Two $50,000 and three $8,000 grants to support artists advancing empathy, connection, and environmental awareness
Installation view of Bobby Anspach, place for continuous eye contact, Newport Museum, 2025. Photo: Pernille Loof
The Bobby Anspach Studios Foundation has announced its inaugural grant program, launching an open call for proposals from visual artists worldwide. The initiative celebrates the vision of artist and designer Bobby Anspach while looking forward, supporting artists whose practices expand empathy, nurture connection, and address the ecological and social challenges of our time.
Applications are open until 30 December 2025 (11:59 PM EST), with no application fee.
Grant Overview
The 2025 program will award five unrestricted artist grants, offering recipients trust and flexibility to advance their practice:
- Two Major Grants: USD 50,000 each
- Three Emerging Artist Grants: USD 8,000 each
All grants are unrestricted, allowing artists to determine how best to use the funds in support of their creative and professional growth. The Foundation encourages applicants working across diverse media, disciplines, and career development stages to apply.
Eligibility and Scope
The open call welcomes visual artists working in any medium or approach, including painting, sculpture, installation, digital and new media, performance, social and community-based practice, and interdisciplinary projects.
Artists at any stage of their career are eligible, including those working individually or collaboratively. International applicants are encouraged to apply. While projects may be based outside the United States, they should demonstrate the potential to be shared, exhibited, or experienced within the U.S.
A key requirement of the grant is that selected projects must include a public-facing or community-engaged component, ensuring that the work contributes meaningfully to public dialogue and participation.
Focus Areas
The Foundation is seeking proposals that engage one or more of the following thematic areas:
- Environmental Consciousness and Climate Awareness
- Projects addressing climate change, sustainability, and humanity’s evolving relationship with nature.
- Human Connection and Empathy
- Art that fosters compassion, dialogue, and shared experience.
- Transformative and Consciousness-Raising Practices
- Works that shift perspectives, deepen awareness, or inspire reflection and renewal.
These focus areas align with Bobby Anspach’s legacy of blending creative experimentation with emotional and ecological awareness, and they continue his mission to explore the interconnectedness of art, people, and place.
Timeline
- Applications Open: 30 September 2025
- Application Deadline: 30 December 2025
- Review Period: January – February 2026
- Grantees Announced: March 2026
- Grant Period Begins: April 2026
Selection Process
A distinguished interdisciplinary jury will oversee the review process, reflecting the Foundation’s belief in cross-sector collaboration and creative empathy.
Confirmed jurors include:
- Suchi Reddy, architect and founder of Reddymade Architecture & Design
- Eluvium, musician and composer
- Adam M. Levine, Director and CEO, Toledo Museum of Art
They will be joined by experts from contemporary art, psychology, and ecology, who will collectively evaluate proposals based on artistic vision, conceptual rigour, and social relevance.
Application Process
Applicants can submit proposals directly through the Bobby Anspach Studios Foundation application portal. There is no fee to apply.
Submissions should include a project proposal, a brief description of how the funds will be used, and supporting materials such as images, video links, or documentation of previous work. Both new and ongoing projects will be considered, provided they meet the requirements of public or community engagement.
For questions or technical support, applicants may contact info@bas-foundation.com.
Honouring Bobby Anspach’s Vision
The grant program embodies the creative ethos of Bobby Anspach, whose multidisciplinary practice bridged art, design, architecture, and social consciousness. His legacy continues through the Foundation’s mission to support projects that build empathy, foster understanding, and inspire positive change through artistic expression.
By investing in both established and emerging artists, the Foundation aims to cultivate a global network of practitioners committed to exploring art’s capacity to transform perception and nurture collective care.
Applications for the Bobby Anspach Studios Foundation Grant Program are open until 30 December 2025 (11:59 PM EST). For eligibility details and to apply, visit bas-foundation.com.
