Stats on my art competition applications from July 2018 through June 2019.*
Goals
My goals this past ‘goal-year’ included applying to:
- Ten residency, studio programs or public projects to get support in NYC
- Six exhibitions in NYC
- Two grants ($3k minimum)
This adds up to 18 applications, which was too many. I’d set goals totaling 18 applications in prior years, and I need to be more strategic and deliberate moving forward.
Progress
I submitted 8 applications.
Some of these applications fulfilled multiple goals. For example, some residencies included exhibitions or stipends over $3k, so I counted those towards multiple goals.
Here’s how much progress I made towards my goals:
- I submitted 7 out of 10 applications towards residency, studio programs or public projects in NYC:
- 4 residencies
- 2 studio programs
- 0 public projects
- 1 purchase program (It was located outside of NYC, but funds could support my work in NYC, so I counted it towards this goal.)
- I submitted 3 out of 6 applications for exhibitions in NYC.
- I submitted 2 out of 2 applications for competitions that included over $3k of financial support, which I applied towards my grants goal.
There were two primary reasons for a low rate of applications. First, I was awarded a six-month residency, and I couldn’t apply to anything else that conflicted with those dates. Second, when application deadlines overlapped with the residency period, I chose to prioritize the residency. I just didn’t have the bandwidth to submit killer proposals. I chose quality over quantity.
Successes
I have received notifications for 6 of 8 applications submitted.
Of these six applications, I received 1 residency and 1 studio program. My success rate was 2/6, or 33%, of the 6 entries that have responded to date.
If the remaining two applications are unsuccessful, my success rate would be 2/8 or 25%.
R+D 