Tumblr recently reached a very important achievement by catering to over 100 million blogs, many of which belong to Internet artists hoping to garner an appreciative audience for their work. In line with this, Tumblr has partnered with Rhizome – a thriving non-profit art organization located within the New Museum in New York – to come up with a way to pay tribute to the growing art community and encourage more users to show their skills by providing art grants.
Rhizome regularly accepts proposals for its own commission cycles, but this will be the first time that it will be honing in on potential grantees from the Tumblr art community. The Rhizome | Tumblr Internet Art Grant will be offering commissioning awards to three lucky artists displaying real talent and great understanding for social media, the Web, and the overall online culture.
Aspiring applicants may submit proposals until May 3 in order to receive a grant worth between $1,000 and $5,000. The New York Observer reports that the winners will have a chance to showcase their art in the NewMuseum next year. Winners will be chosen by experimental performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson, NewMuseum’s Associate Director and Director of Exhibitions Massimiliano Gioni, Rhizome’s Program Director Zoë Salditch, artist Jon Rafman, and Tumblr Editorial Director Christopher “topherchris” Price.
Criteria for judging are as follows:
- Is the project feasible?
- Does the project showcase aesthetic innovation, conceptual sophistication, and impact?
- Does the proposal reflect the Tumblr artistic community?
In addition, those who apply for the Rhizome | Tumblr Internet Art Grant should be emerging artists in need of a boost to get to the next step in their career. Applicants have a choice between hosting their proposal on their personal websites and using one of Rhizome’s templates.
Interested? Check out the Rhizome Commission Application form for more information.
