Beginning January 5, 2026, our team will be available during regular operating hours, Monday through Friday, 9am–5pm, via phone or email. If you’d like to meet with a staff member in person or via video conferencing, reach out via email to schedule an appointment. You can also subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or BlueSky to stay up to date on upcoming open office hours at our new space and community locations.
| Grants for Artists help individual Oklahoma artists create visual art for public presentation, develop their professional practices, and lead community projects. Grants are open to artists working in visual-based mediums, curation, and art writing. The grants committee supports the mission of OVAC and scores submissions based on the merit of each application according to the pertinent grant category and its associated criteria. |
Our next Office Hours session with Administrative & Artist Relations Manager Ariana Weir-Temoshok is February 24–26.
The Timeline All four of our grant applications will be reviewed multiple times throughout the year on the following rolling schedule: Professional Basics and Education Assistance Grants: Applications must be received by 11:59PM on January 15th, March 15th, or October 15th and applications will be reviewed in the following weeks. Creative Projects and Community/Artist Partnership Grants: Applications must be received by 11:59PM on March 15th or October 15th and applications will be reviewed in the following weeks. *Artists can expect notification within four weeks of the grant deadline. Funded projects must occur after the grant application is accepted and within one year of receiving grant funds.
THE APPLICATIONS CREATIVE PROJECTS Next Deadline: Mar 15, 2026 Up to $1,500 Creative Projects Grant Application Example Creative Projects Scoring Matrix COMMUNITY/ARTIST PARTNERSHIP Next Deadline: Mar 15, 2026 Up to $1,500 Community/Artist Partnership Grant Application Example Community/Artist Partnership Scoring Matrix EDUCATION ASSISTANCE Next Deadline: Mar 15, 2026 Up to $500 Education Assistance Grant Application Example Education Assistance Scoring Matrix PROFESSIONAL BASICS Next Deadline: Mar 15, 2026 Professional Basics Application Example | Eligibility
GRANTS FOR ARTISTS FAQs
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How often can I apply for an OVAC Grant? You can apply as often as you would like. If you are awarded a grant, you must wait one year from that grant cycle to apply again. Recipients of Momentum Spotlight are not eligible to apply within one year of their reward disbursement of the stated programs. If you are awarded a Thrive Grant, you are eligible to apply, but your proposed project may not be the same as your Thrive proposal or a new iteration of said project. Can I apply for multiple grants in a cycle? No. Individuals can only have their name attached to one application per cycle. How long must I have been a resident of Oklahoma to be eligible to apply for an OVAC grant? To be eligible for an OVAC grant, you must have held at least 12 months residency in Oklahoma prior to the submission deadline. I’ve applied several times and not received a grant. Why? Our grants are extremely competitive, particularly our Creative Projects grants. Please do not become discouraged by the possibility of having to submit over multiple occasions. We will provide feedback on each request, whether funded or not. We encourage you to use this feedback to strengthen your submissions for the future. What sort of projects are not funded? There are some limits on the types of projects we can fund. Our mission limits our focus to the visual arts and does not include documentary films, strong narrative films/productions, music, dramatic productions, dance, and others. We can fund video art, performance art, sound art, and other non-traditional art forms that still fall under visual art. Projects that raise concerns around cultural appropriateness will not be considered. If you are unsure of whether or not your project qualifies, please reach out to our Administrative and Artist Relations Manager at ariana@ovac-ok.org. Can curators and arts writers apply for OVAC Grants? Yes. Artists/writers/curators may only have their name(s) attached to one application per cycle. Artists/writers/curators who choose to submit as groups, upon award of grant, will be held to the same rules of eligibility as an artist/writer/curator who applies individually. Can I apply as part of a group? Yes. Artists may only have their name(s) attached to one application per cycle. Artists who choose to submit as groups, upon award of grant, will be held to the same rules of eligibility as an artist who applies individually. Once I’m funded, when can I apply again? Once you are funded, you have to wait one year from the grant cycle for which you were awarded. E.g. If you were awarded in October 2023, you cannot apply again until October 2024. Do I have to be an OVAC member to receive a grant? No, you do not have to be an OVAC member to apply for or receive a grant. How are grant applications scored? Each grant category has a different system of scoring. Education and Travel Assistance grants are evaluated and awarded based on four categories: the quality of the educational opportunity, potential impact on the applicant's practice/career, the applicant’s abillity to complete