Teiger Foundation Grants for Curators 2027 - artinfo

Overview

Teiger Foundation offers grants for US-based, curator-led initiatives in contemporary visual art, supporting group exhibitions, single-artist surveys, community-engaged art projects, digital exhibitions, live and virtual performance in the context of visual arts, and emerging curatorial forms. The foundation does not prioritize particular themes or project types, and supports both the development of new projects and the extension of existing ones.

Grant Categories & Awards

• Hosting: up to $75,000 (offered quarterly) for presenting exhibitions or projects that originated elsewhere
• Single Project: up to $150,000 (offered every two years) for public-facing projects led by curators at organizations of any size
• Three Years of Programming: up to $150,000 in annual installments (offered every two years) for organizations with annual operating budget below $3.5 million (minimum $170,000)
• Curatorial Research and Development: up to $50,000 (offered every two years) supporting early, exploratory stages of a curatorial project
• Climate Action for Curators: up to $25,000 in additional funding plus sustainability coaching (available only to curators who have already received a Teiger Foundation grant)

Eligibility

• Projects must be affiliated with established 501(c)(3) art or cultural institutions in the US or US territories
• Individual artists, academic programs, endowments, capital campaigns, and projects not involving contemporary art are not funded
• Three Years of Programming: organizations must have annual operating budget below $3.5 million with minimum $170,000
• Hosting: only one grant may be awarded per calendar year per organization; hosted project must be pre-existing
• Applicants do not need to hold formal title 'Curator' if they perform a curatorial role
• Collaborative or partnership applications must designate one organization as lead applicant; international partners welcome if lead applicant is US-based

Key Dates

• Hosting category deadline: December 9, 2026; application portal opens September 14, 2026; notification March 2027; eligible project dates July 1, 2027 – June 30, 2028
• Future Hosting deadlines: March 10, 2027 (notification June 2027); June 9, 2027 (notification September 2027)
• Single Project, Three Years of Programming, and Research categories deadline: early 2027 (application portal opens fall 2026)

Application Requirements

All applications require: a curator's reflection with up to five supporting links (100-word captions), a project description with up to ten images (100-word captions), a project budget, the organization's operating budget for the immediate past and current fiscal years, and proof of 501(c)(3) status. For Hosting applicants, the reflection will be on a past project.

Grant Restrictions & Guidelines

• Single Project grants may cover no more than 50% of a project's budgeted expenses; up to 30% of any grant may be used for indirect/overhead costs
• Three Years of Programming grants may cover no more than 15% of the organization's annual operating budget
• Research and Development grants may allocate up to 60% of the award to cover a curator's administrative/personnel costs while on research leave
• Robust artist fees strongly recommended across all categories with reference to W.A.G.E. standards; Hosting grant artists should be paid at least 50% of the standard full fee
• Triennials, biennials, internationals, and other large-scale exhibitions of that kind are not funded

Application & Fee

• Online application portal
• No entry fee

Website

https://teigerfoundation.org/what-we-fund-how-to-apply