WHO WE ARE

The Ida B. Wells Fund is brought to you by Chromatic Black.

Chromatic Black™ is a collective of 10,000+ Black artists - activists across a spectrum of creative disciplines. We are storytellers, and we use our artistic platforms – art, education, film, television, live and digital entertainment – to bring about cultural change.

Chromatic Black™ supports projects that are reflective and illustrative of the theme of Disrupting the Master Narrative by offering partners accompaniment, funding, legal support, technical assistance, audience development support, artist retreats and gatherings; as well as connectivity to a broader collective of creative pioneers.

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WHAT WE DO

The Ida B. Wells Fund provides a total of $250,000 in grants to aspiring Black Artists.

The Ida B. Wells Fund: Disrupting the Master Narrative honors the legacy of a trailblazing American investigative journalist who not only chronicled the horrific violence of lynching against African-Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries but debunked the narratives that fueled the violence.

The award recipients will be chosen by an interdisciplinary panel composed of expert curators, filmmakers, producers, other arts professionals, scholars, and winners from last year in a thorough, multi-step review process.

“The Ida B. Wells Fund enables filmmakers to take disruptive risks with new original works.”
– Aunjanue Ellis, Oscar-Nominated Actress & Producer

“Justice begins with the imaginary power of Black creatives to deconstruct stereotypes, build cultural power, and envision a future through powerful storytelling.”
– Paula J. Giddings, Writer & IBWF Honorary Chair

The 2022 fund is expanding to offer awards ranging from $2000 to $25,000 in the following three categories:

Short Films

The fund will invest in five projects that critique dominant social and historical narratives and embody artistic attributes: commitment, communal meaning, disruption, cultural integrity, emotional experience, risk-taking, coherence, openness, stickiness, and resourcefulness.

The Short Film Fund will support five filmmakers at $15,000 each.
Launch date on July 16, 2022.
Deadline for submission is October 28, 2022.
Winners will be announced on November 21, 2022.
March 2023 – Event Date TBA.

HOW TO APPLY

Visual Arts

Seeking projects that embody the Chromatic Black artistic aesthetic, we are eager to partner with creatives who help us make meaning of our world and deepen our collective literacy around liberatory justice.

The Visual Art Fund will support 6 visual artists at $2000 each.
Launch date August 1, 2022.
Deadline for submission is November 3, 2022.
Winners will be announced on November 30, 2022.

HOW TO APPLY

Creative Placemaking

Black placemaking is a reclamation of space rooted in remembrance, reclamation, and renewal as a creative act of resistance. We seek to partner with cultural bearers fortifying our participation in the public commons.

More Information to Follow

IN GOOD COMPANY

Meet Our 2021 Winners!

Winners of last year’s film fund at $10,000 each include Lamard W. Cher-Aime’s “Captain Zero: The Animated Series” which speaks to the importance of mental health awareness in the Black community and Christine Swanson’s “Sunflower: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story” starring academy award nominee Aunjanue Ellis.

See Their Stories