Carole’s art was forever changed when her travels brought her face to face with the Islamic art and architecture of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Her work has since reflected the intricacies and extravagance of this art form.
Fast forward to the present. 27 years after this life-changing experience, Carole felt the pull to return. She joined up with Fractured Atlas and began thinking about how she could fund this journey. An Indigogo campaign? Some other form of crowdfunding? She wasn’t sure what route was best to take.
A conversation with Praxis Center led her to the most basic route of all, simply emailing foundations and individuals with her story and a request for patronage. She used the templates and advice in the class on Patrons and Sponsors.
Carole set about contacting a list of foundations but the answers kept coming back that these organizations only fund groups and institutions, not individual artists. Her frustration was beginning to mount. She decided that perhaps she would have to fund this trip another way. She posted in the Patrons and Sponsors Praxis community page that things weren’t going according to plan.
Carole had a deadline to keep and the process of emailing and following up was proving not just time consuming but incredibly wearing in the face of repeated rejections.
It was a low moment.
Then something happened.
20 minutes later, a substantial donation ($2500) landed in her lap from an individual patron connected to a family foundation.
Carole’s research trip was becoming a reality.
Today, Carole is preparing to depart along with her husband and their 14-year-old son to return to the land that first inspired her work. Together they will visit Seville, Granada, Fez, and Marrakech thanks to the generosity of patronage and Carole’s hard work and persistence.
It may seem like an insurmountable goal, connecting with patrons and sponsors. There is a natural aversion to reaching out to perfect strangers seeking to fund an art project. And it can feel like no matter how many inboxes you hit, no matter how many doors you knock on, the answer is always the same.
Do not give up. This isn’t an easy business, but who ever said that anything worth having was easy to get? If you feel like you need an extra boost of support, Praxis Center can be your guide. We can help you find the keys to open doors and get the funding you need to get one step closer to realizing your artistic dreams. Don’t wait. Follow in Carole’s footsteps and plot out your next endeavor. Patronage is out there just waiting for you to find it.
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