Knight Arts Challenge grants are back. Up for grabs: $2 million for ‘your best idea’

Since 2008, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has invested $34 million in its Knight Arts Challenge, enabling artists and organizations large and solo to reshape the city’s cultural landscape.

The challenge is back, this year with $2 million in grants in one of its largest ever open-call for ideas.

Since its inception, the challenge has asked, ““What is your best idea for the arts in Miami?” Initial proposals should be no more than 150 words and are due July 31.

The initiative by the Miami-based foundation seeks projects that connect people to their communities.

The current iteration comes as the U.S. emerges from the pandemic. The foundation is calling on artists to draw from the creative ways they stayed afloat during the pandemic.

“Knight recognizes that artists and arts organizations adapted their practices during COVID-19,” Victoria Rogers, the VP of Knight Arts Foundation, said in an email statement. “Building on the innovation and creativity shown by them during the pandemic, we are interested in how they are creating new works that attract audiences, enhance in-person experiences, document creation or amplify reach to people who wouldn’t otherwise experience the art.”

The application is open from July 1 through July 31 and must take place in or benefit the people of Miami. The challenge also will offer grants this year in Akron, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan.

The Knight Foundation will hold two virtual info sessions for potential applicants, one on Thursday, July 1, at 1 p.m. and a second on July 26 at 6:30 p.m.

The Knight Arts Challenge is a “no-rules” contest that has been awarded to a wide range of artists and projects. It alternates every year with Knight New Work, an initiative that funds original works of art. In December, the Knight New Work initiative awarded grants totaling more than $2 million to 18 local artists and organizations to create new concepts in theater, music or dance during the pandemic.

The winners of the 2019 Knight Arts Challenge in Miami included a photo book about abandoned cars in the Everglades, a bilingual play about Miami’s immigrant hospitality workers and a virtual reality exhibit about the history of Liberty City.

Miami’s estimated 44,000 artists were hit hard during the pandemic. Miami-Dade County estimates that the arts and culture community generate some $1.5 billion annually. The Knight Arts Challenge hopes to get artists back on their feet to kick-start Miami’s arts and culture scene.

“We believe that artists are playing a special role in showing communities the way forward as cities reopen,” Rogers said in the email statement.