The awards aren't based on financial need, but they make a difference, the artists say. Even if the sum isn't grand enough for the winners to quit their day jobs or change their lifestyles, it goes a long way toward the purchase of equipment and materials. An iMac for painter Tom Knechtel, who uses the new computer in his artwork and has incorporated an image of it in one of his meticulously detailed paintings.
Money is time.
It's much better to have time to do your work than to be a greeter at Wal-Mart. He will show a small model, computer renderings and a documentary storyboard to illustrate the original structure and his plan to rebuild it at a location yet to be designated. The city initiated grants for the arts in 1988, but they were limited to artists who worked in partnership with social service agencies. Over time, objections to the narrow parameters intensified, and the pool of applicants dwindled. Attempts to solve the problems eventually led to the realization that the city's Cultural Affairs Department, which administers the awards, is itself a social service agency.