BY  MICHAEL ELLIS

Trying to be a full-time artist right now is a brave and brutal endeavor. Ask your friends who are working multiple jobs to fund their creative work. They will tell you that it’s never been more challenging to commit to creating beauty on this filthy dust ball of a planet.

But art is so important to living and getting up each day. Humans need beauty and connection, and moments of awe. Reread Rise of the Creative Class if you need a reminder of why these things matter.

Creatives in Colorado and across the country are facing a perfect storm of discouraging circumstances. Imagine it-the absurdly high cost of living plus a massive drop in government funding for individual artists, with the added slap in the face of declining philanthropic support for the nonprofit partners that form the backbone of the professional arts ecosystem. It’s almost too depressing to think about…

And this is why the creative community desperately needs some good news. And here it is! Meet the DAG Foundation, a national organization that launched in 2024 determined to directly support innovative artists. DAG is investing resources where they can really help, giving straight-up cash grants to artists.

DAG’s mission is simple and powerful- to financially back artists in literature, music, and the visual arts as they work to build sustainable, thriving careers. The tools they use to meet their objectives are the annual DAG Prizes.

Each of the three prizes is a hefty $20,000, offering unrestricted financial support to creators. DAG’s dollars give folks freedom to write, to create, to build, to make our world bigger and better. Good news for you, local artists- the application period for the next cycle will open on February 4th, so prepare to apply and don’t forget to tell your friends!

The Foundation is off to an incredible start. The inaugural class of 2025 set a very high bar for innovation. The three recipients were chosen for exploring complex themes through original forms. All three perfectly embody the DAG Prize’s vision.

The DAG Prize for Visual Art went to Ziba Rajabi, a multidisciplinary artist specializing in painting, drawing, and fabric-based installations. Rajabi’s winning project, Kotál, is an immersive fiber installation that dives deep into collective human feelings like longing, grief, joy, and the nuanced interplay of emotions. The $20,000 grant is helping her scale up the project and reach a much wider audience.

The DAG Prize for Music was awarded to Elizabeth Ziman, a talented Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and film composer who records as Elizabeth & the Catapult. Her recognized project, I Love You Still, is a meditation on loss and grieving. Ziman’s career, including five LPs and collaborations with major artists, highlights DAG’s focus on supporting mid-career artists ready for a decisive step forward.

The DAG Prize for Literature honored author Michael Zapata. His highly anticipated second novel, The Census Taker (a speculative noir), was recognized for being a brilliant love letter to Latino futurism, indigenous scientists, and revolutionaries. The award specifically helps writers who have published one book but whose innovative work hasn’t yet received prominent national recognition.

Our community was lucky enough to host the first annual DAG Foundation Celebration in Denver this fall. The event successfully gathered arts leaders from across the country, alongside the deserving Prize winners. The caliber of the 2025 recipients—Rajabi’s compelling installations, Ziman’s gorgeous musical tunes, and Zapata’s groundbreaking fiction—give me legit hope that the arts won’t just survive these trying times but will ultimately thrive.

Check out www.dagfoundation.org and if you’re an artist and need a little support to get your next project out into the world, don’t forget to apply in February!