How to Apply:
Thinking about applying to the Generator Fund? Start here. This page will walk you through the full application process and help you figure out which grant type is right for you.
You may also want to join an Info Session to learn more!
2025 Timeline
Applications Open:
August 1, 2025
Applications due:
September 30,
2025, 11:59PM
Grantees
Notified:
December, 2025
Projects
Completed:
December 31, 2026
Are you Eligible?
The Generator Fund is open to individual artists and artist-led groups who meet the following criteria:
You must live and work in Erie or Niagara County, NY.
You can apply as an individual artist, an informal group, or an unincorporated collective.
You may be a professional, emerging, or experimental artist—we welcome a wide range of practices and experience levels.
Who is not eligible?
501(c)(3) organizations are not eligible to apply.
If you’re receiving a solo exhibition honorarium from BICA in the same fiscal year, you’re not eligible for a Generator Fund grant. BICA employees are also not eligible.
If you received a Potential Grant last round, you cannot apply for another Potential Grant this cycle (but you can apply for a Kinetic Grant!).
A Note on Visual Arts
This fund supports visual arts–based projects. That includes work in media like painting, sculpture, installation, photography, social practice, performance art, video, zines, and more.
Projects rooted primarily in music, theater, dance, or literary arts—without a strong visual component—are not eligible.
Still not sure if your project qualifies? Reach out to us! We’re happy to help.
Step 1: Choose your grant Type
We offer two types of grants:
Kinetic Grants (up to $5,000)
For short-term, public-facing visual arts projects—like exhibitions, performances, installations, workshops, or publications.
Potential Grants (up to $10,000)
For long-term, collaborative, or platform-building projects—like artist-run spaces, recurring events, media platforms, or other structures that extend beyond a single outcome.
Not sure which one is right for you? Ask yourself:
Does your project have a clear beginning and end, with a specific event, release, or presentation? → Kinetic
Is your idea more about creating an ongoing space, system, or collaborative project? → Potential
Are you working mostly on your own or with a small team? → Kinetic
Are you building something that involves many people or is intended to evolve over time? → Potential
If you’re still unsure, we recommend reviewing the application preview below and thinking through your project goals.
Step 2: Get Ready to Apply
You’ll submit your application on Submittable, but here’s what you’ll need to prepare:
Project Basics
Project Title
Short Description or Tagline (100 words)
Full Project Description (up to 1,000 words)
Your project description is the most important part of your application. It should clearly explain what you’re planning, why it matters, and how you’ll make it happen.
Very practical things to include:
Where the project will take place (or how it will be accessed by the public)
A timeline with key milestones
The people involved (especially for Potential Grants—mention collaborators even if they’re not confirmed yet)
Who your audience is and how you’ll reach them
Brief biographical information about the lead artist and any collaborators. What’s your background, and how does your experience prepare you to carry out this project?
Tip for curators and organizers: If your project brings together the work of others, don’t just call it a showcase. What’s the idea behind it? Is there a theme, a shared question, a creative impulse? Think like a curator—what are you trying to say through this group, and why now?
We don’t expect you to solve world peace, cure cancer, or even gather strangers in a space they don’t care about. Just be honest and thoughtful:
Who do you want to see the work? What do you hope they’ll take away from it? And how are you thinking artistically about what you’re producing?
The jury will reference clear criteria when they read your application – keep these in mind!
Step 3: Build your Budget
All applicants must use our Project Budget Sheet in Google Docs (save a copy, and then download as a PDF when you're ready to submit)
Or you can Download a fillable PDF
Here's an example budget for an awarded Kinetic Project, if you're wondering what kind of things might appear in a project budget.
You’ll be asked to provide a simple budget that includes three sections:
1. Expenses
List what you’ll spend the money on—things like:
Artist fees
Materials and supplies
Space rental
Printing, tech, transportation, etc.
Add estimated costs and short notes to help us understand your plan.
2. In-Kind Support
This is anything donated to the project—like:
Free use of a venue (your house, studio, or a donated space)
Someone donating printing, equipment, or labor
Even if you’re not paying for it, include it! It shows you’ve thought through what the project will really take.
3. Income
On the first line, include the amount you’re requesting from the Generator Fund:
Up to $5,000 for Kinetic
Up to $10,000 for Potential
You can also include any other anticipated income:
Additional grants, projected sales, artist fees, etc. (but you don’t need any other income—it’s okay if the Generator Fund is your only source).
Step 4: Upload Supporting Materials
These help jurors understand your work and your vision.
Work Samples
You can upload images, videos, PDFs—whatever best shows your past work or helps us imagine your proposed project. Strong applications often include both: past examples and a sense of what’s to come.
Resume or CV
Tell us about your visual arts background and any other relevant experience.
After you submit
2023 Grantee Groupwork’s outdoor immersive performance, Fieldwork.
Once you submit your application through Submittable, you’re not quite done—there are a few more things to keep in mind:
You might hear from us before the deadline
If you submit a week or more early, we may reach out with suggestions or questions. In some cases, we’ll even reopen your application so you can make edits.
→ Keep an eye on your email! We send messages through Submittable, so check the email you used to apply—and make sure emails from notifications@email.submittable.com don’t end up in your spam folder.
Jury review happens in the fall
Jurors will review applications in October and meet in November to make final decisions.
Notification comes in late fall
You’ll receive an acceptance or rejection email in November or early December, again via Submittable. If you don’t see anything by mid-December, check your spam and promotions folders—or email us to check in.
Funding and timeline
Accepted projects will receive their grant checks in January 2026 at our “Meet the Grantees” event. Funded projects should be completed by January 2027.
Ready? Set? SUbmit.
2025 Info sessions
Learn about the Generator Fund what it is, how it works, and how to apply! Get all the tips and tricks to make your application the strongest possible.
Tuesday, August 12th, 2025
6:00 pm
The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art
Saturday, September 20, 2025
2:00 pm
30D Essex Street, Buffalo, NY 14213
No registration needed.
Bica office hours
We’ll provide some 1-on-1 help on your application and answer your questions. Appointments available on Thursdays throughout August & September from 2–6 pm at BICA. (30D Essex St, Buffalo, NY 14213)
group work time
Work alongside fellow applicants and receive on-the-spot guidance and support from our team.
BICA School Lab
Thursday, September 25th, 2025, 2–6pm
30B Essex St, Buffalo, NY 14213
BICA School Lab
Friday, September 26th, 2025, 2–6 pm
30B Essex St, Buffalo, NY 14213
BICA School Lab
Saturday, September 27th, 2025 12–5 pm
30B Essex St, Buffalo, NY 14213