The Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant — a grant of $25,000 for artists with over 20 years’ experience

Some international grants are not created to fund new projects, exhibitions, or residencies. Instead, they exist as a form of direct support for artists who have spent decades developing their artistic practice regardless of commercial success or institutional recognition. One such program is the Individual Support Grant from The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, designed for artists with a sustained professional practice and significant artistic experience. Each year, the foundation awards 20 grants of $25,000 to artists working in painting, sculpture, and printmaking who are at a mature stage of their careers and experiencing financial hardship. Applications are open to both U.S. and international artists — U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is not required.

Who Can Apply
The program is intended for artists who can demonstrate at least 20 years of sustained artistic practice. The foundation emphasizes that this requirement refers not to the applicant’s age, but to the long-term development of an artistic language, technical mastery, and ongoing engagement with art. One of the key criteria is visual evidence of this sustained practice. The review committee evaluates not only individual artworks but also how an artist’s work has evolved and developed over many years.

Eligible Disciplines
Applications are accepted from artists working in painting, sculpture, and printmaking. The foundation does not favor specific styles, techniques, or subject matter — abstraction, figurative work, conceptual approaches, and traditional forms are considered equally. Photography, video, film, digital art, and interdisciplinary practices are only eligible when they can be directly interpreted as an extension of a painting, graphic, or sculptural practice. Applications from designers, craft practitioners, educational programs, and organizations are not eligible.

Application Materials
The application requires careful preparation and thoughtful work with an artist’s archive. Applicants must provide two separate groups of images: 6 works created within the last 12 months and 20–34 images of works produced over the last 20 years. Images should be arranged chronologically and demonstrate the development of the artist’s practice over time. For the 2026 grant cycle, the earliest submitted works had to be created no later than 2006. Applicants must also provide the title, date, medium, and dimensions of each work. The foundation specifically notes that composite images, digitally manipulated images, or multiple views of the same artwork are not accepted.

Financial Documents and Translations
One of the program’s primary criteria is the artist’s financial need. In addition to an artistic portfolio, applicants must submit financial and tax documentation. For international applicants, this means preparing a complete line-by-line English translation of financial documents. If an artist files tax returns in multiple countries, all relevant documentation must be included. The foundation notes that incomplete financial documentation is one of the most common reasons applications are declined. Password-protected PDF files, abbreviated tax summaries, and incomplete tax returns are not accepted.

Important Considerations Before Applying
This program is not intended to fund exhibitions, installations, educational activities, or individual projects. Applicants are not expected to describe a new project, prepare an exhibition budget, or explain a future artistic concept. The grant was specifically created as a form of support for artists who have dedicated their lives to art and continue working despite financial limitations, the absence of a stable market, or a lack of institutional support. The foundation also does not consider supplementary materials such as catalogs, publications, press materials, reviews, or brochures. Decisions are made by an independent panel of arts professionals whose composition changes each year.

Who This Grant Is Especially Suitable For
The program may be particularly valuable for artists with a long-term practice, extensive archives, and a well-established artistic position. Unlike many open calls, the focus here is not on project activity but on the artist’s overall creative biography and decades of artistic development. It is not the easiest grant in terms of preparing archives, financial documents, and a substantial professional history. However, grants of this kind are rarely influenced by trends, project relevance, or institutional visibility. For artists with decades of experience, this program can become one of the most significant forms of international support aimed not at producing a new project, but at sustaining an artistic life and practice.

Application Deadline
For the 2026 cycle, applications were accepted from October 15, 2025, to January 15, 2026. The next application cycle is expected to open in autumn 2026. All materials must be submitted online through the Submittable platform.