In 2015, the Foundation initiated the Arts Writing Awards in Digital Art to provide a $40,000 award to an established arts writer in the U.S. who has made significant contributions to the field and a $20,000 award to an emerging arts writer in the U.S. who demonstrates great promise. Recipients in 2018 and 2019 also receive fully-funded Robert Rauschenberg Residencies of 5-6 weeks in duration.
The annual merit-based awards are no-strings-attached and by nomination only, recognizing the achievements that the writers have contributed to new dialogues and growth of the field. The Arts Writing Awards reward sustained and innovative work, from general audience criticism to academic scholarship, in articles, books, blogs and alternative media.
We define arts writing in digital art as scholarship, history, criticism or theory of digital art that may address:
- innovative and compelling uses of digital technologies in contemporary art;
- crucial issues related to the preservation, conservation, interpretation and understanding of digital art practices;
- the impact of developing technologies on the cultural landscape of the arts.
Writing may address important issues in the field, such as Internet art; software art; locative media; mixed, augmented and virtual reality; installation environments; and device art, and art addressing evolving technologies.