Every day I get dozens of letters asking me how to find money for research/art trips overseas or to help fund international residencies. I'll be honest with you: this is one of the hardest things to find money for. In most cases, you have to be really creative in your search. First, see what is out there. Please use my links on my side bar, listed under "Funding for Travel and Research." Also, go to transartists.org and click under "funding" to see what foundations might fund overseas travel. Check with the embassy of the country you want to visit, or the cultural institute connected to the embassy. I got three language scholarships to Italy that way several years ago.
Another thing to try, after everything else, (including doing a google search for "travel grants artists" or something like that) is to google without using the words "writer" or "artist" and so on. You will most likely be sent to a university grant database and it is highly possible that you could find a travel grant in the humanities that would work for you. Don't be put off by academic library databases and the phrases they use, like "PhD candidates only or those with professional equivalent." If you are a professional artist of some kind, you just might qualify. Most practicing artists do not have a PhD anyway, nor do most writers/filmmakers, etc. Start by looking under "humanities" on these databases and you might find the right grant. On my links, I have the Michigan State University Library listed but there are many, many others. Some of you read my article on Fulbright grants and discovered that I got a Fulbright to go to Norway as an "independent scholar," even though I did not have a PhD. Do not fear academia! Make academia work for you. And PLEASE check out those links I set up for you. It will make my job (which I don't get paid for, mind you) a bit easier. And please read my FAQs before writing me a question that I might have already answered. Sorry to belabor this point but the more you figure out for yourself, the more resourceful and successful you will be in the long run. I still welcome letters, so fear not! It's just that sometimes it is clear to me that some people want me to do their work for them and I really can't.
One more thing on trying to find money for travel...you have to be imaginative and also plan WAY in advance. I can't tell you how many letters I get from people saying they got accepted to a residency in another country but don't have enough money for the plane ticket. They usually write me a month before they have to go. Plan a YEAR in advance if you can. And why not apply for another kind of grant, say, one that could pay your living expenses for a couple months---use that grant to pay for what it is for and then in the meantime, save the money you would have used for living expenses to buy that ticket to Spain or wherever your residency is. If you really want to go, you'll figure out a way to get there. Okay, I'm off my soap box. Now for some new opportunities!
(SCHOLARS) Short-term Research Travel Grants to Japan
The Northeast Asia Council (NEAC) of the Association for Asian Studies, in conjunction with the Japan-US Friendship Commission, supports a variety of grant programs in Japanese studies designed to facilitate the research of individual scholars, to improve the quality of teaching about Japan on both the college and precollege levels, and to integrate the study of Japan into the major academic disciplines.
(ALL) Note to all: Travel Grants to Japan
The Japan-United States Friendship Commission (JUSFC) has a fellowship program that helps fund artists/writers, etc. to travel to/from the U.S. and Japan. Please check it out at: http://www.jusfc.gov/creativeartists.asp.
(WOMEN) American Association of University Women International Fellowships International Fellowships of up to $30,000 are awarded for full-time study or research in the United States to women who are not United States citizens or permanent residents. Both graduate and postgraduate study at accredited institutions are supported. Several of fellowships are available for study outside of the U.S. for members of the International Federation of University women. Deadline December 1, 2009. See web site for more details: website: www.aauw.org/education/fga/fellowships_grants/international.cfm
(UK & JAPANESE ARTISTS) The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation GrantsThe Foundation awards grants to individuals and institutions in the UK and Japan in all areas of the visual and performing arts, the humanities, the social sciences, science and engineering, mathematics, business studies, and education, including schools and universities, and grass roots and professional groups. They offer both small grants (£1,000- £5,000) and large (up to £15,000) to individuals and groups. Please check the website for more information on these grants: http://www.dajf.org.uk. I think the deadline for these grants is coming up soon: September 30th, but please check their site to make sure.
(INDIAN ARTISTS) Grants, Fellowships and more
For information on opportunities, grants, project funding, fellowships and scholarships for young artists in India, go to: http://indiaculture.nic.in/indiaculture/index.asp.
Culturelink
A network of networks for established by UNESCO and the Council of Europe in 1989 to promote regional, inter-regional, and international research projects relating to culture.
Aid to Artisans
A nonprofit organization that works in partnership with international organizations and multilateral banks, among other institutions, to offer practical assistance to artisans and foster artistic traditions, cultural vitality, and community well-being worldwide.
Arts International
New York City-based Arts International is an independent, contemporary arts organization dedicated to the development and support of global cultural interchange in the arts and to educating audiences and the public about the richness and diversity of the arts worldwide.
More to come....Happy hunting!
Mira