The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy is offering multiple funding opportunities for creatives in the Vanderbilt community. Available to graduate students across disciplines, the Curb Public Scholars Program provides a two-year grant of $2,500 for public-facing creative projects, while the Creative Inquiry Grant Program awards various levels of funding ranging from $500 to $2,500 and is open to undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and staff. Both applications are now open.
Public Scholars Program
The Public Scholars Program for Vanderbilt graduate students is now accepting applications for the 2024–25 cohort after a yearlong hiatus. Public Scholars supported by the Curb Center will receive a two-year grant of $2,500 and access to Curb space, materials and equipment to support them as they implement a public-facing project with a creative focus.
The Public Scholars Program has been fortunate to support several outstanding projects since its inception. One such project is the Open Book Collective, an organization run by and for first-generation/low-income students. Open Book Collective began as a Public Scholar project spearheaded by Kelly Cunningham, a former graduate student in philosophy, and has featured creative projects by FGLI students, built innovative mentorship structures for undergraduates, graduate students and faculty, and blossomed into a thriving student organization now led by Erica Scarpitti, Ph.D. candidate in earth and environmental sciences. “The success of the Open Book Collective and its importance for first-generation low-income students demonstrate how the Public Scholars Program enables graduate students to make a lasting impact on the Vanderbilt community,” Curb Center Director Leah Lowe said. “We are eager to support a new cohort of Public Scholars as they continue to develop and implement creative projects with public-facing impact.”
Applicants to the Public Scholars Program must have completed at least one year of their degree and have at least two years remaining, have their adviser’s approval, a concept that can be planned and executed by April 2026, and be available for three group meetings and one individual meeting per semester. The Curb Center will provide support during the scholars’ second year for their work to be presented at a conference. An information session for interested applicants will be held at the Curb Center on Friday, Aug. 30. Interested students may view the call for applications to the 2024–26 cohort online.
Creative Inquiry Grants
The Curb Center awards Creative Inquiry Grants to support Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff as they engage in arts-based inquiry and action on Vanderbilt’s campus and in the local community. The Curb Center has supported more than 100 projects with Creative Inquiry Grants throughout the program’s history. Last year’s projects included ayu: A Narrative Medicine Journal, which publishes creative work written by unhoused individuals and those who offer medical care; the “Cupid” short film, a student project spearheaded by executive producer Benedict Ballman that became an official selection for the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, where it won the Audience Choice Award, and the Nashville Film Festival; and “Dueling With Death,” Leah Lomotey-Nakon’s mixed-media series highlighting the lived experiences of birth workers and the communities they serve.
The Curb Center is committed to offering vital support to creative projects that position art as a mode of inquiry into issues facing Vanderbilt and local communities. Creative Inquiry Grant applications for projects that will be completed in the 2024–25 academic year are now open.
If you have any questions about funding opportunities at the Curb Center, please contact Rachel Thompson.