the project, and on the relevance of the project based on provided work samples. Professional Basics grants are evaluated and awarded based on three categories: the quality of the project, the applicant’s ability to complete the project, and on the relevance of the project based on provided work samples. Creative Projects grants are evaluated and awarded based on four categories: the concept of the project, the quality of the work, how career altering the opportunity is, and the ability of the applicant to complete the project. "Extra Credit" will be given to projects that: serve under-represented regions of Oklahoma and/or include artist(s) Native Peoples/People of Color. Community/Artist Partnership grants are evaluated and awarded based on four categories: the potential impact on the community from this project, the concept of the project, the quality of the work, and the applicant’s ability to complete the project. "Extra Credit" will be given to projects that: serve under-represented regions of Oklahoma, include artist(s) Native Peoples/People of Color, and/or utilizes collaboration. Who reviews the grants? OVAC staff organizes a panel of community members to review grants. These individuals are involved in the arts in a variety of ways, and are chosen for their informed opinions, diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and experience. OVAC staff does not decide who receives grants. Questions? |
Grants for Artists Events
| Grants for Artists Application Dates
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January Grantees
Elena Masrour
Professional Basics Grantee
Matting, Framing, Display Pedestals
Stillwater, OK
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Elena Masrour is an Iranian interdisciplinary artist working across printmaking, drawing, and painting. She holds an MFA in Painting from Kansas State University and a BFA in Fabric and Textile Design from the Tehran University of Art. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Massillon Museum, Waterloo Art Gallery, PAR-Projects, and the Lawrence Art Center. Masrour has received the Jean Simmons/Bernice Bump Hurley Memorial Excellence Award, the Byrnell W. Figler Award, and third place in Dialogue Reconstructed, and was shortlisted for the 2023 International Women United Art Prize in Painting and Drawing. | Erica Bonavida
Professional Basics Grantee
Artwork Transportation
Chandler, OK
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Erica Bonavida is an oil painter with over twenty years of experience, working in detailed and stylized realism. She was Oklahoma City’s first Artist in Residence and has exhibited at the Oklahoma State Capitol, as well as in galleries and festivals throughout the Midwest. Her work is known for bold color, strong lighting, and a focused composition, often centering on a single animal or landscape. A wife, mother of three, and owner of a small farmstand, she draws inspiration from native ecology, land stewardship, and the pursuit of an enduring legacy. | Kendall Ross
Education Assistance Grantee
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft Artist Residency
Oklahoma City, OK
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Kendall Ross is an Oklahoma City-based fiber artist best known for hand-knitting colorful, wearable art pieces and large-scale textiles. She earned a BA in History from Pepperdine University, where she researched women’s knitting movements in World War I. Her background as a historian inspires the content and purpose behind her art. She is inspired by the exercise of using a historically woman-dominated craft to push the boundaries of vulnerability, scale, and the limits of hand-knitting. |
Margaret Aycock
Professional Basics Grantee
Matting, Framing, Display Pedestals
Tulsa, OK
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Margaret Aycock is a representational painter with a painterly leaning in the style of the American Post Impressionists. It was her time living in nature that continues to influence her work, the thread of which connects her artistic endeavors, civic engagement, and her daily life. Subject matter for Margaret’s work Includes the Osage prairies, Tahlequah farmland, and her backyard garden. She has worked with the Arts And Humanities council for over 20 years, was Artist in Residence at Hillcrest Hospital for 15 years, and taught oil painting for adults for over 30 years. | Patti Morgan
Education Assistance Grantee
Oklahoma State University Summer Art Teacher Residency
Canton, OK
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Patti Morgan is an Oklahoma-based painter whose work reflects a decades-long relationship with the landscapes of western Oklahoma. Working primarily in oil on canvas, wood panels, and paper, she blends realism and expressionism to capture the region’s vast skies, quiet expanses, and subtle, enduring beauty. Morgan holds a BFA from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO), where she received both the Distinguished Graduate Award and the Outstanding Graduate Award. Her paintings are explorations of color, movement, and calm—each piece an attempt to translate the emotional resonance of the prairie into visual form. |
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Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition |
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