Big Field Fund (BFF) Project Grants are awarded through a regional regranting initiative of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The program is administered by Public Space One and focuses on supporting artist-led projects in eastern Iowa. These grants encourage collaboration, experimentation, and connection within the visual arts community.
The grant provides $8,000 to each selected artist or artist group to support the public realization of their project. Eligible projects must embody one or more of the following goals: deploying new and inventive models for presenting visual arts, supporting under-resourced artists and communities, engaging with vulnerable or underutilized systems, structures, or ecologies, or pursuing multidisciplinary, ephemeral, or risk-taking creative endeavors that typically face funding barriers. The program places a strong emphasis on projects that extend beyond the studio and engage the public through exhibitions, performances, interventions, installations, and other formats rooted in the visual arts.
Eligible applicants must be 18 years or older, reside and plan to produce their project within an 80-mile radius of Iowa City and in the state of Iowa, maintain an active artistic practice with recent work, and demonstrate the ability to complete the proposed project within one year of award. Applicants who are nonprofit or incorporated entities, full-time students, or recent recipients of a BFF Project Grant are not eligible to apply. Collaborative groups may apply, provided they meet the outlined criteria.
The application process is conducted through BFF’s Submittable website. It includes a two-stage submission: an initial eligibility screening followed by a second round where applicants provide a detailed project description, budget, and supporting materials. A jury composed of local and national artists and curators selects the eight grant recipients. Grantees also receive additional support such as a public award celebration, cohort gatherings, studio consultations, and project promotion.
Key dates include the opening of first-round applications on June 1, 2025, and their due date on August 1, 2025. Selected applicants will be invited to submit second-round materials by October 1, 2025. Grantee contracts are due December 1, 2025, with funding distributed that same month. Grantee activities span into 2026, with individual check-ins and studio visits concluding by December 1, 2026.
For questions, applicants may contact info@bigfieldfund.org. No phone number is provided for inquiries.
