Art Grants

Art is a central part of Firefly, and the event wouldn’t be the same without the wonderful pieces that have been brought to Vermont over the years. Bringing art is a great way to add a piece of yourself to the event and contribute/participate in a meaningful way. Art grants are intended to support and promote radically-expressive, community-based, interactive and/or collaborative projects that help define and shape the creative core of the event.

Grants overview

This year, there are nine types of grants.  Please click on the links for more details about each grant.

• Creativity Grants: basic grants awarded in $150, $300, $599, $1000, $1500, and $2000 tiers, for projects coming to Firefly Arts Festival.

• Temple Grant: a singular grant to build the Temple at Firefly Arts Festival. Historically, this grant has had a $2000 limit, but we’re looking for more submissions and are open to ideas large and small. If you’re interested, please email us! grants@fireflyartscollective.org

• Legacy Grants: $100, $300, $500, or $1000 grants to assist returning projects to Firefly.

• Burner Exchange Grants: Mid-range grants (up to $1,000) to help transport art from other burns to Firefly.

• Smol Grants: These grants are awarded on a rolling basis after the awards for other grants, in amounts between $40 and $149, for artists working on small-scale projects.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for cool stuff, inspiring stuff, stuff that’s fun to look at, play with, experience, or think about. This doesn’t need to be a “traditional” art form like sculpture or painting (although it could be!), nor does it need to be the kind of Big Impressive Art that you might remember from Burning Man (although it could be!). It could be an immersive space, a roving performance experience, or a big silly game.

You can think about it like this: what would you be excited to discover in the woods? These grants are here to support expression, community, and playfulness, so anything that fits under that umbrella can be considered. Don’t feel hemmed in!

We are especially interested in proposals from people who aren’t sure they are artists, are *very* sure they aren’t artists, are worried they aren’t good enough, or have never tried to do anything artistic before. Sharing your weird niche hobby with the rest of Firefly is still an act of Art, and we want to see it!

Funding

Although we will support as many projects as possible, please keep in mind that the Firefly Art Grant budget is limited. This money comes from the community via ticket sale proceeds and private donations. All submitted requests, large and small, will be carefully considered and partial grants are likely to be disbursed.

What we don’t give grants for

Please do not include transportation costs (to and from Firefly) as part of your budget. As long as you can get to a few common “Art Hubs” in the Camberville/Boston area, FAC will be arranging for free transportation for your art. Your budget can include anything you need to make the project happen (e.g.: art-specific, materials, fuel, etc.).

Time and effort is how we all participate and contribute to the Firefly Community, so please don’t include labor costs or wages in your budget.  We do not fund general-purpose durable goods like DJ / VJ gear or a generator, and we won’t fund your tickets, your food or camping gear, or pay for your labor.

Grant comparison chart

This is intended to be a quick reference guide. Please see the full information for each grant for all the details!