In January 2018, the Getty Foundation launched The Paper Project: Prints and Drawings Curatorship in the 21st Century. This international initiative supports training and professional development for early- to mid-career curators of prints and drawings.

The Paper Project helps curators navigate the demands of the 21st-century museum, both by preserving traditional skills that have been passed down through generations of specialists and by supporting innovative efforts to make graphic arts collections accessible and relevant to today's audiences.

Past grants awarded in The Paper Project have included support for curatorial fellowships, collection-based research fellowships, short-term traveling seminars, professional workshops, digital projects, and exhibition and publication projects at museums, libraries, archives, and other institutions that work with prints and drawings. Please note that Paper Project grants support individual curators indirectly; grants are only awarded to organizations.

We are currently accepting applications for the following types of grants:

Project Support
Exhibition and publication grants help mid-career curators organize exhibitions and publications that showcase prints and/or drawings. These grants provide significant opportunities for curatorial innovation and professional development. Grants can support permanent collection-based or loan-based exhibition projects.

Digital grants help early- and mid-career curators pilot or execute an original digital project showcasing prints and/or drawings. Projects previously supported include virtual exhibitions, microsites, gallery interactives, digital publications, and digital public engagement. Please note that these grants are not suitable for large digital infrastructure projects.

Workshop Support
Workshop grants offer curators at any professional level the opportunity to organize in-person and virtual gatherings with an emphasis on professional development and shared learning among curators about critical issues in the prints and drawings field. Grants can also support skills-focused training and short courses or webinars. Please note that these grants are not intended to support public symposia, such as those accompanying an exhibition, or recurring professional meetings or conferences.

We invite proposals for projects led by curators with a specialization in prints and/or drawings of any period. We are particularly interested in proposals for projects that engage with collections and topics in the history of prints and drawings that have not received adequate curatorial attention and have the potential to make a meaningful contribution to the field. Projects led by an eligible guest curator are also welcome, particularly an individual who brings expertise that is not currently represented in the applicant institution's curatorial staff.

Grant awards typically range from $25,000 to $100,000. Awards of up to $125,000 will be considered for larger workshop projects that involve participant travel.

Deadlines

- Complete the Intent to Apply form by November 1, 2021.
- Following submission of this form, eligible organizations that are invited to apply will receive a link to the Getty Foundation's grant portal along with detailed application instructions. Foundation staff will provide guidance as needed.
- Full applications must be submitted by December 1, 2021.
- Applicants will be notified by May 2022.

For more information and access to necessary forms please visit the external link below.