The Artist’s Pitch: A Two-Part Grant Writing Workshop

September 19th, 1:00-4:30 pm

October 3rd, 1:00 – 4:30 pm

Optional Group Writing and Feedback Session Thursday September 24th, 6 - 8pm

Free

Facilitated by: Patrick Mahon

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-artists-pitch-a-two-part-grant-writing-workshop-tickets-1999619450605?aff=oddtdtcreator

Whether you have applied for many artist’s grants, or for only a few – or perhaps not done so before – you may feel that you are sometimes ‘in the dark’ when it comes to what is important to include in a successful application. This workshop is aimed at demystifying this by offering practical advice on how to interpret what is being asked for, and will help you develop skills to produce an impactful application that will resonate in the minds of jurors. During the two related sessions, and by working on a short-written piece over the two weeks in between, you will have the opportunity to learn alongside a highly experienced artist/presenter and previous application juror, and to share ideas with other artists who may be at different career stages in relation to one another. The program will also include useful tips for your approach and assist you with your draft writing to help you make a future ‘pitch’ – with increased enthusiasm and clarity!

Target Grant Applications:

• LAC – CAIP – Community Arts Investment Program

  Grants to Individual Artists or Artist’s Collectives/Ad Hoc Groups

• OAC Visual Arts Project Grants

  Grants to Individual Artists or Artist’s Collectives/Ad Hoc Groups

Goals & Structure of the 2-Day Session

Goals:

• Gain greater familiarity and increased confidence with grant-writing practices

• Improve quality of writing for grant applications

• Clarify ways of successfully articulating your artwork and also speaking to application criteria

• Enhance impact of your application through developing writing that is memorable and stands out to jurists

• Learn from Workshop Presenter /Other Participants amidst a supportive group of artist peers

Structure:

Day 1 September 19th

• Introductions/Introduction to the Workshop

• Familiarize participants with applications and how to identify appropriate opportunities

• Review examples of vivid/successful approaches to Artist’s Statements (provided by Workshop Presenter)

• Quick Writing Practice Games

• Review Successful CV’s/Resumes (provided by Presenter)

• Sharing of past experiences by participants will be welcomed throughout the day

• To wrap up the day, a brief take-away assignment will be explained (Note: participants may consult with Presenter online between sessions)

Day 2 October 3rd

• Questions and review of previous session and assignment writing

• Sharing your assignment writing with a partner

• Informal presentations based on ‘paired sharing’

• Group work on writing up a Project Proposal and Budget Sketch

• Sharing of group work on Project Proposal and Budget Sketch

• Review section and goal-setting discussion

Participants May Bring the Following to Assist Them in the Workshop:

• A laptop (other writing materials will be available on-site)

• Evidence of past artworks (5 slides recommended)

• Resume/CV (could be in draft form)

• An Artist Statement (may be out of date but indicates areas of interest/experience)

• Notes describing a future project that represents what you hope to be funded for in future

All other materials will be provided.

Registration:

When registering, a very brief questionnaire will be sent to each incoming participant to help the Presenter fine-tune the workshop for the benefit of all.

Facilitated by Patrick Mahon, an artist and writer/curator who lives in London, Canada. He is a Distinguished University Professor at Western University, retired in 2024. Mahon’s projects have been supported by significant grant funding, and exhibited widely in Canada: at Museum London, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery, the Winnipeg Art Gallery and The Art Gallery of Hamilton; and internationally in China, France, Norway, and Switzerland. Patrick’s collaborative, funded initiative, GardenShip and State, generated an exhibition co-curated with Jeff Thomas involving twenty artists and scholars, which premiered at Museum London (October 2021 – January 2022) and was reprised at Thames Art Gallery (August – October 2024). Patrick’s other significant funded projects include Immersion Emergencies and Possible Worlds, which resulted in a ten-artist group exhibition, The Source: Rethinking Water through Contemporary Art, presented at Brock University, Canada, in 2014, with a second iteration, The Living River Project, at the Art Gallery of Windsor, in 2019. Patrick’s work is held in numerous private, corporate, and museum collections.