Bloomberg Philanthropies Now Accepting Applications for Public Art Challenge

Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced that they will be awarding grants of up to one million dollars over 2 years to at least three cities for temporary public art projects that will achieve the following outcomes for a city:

• Celebrate creativity
• Enhance urban identity
• Encourage public-private partnerships
• Drive economic development 

Eligible cities much have 30,000 or more residents and the application has to come from the Mayor or the Chief Executive of the host city in collaboration with artists or a local art organization. Initial applications are due on December 15, 2014. Once the finalists are selected, they will be notified in February 2015 and will be asked to submit a full, detailed proposal. You can access more information and the online application here.

The Public Art Challenge is part of Bloomberg’s commitment to supporting the arts, which also includes their involvement in ArtPlace, an initiative we posted about last month that supports art as a powerful economic force in community development. Recognizing the decline in funding for the arts by both the government and private funding sources, Bloomberg Philanthropies has taken on the arts as a cornerstone of their work and provides grants and support to cultural organizations hoping to improve their operations and access to sustainable funding sources.