Arts Midwest Now Accepting Applications for 2024 Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities

Arts Midwest is now accepting applications for the 2024 Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities, an award supporting accessibility in the arts and celebrating the work of disabled Midwestern visual artists.

• What: The Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities is a $3,000 award that recognizes disabled visual artists in our region, celebrates their efforts, and encourages their future work.
• Who: We invite mid-career 2D and 3D visual artists with disabilities to apply for this award.
• When: This award application will close at 11:59 pm CST on May 23, 2024, with awardees notified in July 2024.
• Where: Individuals must live in the Arts Midwest region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and the Native Nations that share this geography.

Arts Midwest acknowledges both identity first and person first framing of disability identity. When they use the phrase “disabled artists,” they intend to align with the Social Model of Disability understanding that people are disabled by environmental and societal barriers. 

The Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities supports and celebrates accessibility in the arts. It recognizes that the funding community in the Midwest has not historically invested in disabled artists and that increasing support for this group is an important part of increasing accessibility in the arts. It also advocates for the arts being viable employment, which is often overlooked by funding agencies supporting people with disabilities.

Established in 2022, this award is supported by the James Edward Scherbarth and Paul Francis Mosley Giving Fund. The award was created in honor of the late James Edward Scherbarth, an award-winning visual artist, visual arts teacher, and advocate of arts access who lived and worked in Minnesota. Jim believed that creativity lives in everyone, and he dedicated his career to helping people express themselves through the visual arts.

Learn more on the Arts Midwest website.