Vital Signs: Creative Arts for Black Lives Mini-Grants Call for Proposals

To support student voice and action related to the Black Lives Matter movement, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, UMD Office of Diversity and Inclusion and UMD Office of Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy in partnership with Black Terps Matter announce the 2023-2024 round of Vital Signs: Creative Arts for Black Lives Mini-Grants.

Up to five (5) mini-grants of $500 USD each will be awarded to individual UMD student artists and UMD student organizations who are creating artistic and creative projects that affirm Black life and vitality, and respond to and/or interrogate white supremacy and anti-Blackness through the lens of their own identity. Mini-grant funds are intended to support costs associated with the development of these projects.

Both Black-identifying and non-Black-identifying creators may apply. For those applicants that are Black-identifying, we invite you to use this opportunity to creatively process any joy, pain, or vitality that you want to express. For those applicants that do not identify as Black, we ask that you approach your project and examine your topic from your own perspective with introspection and a critical eye.

  • We encourage students of all forms and levels of artistic experience to apply. Applicants do not need to be affiliated with a student organization.
  • Projects must be in development during the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters and must be creative and artistic in nature. Examples: visual art, music, plays, dance, poetry, podcasts, film, etc.
  • Projects can either be in the ideation phase, already in progress or already completed.
  • Grant recipients will be invited to show their completed projects or works-in-progress in a showcase in the beginning of the Fall 2024 semester. While these mini-grants are intended to enable significant project development to take place over the course of the 23-24 academic year, projects are not required to be completed by the end of the grant period.
  • Each grant recipient will be offered a pairing with an Artist Advisor based in D.C., Maryland or Virginia in their artform to provide feedback and guidance that may inform the development of the project. Grant recipients and their Artist Advisor will meet virtually at least three times over the course of the grant period. (Please refer to the “About Artist Advisors” section of this document for more information.)
  • Grant recipients are responsible for all logistics associated with the presentation of the project (purchase of any supplies or equipment, reserving space or venues, creating websites, marketing, etc.)
  • Projects will also be promoted by The Clarice, MICA and ODI.

We invite applicants to consider addressing the main topics in combination with any of the themes below:

  • Memorialization of Richard Collins III
  • Black migration, diaspora, undocumented Black communities
  • Intersectionality, Black queer/trans lives, Black feminism/misogynoir, Black disabled lives 
  • Multiraciality, transracial adoption
  • Media representation, visibility, Black Art Matters 
  • Body as political, skin tones, colorism, fat-justice, ableism
  • Love, intimacy, sexuality
  • Solidarity in activism, social movement
  • Religiosity and spirituality, Blackness/anti-Blackness in your religious/faith community
  • Anti-Blackness in your racial/ethnic community
  • Your relationship to white supremacy, unlearning Whiteness
Only for those that are Black-identifying, consider:  
  • Self-love, acceptance, identity
  • Process of healing, or lack thereof, Black pain
  • Black joy as resistance 
  • Raising Black children, mentorship, chosen family
  • Intergenerational trauma, intergenerational healing

The deadline to submit a project proposal for 2023-2024 mini-grant cycle is Sunday, November 5, 2023, at 11:59PM ET.

For questions about Vital Signs: Creative Arts for Black Lives mini-grants, please contact Tyler Clifford, Senior Artistic Planning Coordinator, at tylerc@umd.edu.


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Name *
Student Organization (Optional)
Pronouns *
UID *
Email Address *
Phone Number
Are you an undergraduate or graduate student? *
Major *
Anticipated Year of Graduation *
How did you hear about this opportunity? *
At what stage is your project? *
Please select one of the following mediums in which to submit your project proposal. *
Please email your project proposal file to tylerc@umd.edu
You may also submit a supplemental piece to support your project proposal. This can be either one of the other options listed above that you did not submit yet (i.e. written piece, short video, mood board) or an alternative medium of your choice. You may submit past samples of your work or examples of the current state of work as well.
Please share a brief description of the main topic of your project, additional themes you are interested in exploring, and the artistic medium you plan to use. (Artistic medium examples: film, visual art, dance, etc.) *
Please provide a breakdown of how the $500 mini-grant would be used to support your project. *
How would this grant make a significant difference in your ability to complete your project? *
Please describe the intended impact this project may have on the campus and community. *
Please describe the intended impact this project may have on your development as an artist. *
Please provide a draft timeline for your project creation process. *
All grantees will have the opportunity to be paired with an advisor if desired. If you anticipate working with an advisor, what specific support or guidance would you be looking for? *
Do you envision your project taking place online/in a virtual setting, in-person or a hybrid of both? *
If you envision your project taking place in-person or hybrid, what physical space do you envision using?
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