I Got a Grant!
it was a little bit of a fluke.
I talked myself out of applying for this grant several times and I’m so glad that I finally decided to just go for it. As the greats Wayne Gretzky and Michael Scott said: ”You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Here’s a little bit about the application process and the project itself! I’ll be sure to post more about the project once I officially get started on it, so consider this a quick introduction.
So here’s what happened:
Last year, in the midst of planning our wedding reception, I saw an email come through from the Culver City Arts Foundation about a new round of Creative Grants that they were accepting applications for. I’ve gotten a grant from CCAF in the past and was obviously excited about the prospect of applying for another but I was swamped with trying to juggle wedding planning, commissions, workshops, and just life in general. So I didn’t apply, thinking that I’ll come around to it next time.
Here was the most daunting part: this grant would be project-specific. My last CCAF grant (my first grant ever!) was a resiliency award, gifted to artists during the height of the pandemic to help us pay bills. It was so helpful during a time that was so hard for all of us. That was 2021 and this round of applications, in 2023, required a thorough plan, a budget spreadsheet, a short essay, the whole shebang. And I thought I just didn’t have the time.
A few things happened that changed my mind:
The deadline got extended and
My friend and fellow studio-mate, Kirsten Israel, encouraged me to apply with her.
So with just a few days left on the application process, I paused everything else and I went for it.
If you could do anything, what would you do?
Once I decided to go for it, I had a big brainstorm. If I could receive up to $5,000 for a project, what would I want to do. The project requirements were:
That it was a non-performing art (already a given for me), and
That it will impact / engage with the Culver City community.
My first idea was to create and lead an outdoor workshop for community members. I still like this idea as a one-day project but hit a few snags with it, namely that I’d truthfully be spending more time buying bulk art supplies, sending emails, and applying for event permits than I would actually spend making art. I realized that teaching workshops was my comfort zone but this was my chance to push out of that and do something that challenged me. This was my opportunity to create original art that I’ve been wanting to make but hadn’t had the time or funding to. I had been thinking too small. Then I came up with my idea.
In thinking about my favorite parts of Culver City, one of them has to be the food. As much as we like to cook, we also love having access to a whole host of restaurants. I know how lucky we are to even be able to eat out and with food insecurity being such an issue in our city (and country, tbh), I thought that there should be a way we can celebrate coming together, around food, in a way that benefits all CC residents.
Meet the Project:
Sharing a Meal – A visual love letter to independent Culver City restaurants
With Sharing a Meal, I’ll be creating a series of original artworks (probably watercolor/colored pencil hybrids), each featuring a dish from a local, independent, downtown Culver City restaurant. These artworks will then be used to “share a meal” in three (figurative and literal) ways:
Postcards - Each piece will be scanned and printed onto postcards that will be given to each participating restaurant (free advertising for them!) and compiled and sold as a set. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these postcard sets will go to the LA Regional Food Bank.
Social Media - There’s a few different accounts that celebrate the food and culture of Culver City. I hope that in posting on my accounts and in reaching out to them, we can drum up some business for both the restaurants and the postcard sets.
A Show? - This one is a big maybe! After all the pieces and postcards are made, I’ll have to see if what leftover funds I still have but I’d love to have a show with the original artworks. Again, with a portion of the proceeds of original art sales going to the LA Regional Food Bank.
We’ll be “sharing a meal” via social media, via snail mail, via food bank donation, and over the dinner table. I can’t wait!
One question I get a lot is how I’m going to pick the restaurants. It’s a great question, one I’ve thought about a lot since there are a ton of eateries in Downtown Culver and, with the restaurant business being as hard as it is, the list is always changing. To answer the question: I plan on reaching out to restaurants that are:
independent (no chains),
only or originally in Downtown Culver (no local chains unless they started here),
diverse in food genres, and
diverse in ownership (so everyone can be celebrated!)
A friend recommended a while ago that I make a Google Alert for my name and let me tell you, there are a lot of Annie Brown journalists! Last year, for the very first time in years of following, I actually came up!
Kirsten and I: friends, studio-mates, and now fellow grant recipients!
Sharing a Meal with You Soon!
My word to picture ratio is pretty off with this blog post (sorry!) so I’ll wrap this up.
Late last year, in the midst of the holiday commission rush, I got notified that I received the grant and so did my friend, Kirsten (who has her own awesome project and is pictured here!) I was so excited when I read the email that I shrieked and freaked out both my dog and husband (oops)! Now, check in hand, I’m starting the process of drafting my outreach emails, narrowing down the restaurant list, and starting to plan. Commissions will be slowed down a bit to make room for Sharing a Meal and I can’t wait to start eating and photographing and painting food! It’s going to be a blast.
You made it to the end of this blog post - thank you! Have any questions or favorite Downtown Culver City restaurants? I want to hear about it all in the comments below. It’s fun for you, fun for me, and it lets me know I’m not talking into the void, hehe.
Talk soon!
