New round of Knight Foundation grants for art orgs embracing tech

The Knight Foundation’s Prototype Fund has $1 million in grants available for artists and cultural institutions looking to infuse tech into their approach to audiences.

The call for ideas, launched Thursday and open to creators and organizations across the U.S., will back the grantees with $50,000 to prototype new ways for connecting audiences with artistic creation. Aside from the cash, the winners will also receive training in innovation methods and will get a chance to share lessons with the national group of grantees.

“There are a few guiding questions that are driving this search,” said Patrick Morgan, the foundation’s Philadelphia program director. “The first is: how can projects help build an art organization’s expanded use of tech? How can we use tech to create unique, deep experiences? How can that be replicated in and around the arts?”

(Full disclosure: Our sister site Generocity worked in partnership with the Knight Foundation on Tech in The Commons, an event series aimed at connecting nonprofit organizations with tech tools.)

How can we use tech to connect people to the arts? @knightfdn is looking to support your ideas #Philly & nationally w/ $50k in prototype funding. Deadline: March 6 https://t.co/vX66mMVkfB

— Patrick Morgan (@PMorganPHL) February 15, 2018

Morgan said the call was open to individuals and organizations looking to quickly prototype ideas. While the call is national, the foundation has physical presence in eight cities (Philly being one of them) and deploys programming in 18 other communities.