Anonymous Was A Woman is an unrestricted grant of $25,000 awarded each year to ten woman-identifying artists over the age of 40 and at a critical junction in their career. The name of the grant program refers to a line in Virginia Woolf’s "A Room of One’s Own." The award was begun in 1996 in response to the decision of the National Endowment of the Arts to cease support of individual artists. To date, Anonymous was a Woman has awarded over $7 million to 295 artists.
While AWAW typically recognizes ten artists per year, donations from three generous supporters have enabled the organization to recognize five additional artists per year in 2022. Three additional awards per year are made possible by the Meraki Artist Award, a new initiative funded by a Boston-based philanthropist who wishes to remain anonymous at this time; two additional awards are made possible by two anonymous donors.
Above are images of the 2023 Recipients of the Award. More information here.
Started in 2022, the Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grant provides up to $20,000 for projects led by women-identifying artists in the United States and U.S. Territories.The Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grants (AWAW EAG) program, administered by NYFA, will distribute a total of $250,000 in funding to support environmental art projects led by women-identifying artists in the United States and U.S. Territories.
Please visit NYFA’s dedicated site for more information and application instructions. Any questions about the AWAW EAG should be sent directly to NYFA at: awaw@nyfa.org