Inside Art with Michael Rose - The Interlace Grant Fund Buoys Local Artists

Inside Art with Michael Rose - The Interlace Grant Fund Buoys Local Artists

Artists do not live by praise alone. Although things like positive social media engagement and other exposure can serve as important elements of an artists’ career, they do not pay the bills. Money does. Individual patronage of artists is one way of supporting them, and grantmaking is another. Over the course of the pandemic, the Interlace Grant Fund has done the important work of putting money directly into the hands of local artists to buoy them during this turbulent period. Interlace, which is jointly administered by two Providence art organizations, is a fine example of what collaboration can do for artists and for the broader community.

The Interlace Grant Fund is the product of a partnership underwritten by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and administered by long-standing local institutions, Dirt Palace Public Projects and Providence College Galleries. The result of an expansion of the Warhol Foundation’s regional regranting program, Interlace was founded in 2020 and has poured thousands of dollars into the local arts community in a way that aims to be accessible and equitable. The first year of the program saw Interlace distribute 114 emergency grants in the amount of $575 each, totaling over $65,000 in assistance to area artists.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

 

 

Dirt Palace Public Projects is categorized as the not-for-profit umbrella for a number of programs including Dirt Palace, the well-known feminist artist-run space which has been a fixture in the heart of Olneyville for more than two decades. The group’s most recent achievement is the dazzling restoration of the landmark Wedding Cake House on Broadway into a space for artist residencies. Xander Marro and Pippi Zornoza, Dirt Palace Public Projects Co-Directors, are Co-Founders and Administrators of Interlace.

Providence College has enjoyed regular on-campus gallery programming for many years. Since the arrival of Jamilee Lacy as Director and Chief Curator in 2014 the PC Galleries (PCG) have blossomed into spaces that celebrate contemporary art. In a relatively short time, Lacy has altered the reputation of the galleries at PC, remaking the institution’s exhibition spaces into exciting and outward-looking venues to see art being made now. Lacy, and PCG’s Curator-at-Large Kate McNamara, also serve as Co-Founders and Administrators of Interlace alongside their peers from Dirt Palace Public Projects.

Of Interlace, Lacy says, “When Warhol Foundation approached PCG about joining forces with Dirt Palace to create a regranting program for Providence visual artists, we were immediately in. Pippi and Xander, and their many collaborators, have strived and succeeded for many years to give local artists and diverse communities resources and flexible platforms. We at PCG strive to do that too, in different ways perhaps, so we’re enjoying working with and learning from Dirt Palace as we administer Interlace.”

 

 

 

The partnership between Dirt Palace Public Projects and PC Galleries seems in hindsight like a no-brainer. Bringing together talented leaders in the field who know the local landscape well has enabled Interlace to positively impact the community of artists who call Providence and its environs home.

In the second year of the fund’s existence, the team has expanded their offerings, adding Interlace Project Grants. These awards will fund collaborative art projects that blur boundaries and bring art to Providence-area audiences. The deadline to apply for Interlace Project Grants is fast approaching, with materials due by October 3. Full information on these grants can be found at the organization’s website, www.interlace.org.

The group’s emergency needs-based grantmaking will also continue in their second fiscal year, with applications taken on a rolling basis and due on the 7th of each month beginning in September. Emergency grants in the program range from $100 to $500 and are intended to mitigate the harmful effects of emergency situations. Through a discrete application process, artists can be considered for funding and should they receive it their identities will not be publicly disclosed. Interlace’s modest emergency grants also do not require the post-award grant reporting common to some awards.

 

 

Speaking of how Interlace dovetails with her galleries’ institutional context at PC, Jamilee Lacy says, “We also love having the opportunity to leverage the College’s many resources, as well as the generosity of our students, faculty, and greater campus community, towards ensuring Providence artists have robust resources. After all, their work and their creative spirit make this city a wonderful place to live and engage.”

The work of Lacy, McNamara, and their Dirt Palace collaborators, Xander Marro and Pippi Zornoza, deserves praise. In a time of uncertainty, Interlace is a notable bright spot giving resources to artists who have given so much to Providence and the region.

To learn more about the Interlace Grand Fund, visit www.interlacefund.org.

 

To learn more about Dirt Palace, visit www.dirtpalace.org.

 

To learn more about PC Galleries, www.pcgalleries.providence.edu.