FTW Grant - Erik Brunetti Foundation for the Arts

The FTW Grant

Disobedient Aesthetics. Enduring Impact.

Launching in early 2027, the FTW Grant is a nomination-based award supporting artists whose work confronts dominant cultural narratives and exercises independent aesthetic will. The grant is administered by the Erik Brunetti Foundation for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) public charity under IRS code 509(a)(1), in alignment with Pennsylvania’s HUP criteria for charitable institutions serving the public good.

The name FTW, while historically ambiguous, here signifies the legacy of creative dissent. Originally associated with outlaw motorcycle culture and reinterpreted across subcultures as “Forever Two Wheels,” “For The Win,” and most provocatively “F*** The World,” the acronym now anchors a program that funds not profanity, but principle: the refusal to capitulate to homogeny.

Purpose

FTW identifies and supports artists working in fields where risk, friction, and resistance are embedded in the form itself. These may include but are not limited to:

— Experimental visual art

— Tactical graphic work

— Sonic or textual interventions

— Hybrid disciplines at the edge of aesthetic classification

— Embodied forms such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, where technical mastery coexists with personal discipline and cultural transmission

The FTW Grant is part of the Foundation’s broader re-granting strategy—allocating privately raised funds toward projects that state institutions are either unwilling or unequipped to support.

Eligibility

There is no open call. Artists are nominated through a discreet advisory process, ensuring that selections reflect vision rather than algorithmic popularity. Nominations are vetted by an independent panel composed of artists, critics, and cultural strategists.

Timeline

Grant nominations open January 2027. Selected recipients will be announced Summer 2027.

Support

The FTW Grant is made possible through the generosity of individual donors, cultural patrons, and private foundations aligned with the Foundation’s mission to advance subversive, strategic, and socially durable art.

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To Inquire About Funding the Residency

Contact: foundation@erikbrunettifoundation.org

A 501(c)(3) public charity. Contributions may be tax-deductible.