William H. Johnson Prize Application

INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS FOR
THE 2011 WILLIAM H. JOHNSON PRIZE

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION:
MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011, 3 P.M.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The William H. Johnson Foundation for the Arts is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that seeks to encourage African American artists early in their careers by offering financial grants. The William H. Johnson Foundation awards grants to individuals who work in the following media: painting, photography, sculpture, printmaking, installation and/or new genre.

The William H. Johnson Prize is awarded annually to an early career African American artist. For our purposes, "early career" is a flexible term that should be interpreted liberally to include artists who have finished their academic work within twelve years from the year that the prize is awarded. For example, a person who finished their studies in 1999 is eligible to apply in 2011, but not in 2012. Age is not determinative, and artists who have not earned BFAs or MFAs are still eligible so long as they have not been working as an artist for more than twelve years.

The 2011 William H. Johnson Prize is $25,000 and the winner will be announced in November 2011.

INSTRUCTIONS:

All applications must be completed and submitted online. A confirmation email will be sent to the applicant upon receipt of a completed online application.

Online applications must be started and completed in the same session. No changes can be made once the online application has been submitted.

Print out this Application Worksheet to prepare your information and materials prior to starting the online application process.

Click here for the foundation's responses to Frequently Asked Questions.

Complete the Information Below.
All information will be held in strict confidence by the Foundation.

LEGAL NAME

(Mr./Mrs./Ms.)

Mr. Mrs. Ms.

Last - required

First - required

Middle

If another name is used professionally, please specify :

GENERAL INFORMATION

Street - required

City - required

State - required

Zip - required

PHONE - required

FAX

CELL

EMAIL - required

CONFIRM EMAIL - required

DATE OF BIRTH (Month, Day, Year) - required

[MM/DD/YYYY]

COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY

Name of Institution

Period of Study (Month & Year)

Degree (Month & Year)

GRADUATE STUDY

Name of Institution

Period of Study (Month & Year)

Degree (Month & Year)

HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE FOUNDATION?

HAVE YOU PREVIOUSLY APPLIED FOR THE WILLIAM H. JOHNSON PRIZE? - required No Yes

1. Artist's Statement: Describe your artistic goals and the nature of your work, and how a financial grant would impact your pursuit of these goals. Outline any challenges, opportunities and/or successes encountered, and how these situations have affected you. In so doing, you may relate your situation to the events in William H. Johnson's biography, summarized in italics below. (500 words maximum).

William H. Johnson left his native South Carolina in 1918 to study at the National Academy of Design in New York. Although he was acknowledged as the most talented artist in his class of 1926, he was passed over for a traveling scholarship, most likely because of his race. Rather than see Johnson flounder in the United States, his teacher, Charles Hawthorne, gave Johnson $1000 so that Johnson could travel to Europe. This act of faith and generosity was pivotal in Johnson's life, for it provided the seed from which his career flourished.

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OR

2. Curriculum Vitae: Include a detailed CV, being sure to include career highlights.

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3. Images: Upload twelve (12) images numbered 1 through 12 that best illustrate your work. Do not submit images of artwork that is more than five years old. Each image must be in JPEG format; do not submit images as TIFFs, PDFs, Word or PowerPoint files, or any other non-JPEG formats. Image files must not exceed 500 KB each, and should have a maximum image size of 600 x 800 pixels each. Be sure that each JPEG file is numbered sequentially (1 to 12) to correspond to your Image Annotation.

1.
2.
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4.
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10.
11.
12.

NEW GENRE: New Genre artists may submit a DVD by mailing it to the foundation's address to arrive on or before the application deadline. DVD is the only submission format accepted for New Genre. The DVD must contain one (1) preliminary reel no longer than 3 minutes (3'00"), and may contain up to ten minutes (10'00") of additional material. DVDs must not contain an artist's name or any other identifying information.
Artists working in New Genre must check this box to confirm mailing in a DVD and to confirm DVD annotation is provided in the 'Image Annotation' section of this online application.

4. Image Annotation: Applicants are to provide information about each submitted image including title, date, dimensions, media, and any additional information you feel is necessary to understand the work. New Genre artists are to use this section to provide DVD annotation.

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OR

5. Letters of Recommendation: Each applicant must obtain two (2) letters of recommendation. Letters should be written by individuals familiar with your artwork and your career; however, letters from commercial gallery owners, directors, or staff will not be accepted. Each letter of recommendation must include the contact information for the individual providing the recommendation. Letters of recommendation from previous application years will not be considered. Failure to submit letters of recommendation will not disqualify an applicant but it will be taken into account during the jury review process.

Letters of Recommendation must be sent via email only, directly from the individual to the foundation. Emailed letters must be emailed by the application deadline with "Letter of Recommendation for [Artist's Name]" in the subject line, and sent to the foundation's email address: info@whjohnsongrant.org.

2011 Letter of Recommendation (A) to be sent via email from:
2011 Letter of Recommendation (B) to be sent via email from:

Submit only the items requested in the online application; do not send any additional materials, as they will not be reviewed. Applications that lack elements from items numbered 1 through 4 will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered.

ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 3 P.M. ON MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011.