or any of its political subdivisions; any municipal corporation; any organization that raises funds for redistribution to multiple cultural organizations; and any radio or television broadcasting network or station, cable communications system, internet-based communications venture or service, newspaper, or magazine. 

Questions?

Email contact@tacomacreates.com.

Application Deadline

July 1, 2019, 11:59 PM

Tacoma Studio Tour Dates:

October 12 & 13, 2019, 11 AM - 5 PM

Opportunity

The Tacoma Arts Commission is seeking professional artists who are willing to open their studios to the public for the Tacoma Studio Tour, one of the features of Tacoma Arts Month this October. The emphasis of this tour is to raise visibility of the arts and provide artistic opportunities for the community to connect to the arts. We encourage artists to have work for sale.

Studios will be open on Saturday, October 12 and Sunday, October 13 from 11 AM to 5 PM. Artists can choose to be open on Saturday, Sunday, or both days. The Tacoma Arts Commission will produce extensive electronic publicity materials including email newsletters, social media posts, and an interactive website and map. We will also produce a printed brochure for the Tacoma Studio Tour. The studio tours are free to both the artists and visitors. Artists are encouraged to use the Tacoma Arts Month publicity materials to invite personal guests and patrons to attend this event.

This year, we will be continuing the Studio Tour Passport program as an incentive for people to visit new and/or multiple studios. Each studio space will receive a unique stamp to indicate guests’ attendance. Studio Tour artists are encouraged, but not required, to donate a small art item that can be included in the prize packages. 

Applicants will be juried in a competitive process by a sub-committee of the Tacoma Arts Commission and selected based on the quality of artwork and the overall diversity of the work presented, as well as geographic diversity of the studios. 

People who are members of historically disenfranchised racial, ethnic, cultural, and other identity groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

Eligibility

• Applicant must live within the City of Tacoma limits and/or their working studio must be located within the City of Tacoma limits
• Applicant must provide a demonstration of their art form and/or provide a hands-on activity for attendees
• Applicant must actively promote the Studio Tour to their own contacts

The above guidelines still apply to artists who would like to be a guest at another studio. A studio is defined as a location where artwork is created on a consistent basis.

To Apply

Please submit the following at https://tacomaarts.submittable.com/submit:

• Fill out the online application form 
• Attach Work Samples - Submit five high quality JPEG files of your past work or five video/URL samples of your work, if you work in performance or media. If selected for the tour, we will use the images in materials produced for Tacoma Arts Month. Images must be at least 300 ppi resolution. Images smaller than 600 pixels per side are not recommended
• Attach Artist Resume or Bio (if you have not participated in the Studio Tour in the past two years)

Please note: each artist in a group studio needs to submit their own application, work samples, and artist bio.

Questions?

For assistance, please contact Naomi Strom-Avila at (253) 591-5191 or nstrom-avila@cityoftacoma.org.