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In 2025, Oregon artists in the literary and media arts who are 30 years of age or older with 7+ years of an active artistic practice in their primary discipline (not including schooling), and who are regularly creating and presenting new and original work to audiences, are eligible to apply. Applicants must have been Oregon residents for the last five years and at the time of application. Please review the full eligibility criteria, as well as a list of those who are ineligible to apply.
This is a three-year pilot program during which the Foundation expects to support 60 individual Oregon artists in total (20 per year) across artistic disciplines. Each year will focus on a different discipline(s). In 2024, we supported artists in the performing arts; in 2025, literary artists and media artists; and in 2026, visual artists.
The pilot phase of this program ends in 2026. We will have more information in early 2027.
You are eligible to apply in 2026. Look for details in April 2026.
"Midcareer” is defined here as an artist able to demonstrate a sustained artistic practice of 7+ years in their discipline, with likely future contributions to the field. A post-secondary degree, creative or otherwise, is not a requirement. This program is not focused on supporting artists who are in an emerging stage nor those who are in an advanced stage of their careers.
The Foundation defines 'emerging' as artists with less than seven years of professional art practice in their discipline, outside of schooling. The Foundation defines ‘advanced’ as a well-established artist who has experienced significant regional and national recognition and achievements over an extended period.
Yes, artists must have turned 30 years or older by December 31, 2025.
We define a working artist as someone with an individual artistic practice that is current and ongoing, who regularly and actively shares their work with public audiences. Participation in or completion of a creative or other degree program is not a prerequisite for applying to this program.
The Miller Foundation defines an "active artistic practice" as presenting their work regularly to public audiences. This could be via readings, distribution, public screenings, exhibitions, residencies, talks, etc.
In the application materials, applicants will be asked to demonstrate “publicly-shared or distributed" bodies of work: for media artists examples include work shared at presenting venues or organizations, film festivals, or online platforms with a juried selection process; and for literary artists: work published on platforms and in publications that have a critical review process. If a writer or media artist is self-published/ self-presented, they must be able to demonstrate ongoing reader/viewer engagement with their work.
New original artistic work refers to a body of work that the artist conceived of from initial concept to actualization, rather than interpreting, translating, arranging, reviving, remounting or copying the work of others/ previously existing material.
This program is for individual artists rather than artistic teams. If you work within a collaborative, you must be able to represent your ongoing individual and original contributions in your application narrative and work samples.
No. Applicants must be Oregon residents at the time of application and anticipate staying in residence in Oregon for the next year.
Yes. Brief absences are acceptable as long as you maintained an Oregon residence during that time period (a “resident of Oregon” is a person who would be required to file a resident Oregon income tax return).
Yes.
No. Applicants may not be currently enrolled in a creative degree program (Associate, low residency, undergraduate or graduate).
If you hold an artistic role at an Oregon nonprofit arts organization that is receiving organizational support from the Miller Foundation, you are eligible to apply for the Spark Award if the majority of your individual artistic practice is independent of the work of the nonprofit organization by which you are employed.
The Spark Award for Oregon Artists provides grant funds to support the work of individual artists rather than the work of arts organizations. Arts organizations are eligible to receive operating support through other Miller grant programs. We would like to ensure that organizations who are eligible to receive funding from the Miller Foundation to support their staff and operations are not potentially receiving duplicate support through this program(i.e., supporting the creation of a single work with Miller organizational support and a Spark Award).
Yes. Learn more about available resources here.
No. This funding does not need to be used in support of a specific project.
We will post an informational video on our website in mid-May 2025 that will include an overview of the Spark Award program, the application and grant writing tips.
Email Yaelle Amir at artists@millerfound.org
For technical support accessing our Grants Portal, you can email artiststech@millerfound.org. For assistance with your application or for other questions about the program, contact Yaelle Amir at artists@millerfound.org
Applications are due on Wednesday, July 2, 2025 by 5pm PDT. Late submissions cannot be accepted.
No, late submissions will not be accepted. For this reason, please begin filling out your application several days prior to the deadline.
No. Applications must be submitted through our Grants Portal, available by visiting www.millerfound.org. Email applications cannot be accepted.
If you need assistance with our Grants Portal, email artiststech@millerfound.org
Following an initial screening for eligibility, applications will be reviewed by a panel of regional and national experts in the applicant’s selected discipline categories. The panel will make recommendations to the Miller Foundation Board of Directors for final approval each year.
This funding is intended to support you as an artist. As such, the funding may be used to support any activities and expenses that sustain your practice, including - but not limited to - living costs such as rent, healthcare, childcare, and/or training, materials, equipment, research costs, etc.
There are two types of expenses that these funds cannot support:
1. Tuition toward completing a college degree program (creative or non-creative); and
2. Compensation for creative work an artist is doing as an employee of a nonprofit organization with an arts-based mission. We would like to ensure that organizations who receive funding from the Miller Foundation to support their staff and operations are not receiving duplicate support through this program (i.e., supporting an artist through Miller organizational support AND a Spark Award). Read more below in the Application Preview section of the guidelines.
Yes, the IRS considers this award taxable income and as such recipients will be asked to fill out a W-9 and will receive a 1099-MISC form. Awardees have the option to receive funding in a single payment, quarterly or 12 monthly payments.
Payments for this award must be made to individuals, and cannot be made out to fiscal sponsors.
You should only apply if you anticipate remaining an Oregon resident for the next year.
All applicants will receive notification via email by late November 2025, regardless of the outcome. Updates will also be posted in the Grants Portal.
If selected for an award, you will be asked to complete a grant agreement and W-9. Once completed, the Foundation will issue payment(s) within a month. Recipients can receive the award in a single payment or in multiple payments. The funding is taxable income.
