“Taking yourself more seriously” as an artist could mean different things to different artists. But for Anne Dovali it meant building a website and applying for more residencies and grants. To accomplish both of those things Anne needed solid documentation of her large-scale works, which had proved difficult in the past. 

“Because the works are so large I can't really easily transport them places. But having high resolution photos where you can see the fine details was really important to me because of how much work I put into them.”

Anne, an alum of Amplify Arts’ Artist INC program, reconnected with another Artist INC alum Jeff Mack, a local artist and photographer, and decided to put together a micro grant proposal.

“I met Jeff through Artist INC and we connected that way. So I had him in the back of my head. And when it was micro grant time, you know, the application was coming up, it seemed like a really good proposal.”

She applied for a Micro Grant from Amplify Arts in March 2019 and was awarded a total of $350 to document her work. Anne and Jeff used Amplify Arts’ white walls to produce a high quality set of photos for Anne to use on her forthcoming website and when applying for grants and residencies. 

“I think the thing about documentation is that people forget it's so important until they're applying for something. And they're going through images to apply like, shit, these photos are awful. And the deadline is in three hours.”

After a successful proposal for documentation, and the great results that came from the grant, Anne found another opportunity to use the photos: to apply for a residency in Spain.

“I heard about it through the Bemis [Center for Contemporary Art], I think they posted something about an open call on their Instagram stories, they do a lot of that. It was a picture of the space and it looked so beautiful. So I did a bit more digging, and after doing more research, I find out it is an old 19th century nun's convent. I’m starting to explore undertones of Catholic mysticism in my work, and it seemed like the perfect place to go.”

Anne applied for another Micro Grant in June 2019, and was awarded $550 to cover the costs of the residency stay. 

“I think in total, I did the whole residency and a little vacation trip for about $1,500. So a third of that was covered through the micro grant. Not only did the grant alleviate the financial pressure of paying for the program, but this also meant the money I had saved could be reserved to purchase materials as I continue to experiment in the studio. It's a calming feeling to come back knowing I have some funds available for these items.”

Anne traveled to Spain in August 2019 ready to work, and returned with fresh experiences that have generated new ideas for her work. 

“Since it was an international residency program, I got to interact with artists who spoke other languages, came from different cultures, customs, etc. There were some artists who didn't speak any (or very little) English, yet we still managed to have conversations using non-verbal cues and the little Spanish I know. These encounters were especially magical––art can sometimes transcend language. There were also a lot of performance artists. Not that I'm ready to leap into performance art, but being heavily exposed to it for a couple of weeks definitely got some new gears turning in my head.”

To learn more about Anne and her work visit her website.

Micro Grant applications are open year-round, and proposals are reviewed and awarded quarterly. To apply for a Micro Grant, or share more information with an artist you know, visit this link.