The Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant is an annual grant awarded to self-identified lesbians for making visionary moving-image art. The grant is supported directly by funds provided by her estate and administered through Queer|Art by lesbians for lesbians, with a rotating panel of judges. In her last few months with us, Barbara decided to increase the grant amount, as she understood so well that a bit of financial help could make a big difference in a project. This year Queer|Art is pleased to announce that the grant has increased to $6,000.

Legendary lesbian experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer (1939-2019) died this March from endometrioid ovarian cancer, which she approached with the same experimental and fearless spirit that she did everything in her life, and through which she ultimately found peace, acceptance, and new purpose. In her final years, she worked hard to make sure we—as a community of friends, colleagues, and fellow artists—were prepared for this moment: speaking out through lectures, performances, and interviews about one’s right to die when living with terminal illness; arranging for her archive of personal papers, research, and films to be safeguarded by the Beinecke Library at Yale; and establishing with Queer|Art, in her name, this grant for lesbian experimental filmmakers.

The Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant is an annual grant that will be awarded to self-identified lesbians for making visionary moving-image art. Work can be experimental animation, experimental documentary, experimental narrative, cross-genre, or solely experimental. Applicants must be based in the U.S. This grant was established by Hammer in 2017 to give needed support to moving-image art made by lesbians. The grant is supported directly by funds provided by Hammer and administered through Queer|Art by lesbians for lesbians, with a rotating panel of judges. As of 2019, the grant is $6000.

“It has been the goal of my life to put a lesbian lifestyle on the screen. Why? Because when I started I couldn’t find any! ...I picked up a camera in the 60s, late 60s, made Super 8, 8mm, finally went to school and got a 16mm camera.  Made 13 films in two and a half years. All experimental. Because I think that as a lesbian at that time I was living an experimental lifestyle. Well let’s just say, I was experimenting.  And I still am.  And I think that lesbian film really calls out for experimental work. ...Working as a lesbian filmmaker in the 70s wasn’t easy in the social structure — the educational institution that I was in. It was difficult. And I want this grant to make it easier for lesbians of today.  So you can make work that you want to make.” — Barbara Hammer

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2019 Applications Now Open

Applications Open May 15, 2019Complete Application July 17, 2019

What information does the application require?

• Contact info, narrative bio, and headshot
• Synopsis of project and strategy for exhibition
• Budget
• Work samples (2 samples, no more than 7-10 minutes total)
• 2 professional references
• CV 

What is required in the synopsis and budget?

Synopsis:

• Description of the project and the process by which it will be made. (Up to 300 words) *Required
• What is your timeline for completing the work and strategy for its exhibition? (Up to 125 words) * Required
• Are there any additional aspects of this work you would like the panel to be aware of? (Up to 125 words) *Not required

Budget (one page, uploaded as PDF):

Your budget should account for how the work will be made (you do not need to include presentation costs). If the cost of production exceeds the grant amount, please indicate within the budget any confirmed funding you have received or additional funding you anticipate that will enable you to complete this project.

There is a $6 application fee*

Queer|Art uses the online application software SlideRoom to organize applications. SlideRoom charges applicants for the Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant a fee of $6 for each individual application. The fee does not profit Queer|Art. 

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