Photo courtesy of Misty Sol.
Last year, the Bartol Foundation announced a new partnership with Small But Mighty Arts to award micro-grants to teaching artists working on community-based projects. Misty Sol, a writer and visual and mixed media artist, is one of our grantees from our fall 2018 round of awards. Learn about Misty’s work in this Q&A, and check out her artist profile and Instagram to see more.
Our 2019 micro-grant application will open online on August 1st! Visit this link to learn how you can apply.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself as a teaching artist?
I believe that art is functional. Art is a living, breathing part of any community or ecosystem, and it’s an active form of wellness. As a teaching artist, I try to remind people that we have those tools. I specialize in promoting literacy – not just for language, but also eco and visual literacy. I also deal a lot with history and storytelling. A lot of my work is about positioning ourselves to tell our own stories and find the healing and wellness in that practice.
What will you be doing with the micro-grant you received from SBMA/Bartol?
I used the micro-grant for an event called The Fine Art of Wellness, which is an environment for exploring the idea of wellness. I feel like there are a lot of places you can go if you want someone to tell you how to be healthy, but I just wanted to get folks to be in a place where they could ask questions and begin to think about those things on their own. We had an art party where we did painting, ate really good food, listened to cultural music, and watched projections of Soul Train. It was like a paint and sip with a healthy twist.
This was a new idea I had, and the event was a great opportunity to move my practice forward and experiment. I am also very grateful to my partners at Art Sanctuary and The Tiny Farm Wagon.
What would you tell other teaching artists and artists working in the community about applying for a micro-grant?
Like with any grant, I really appreciate the opportunity to share my work with the community by not only getting the grant, but also with the grant panelists and Small But Mighty Arts and Bartol, and other idea-makers. I would say to other artists, please apply.
I would also say that the SBMA/Bartol grant is a good fit for you if you have a real philosophy as a teaching artist, some kind of guiding principles that are beyond just craft. And I really appreciate the way both organizations support artists and advancing culture in that way.
Interview responses have been edited for length and clarity.