Arts Initiatives Fund

This call for proposals is now closed.

Proposal timeline for the 2024-2025 academic year:

  • Information session on Monday, February 12, 12 noon, via Zoom
  • Proposals are due on or before Monday, March 4, 2024
  • Awards announced in April 2024

Fund information:

Rice University’s Arts Initiatives Fund (AIF) supports experimentation and collaboration in creativity and the arts across the entire campus. AIF is an internal funding mechanism that awards competitive grants of between $1,000- $20,000 to Rice faculty. These grants are intended to help faculty members develop and implement new projects and courses focused on creativity and the arts that lead to more lasting partnerships, innovative student art-making or teaching environments, cross-disciplinary collaborations, or unusually creative works.

Particular priority will be given to proposals that are interdisciplinary, have the potential to impact a broad range of students and/or audiences, and utilize the Moody Center for the Arts or other creative resources on campus. Rice students must be involved in a successful proposal. Creative endeavors by individual faculty are not eligible.

The Arts Initiative Fund is not an individual artist grant. It seeks to enhance creativity on campus through classes and projects that raise the level of discourse around creativity, innovation, and the arts.

Eligibility:

Full-time and research faculty members at Rice are eligible to apply. Outside partnerships and visiting participants are encouraged, but a Rice faculty member must be the primary applicant. Proposals may be submitted individually or by a group of faculty members. Please inform your department chair that you have applied.

Review process:

A committee of referees assembled by Alison Weaver, Executive Director of the Moody Center for the Arts, will review all proposals. This committee will comprise faculty from across the university, and they may not be AIF applicants. As needed, the committee will seek the input of the two outside references that applicants will list in their application materials. Funds awarded will be for 2024-2025 academic year. Funds may carry over for a second academic year in extenuating circumstances, but will require prior approval. Applicants are encouraged to seek funding from other available sources.

Selection criteria:

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  1. The contribution the project or course makes to developing arts experimentation, collaboration, and innovation across the Rice University campus and/or within Houston;
  2. The interdisciplinary nature of the project;
  3. The quality, significance, and potential impact of the project;
  4. The degree to which the project enriches opportunities for students and faculty to integrate arts-making and experimentation into university life.

How to apply:

Proposals are to be submitted as one document in one file. Please submit proposals to aif@rice.edu by March 4, 2024. Proposals must include the following documents in PDF format:

  1. A project description of no more than four pages (in 12-point type), including figures;
  2. An income and expense budget indicating how the requested funds will be expended and listing other financial or in-kind resources sought or acquired;
  3. A curriculum vitae for each applicant of no more than three pages per CV;
  4. A supplementary page listing the names of two references and any current or pending financial awards or grants for each applicant.

You will receive acknowledgement of your application. For questions about this fund, please email aif@rice.edu or contact Alison Weaver at aweaver@rice.edu.