Rauschenberg Emergency Grants

Two national emergency grant programs that reflect Robert Rauschenberg’s concern for the well-being of fellow creative practitioners.

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation have partnered to offer two grant programs for artists in emergency situations: the Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants and Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants program.

Both programs have multiple funding cycles running through June 2023, and were created in the tradition of Change, Inc., a non-profit foundation established in 1970 by Robert Rauschenberg to assist professional artists of all disciplines in need.

THE PROGRAMS

Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants

Image: Detail of a black and white photograph by Robert Rauschenberg featuring five dancers from Merce Cunningham's company in various stages of movement wearing all black.

• Provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 to professional dancers in need who have a dire financial emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences.

• Provides up to three months of essential expenses.

• You must demonstrate an urgent and critical need for emergency support in order to apply.

Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants

Image: A man, Robert Rauschenberg, is sitting in a white gallery-like setting in front of his own artworks. His hands are clasped together as he smiles into the camera.

• Provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 for recent unexpected medical, dental, and mental health emergencies.

• Open to artists in financial need who are practicing in the visual arts, film/video/electronic/digital arts, and choreography.

• Period covered: Related, eligible expenses incurred for up to 12 months from the date of the emergency. 

FOR FULL DETAILS

Please visit the Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants and Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants pages for further eligibility guidelines, application requirements, and answers to FAQs. These two programs primarily serve different artistic fields and fund different types of expenses, so most artists will only be eligible to apply for one or the other. However, dance artists who are both actively dancing and choreographing may find they can apply to both. Here’s where the programs overlap:

NYFA also maintains a list of other artist emergency resources, which you can explore here.

Questions: Please email [email protected] or call 212-366-6900 ext. 239.

Top Image Detail: Robert Rauschenberg in front of “Phoenix” (Scale) and “Reserve” (Spread), both 1978; resting on “July Phosphorus” (Scale), 1978; Photo: Unattributed; Photograph Collection, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Archives, New York

Middle Image Details (L to R): Robert Rauschenberg, “Untitled [Cunningham dancers],” 1961, Copyright: Robert Rauschenberg Foundation; and Robert Rauschenberg in front of his Vydock series photographed in Rauschenberg’s Laika Lane studio, Captiva, FL, 1995, Photo Credit: Ed Chappell, Copyright: Robert Rauschenberg Foundation