2022 Architecture + Design Independent Projects Grants-a competitive grant program in partnership with NYSCA

By The Architectural League and the Urban Design Forum

Apr 13  |  Business

A competitive grant program in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts – SoHo Events

The Architecture + Design Independent Projects grant program is a partnership between the New York State Council on the Arts and The Architectural League of New York, awarding grants for New York State-based individuals and teams to explore a design topic through creation or research.

For the 2022 cycle, this program will award 18 grants of $10,000 to proposals in design fields, including architecture, landscape architecture, historic preservation, community-centered design, fashion, graphic, industrial, and interior design. The League and NYSCA are pleased to enter into this pilot partnership and to work in concert to administer the Independent Projects program for interested applicants.

In prior years, NYSCA’s Independent Projects program required applicants to submit requests through an intermediary sponsoring organization. Through this partnership, the League will receive all proposals using our Award Force platform and evaluate them together with NYSCA to select projects for funding. Read on for an overview of the program and requirements, and download the complete 2022 Program Guidelines for full information on general requirements, eligibility, and the application process.
Program goals.

Design is everywhere. Recognizing design as an art form that can enhance our quality of life, the Independent Projects program seeks proposals that emphasize artistry and design excellence, that may contribute to a broader understanding of design, and/or that advance a design discipline. Critically, design must be at the core of any proposal, and the outcome must be accessible to the public. Projects might, for example, create a design prototype, advance new ideas in community design, research a topic in design or architectural history, or engage in critical or theoretical analysis.

Below are some recent examples of topics that Independent Projects grants have addressed:

The invasive Emerald Ash Borer, a beetle destroying ash trees across the United States, leaves behind wood that is considered unmarketable. Using 3D laser scanning and robotics-based fabrication technology, architects Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivkovic of HANNAH are exploring new ways to build with this waste wood, promoting sustainable design.
Designer Amy Sperber created a unique, open-source, online portal offering fashion designers 3D avatars of realistic, diverse body types. With this tool, Sperber helps to push the world of fashion design towards greater inclusivity.
For the women who gather daily at “The Corner,” on a highway overpass in Brooklyn, the location is critical to finding work, yet also unhealthy and unsafe. Architectural designer Elsa Ponce Vargas is engaging with these day laborers in design charrettes to explore how design can improve this public space for the people who rely on it.
Landscape architect Julia Watson’s groundbreaking and award-winning publication Lo—TEK. Design by Radical Indigenism researches, analyzes and documents sustainable ecological technologies from the landscapes of the world’s indigenous people. An Independent Projects award helped support writing, drawings, and image permissions.

Deadline: April 13

Program Guidelines: https://archleague.org/competition/independent-projects-2022/

Application:  https://archleague.awardsplatform.com/

FAQ’s: https://archleague.org/2022-independent-projects-frequently-asked-questions/

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