The Black Immersive Creators Grant is an annual cash award of $10,000 for US-based Black artists who are interested in creating immersive artwork.

Timeline

The next round of applications for the Black Immersive Creators Grant will open in Mid-February 2025. We have taken this year to become a fully independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and to solidify a consistent schedule for both our team and applicants. Moving forward, we intend for this grant to occur annually and adhere to the established timeline. Thank you all for your patience and we look forward to the privilege of reviewing your work next year. 

Eligibility

The creator(s) of the project must self-identify as Black and be based in the United States. 

  • This grant is open to artists who create primarily immersive experiences, as well as those who are new to the immersive industry who are interested in pushing the boundaries of their existing practice.

  • We invite early career and established creators to pursue this grant.

  • The applicant must be the director, lead producer of the project, or be in a similar leadership capacity.

  • The applicant must be at least 18 years old.

The proposed project must be immersive.

  • This award is for the production of a new original immersive project, or a new sequel or enhancement to an existing project. Completed projects and/or previously-released projects are not eligible. 

  • The project must be able to be experienced by an individual in the United States. The project may be in-person, remote, virtual, and/or site-specific.

  • The project must be presented to an audience within 12 months of receiving the award. (We recognize that a presentation could come in many forms—from a fully realized production, to a play test for early audience members, to the first installment of an ongoing campaign. If you have any questions about this requirement and whether your project can satisfy it, please reach out to the BICG Support Team at bicgrantinfo@gmail.com.)

Other Benefits

The board’s goal is to support the project in a comprehensive manner.
In addition to a cash prize of $10,000, the winning project receives the following benefits: 

  • Creative mentorship from select members of the board, based on the project’s format and specific experiential needs.

  • Additional resources such as in-kind services may be applicable depending on the nature of the winning project.

Selection Criteria

  • The grant awardee will be chosen by a selection panel made up of the grant’s board of directors and other arts professionals. 

    • During our selection process, we use the Aesthetics Perspectives framework developed by Animating Democracy (a program of Americans for the Arts). It includes 11 attributes: Commitment, Communal Meaning, Disruption, Cultural Integrity, Emotional Experience, Sensory Experience, Risk-taking, Openness, Resourcefulness, Coherence, and Stickiness.

  • We are also looking for applications that demonstrate clarity and feasibility.

    • We need to clearly understand what the artist wants to create, how it is immersive, and how an audience will experience it.

    • We also need to have confidence in the artist’s ability to execute their proposed idea. We will be looking closely at the budget, timeline, and projected challenges to see if the artist has thought through the needs of the project and the steps of the process.

Rules & Conditions

  • Within 6 months of the award date, the grantee must summarize their progress in a live conversation/interview with the board or in a written report.

  • The completed project must include "Funded in part by the Black Immersive Creators Grant" in the credits.

  • Winners of this grant will be ineligible to receive this grant again within two calendar years.