Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art’s Potential Generator Fund

The Generator Fund, managed by BICA (Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art), supports visual arts–based projects by individual artists and artist-led groups based in Erie and Niagara Counties, New York. Designed to promote experimental, collaborative, and community-rooted artistic initiatives, the Generator Fund is structured to offer funding that enables the development of long-term artistic platforms. Among the grant types offered, the Potential Grants are tailored specifically to support sustainable, platform-building projects with a visual arts core. These projects may include recurring events, artist-run spaces, publications, community gardens, or other initiatives with broad and lasting impact. The 2025 Potential Generator Grant provides up to $10,000 per recipient and is intended as a seed fund for projects that extend beyond a single outcome. The focus is on encouraging artists to create shared structures and experiences, such as zines, radio stations, lecture series, or informal exhibition spaces. This financial support is aimed at helping artists generate innovative approaches to artistic presentation, community dialogue, and collaboration. Applicants must reside and work in either Erie or Niagara County, New York. Eligible applicants include individual artists, unincorporated collectives, and informal groups. BICA welcomes proposals from a wide spectrum of artistic backgrounds, including professional, emerging, or experimental artists, as long as the proposed project is firmly grounded in the visual arts. Media such as painting, installation, performance art, video, zines, and social practice are accepted, but projects based solely in music, theater, dance, or literary arts are not eligible unless they incorporate a significant visual arts component. Applicants must not be affiliated with 501(c)(3) organizations, nor may they be current BICA employees or recipients of a solo exhibition honorarium from BICA in the same fiscal year. Those who received a Potential Grant in the previous funding cycle are also ineligible to apply for another Potential Grant this round, though they may apply for a Kinetic Grant if eligible. Applications for the 2025 cycle opened on August 1, 2025, and will close on September 30, 2025, at 11:59 PM. Award decisions will be announced in December 2025, and funded projects must be completed by December 31, 2026. There is no mention of a pre-application or gating step, nor are there rolling submissions; this is a fixed-cycle, recurring grant program. Jurors evaluating the applications will prioritize projects that are innovative, visual arts–focused, publicly accessible within Erie or Niagara Counties, and well-grounded in artistic purpose. For questions regarding eligibility or the application process, interested applicants are encouraged to contact the BICA team. Although no specific contact email or phone number is provided in the source, prospective applicants may reach out via the BICA website or attend an Info Session offered in association with the grant announcement. This support structure is intended to guide applicants through determining grant fit and understanding application expectations.

Attend an Info Session if unsure about project eligibility or structure