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The Grilled
Cheese Grant
An annual community-funded emerging artist grant based in Milwaukee, WIBy artists, for artists
welcome to the
Cheese (b)Log
welcome to the
Cheese (b)Log
Where It All Began
A Conversation Between Founding Members Zach Hill and Rachel Hausmann-Schall
“We are all artists and we are doing this because we feel that it’s important.”
Zach Hill is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and curator working among sculpture, drawing, and moving image. He holds a BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania and has taught courses in fine arts and design at UPenn, Drexel University, Delaware County Community College, and Haverford College where he is currently the Digital Arts & Sculpture Technician.
The “starving artist” trope, while stereotypical and complicated, is one that many of us can relate to. Choosing between buying groceries, going out with friends, or making sure you have enough money for art supplies in order to meet a project deadline is an all-too-familiar scenario. This situation is common for visual artists navigating the creative industry. We work hard to produce original ideas and execute them, but that generally comes with a small paycheck, or at least for many of us, especially at the beginning of our careers.
One might have the opportunity to be included in an exhibition at a local gallery, but it’s not uncommon that an exhibition opportunity doesn't come with any financial compensation at all. Some artists are connected to the right galleries or are lucky enough to sell a piece. And even then, that’s not regular, dependable income that an artist can rely on.
The promise of “exposure” is tossed around as a form of currency for artists – “You should really apply for this opportunity, it will give you a lot of exposure and get your work in front of important curators.” Unfortunately, this grim reality means that many artists commit to unpaid opportunities with the hope that “getting their name out there” will lead to possibilities of getting paid from different opportunities in the future. This grind can be especially difficult for emerging artists, specifically those who are in school or making the transition from college to “career.”
I was in that position once too, and so were many of my peers. We were young and naive, but we had an idea and we all wanted to make a difference for other artists experiencing the same thing we were. After spending nearly $1,000 putting together a senior thesis project during one of the most financially unstable times in our lives (a common situation for fine art students at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design), a group of us wanted to do something to make that time feel a little better for the students who came after us and that’s how the Grilled Cheese Grant was born.
RHS: What is your memory or recollection of how we started the Grilled Cheese Grant and why?
ZH: Although the days were foggy, I do remember it pretty well… we had a studio space (After School Special) above a brewery right out of undergrad. We learned about the soup thing in Chicago – Sunday Soup.
Although its origin is debated, Sunday Soup is a concept that is credited to InCUBATE (The Institute for Community Understanding Between Art and the Everyday) in Chicago. It is a simple concept: make a big pot of soup, invite friends, charge a small fee, provide guests with both a bowl of soup and a ballot to vote for a creative project. During the dinner, artists “pitch” their creative idea and at the end, the project with the most votes receives the pot of money.
After School Special (ASS) was an artist collective that operated out of a shared studio space in Riverwest from 2015-2018. They put together exhibitions, events, and the eight founding members organized the first Grilled Cheese Grant in 2016.
ZH: We were thinking about that and basing it off of that quite a bit. A lot of us were really frustrated because we didn't get any funding for our thesis projects when we were in undergrad. There was a MIAD Scholarship, but it only supported a few graduating seniors. We were honestly a little bratty in that way, and definitely felt like “they got the money and we didn’t.”
I think we were also thinking about how the MIAD scholarship worked. Who was awarding the money? Who was deciding who gets the money? The institution of it was also a question. It wasn’t the faculty who was deciding, I remember that was an aspect. And all of that didn’t sit well with some of us. We were fresh out of undergrad. So after learning about Sunday Soup, we thought maybe we could all do something like that and create another funding avenue for artists and for a local non-profit. I think we even paid ourselves a little that year, but I could be wrong.
RHS: All the early stuff is hazy to me for similar reasons. It was either that we didn’t keep anything for ourselves, except maybe paying ourselves back for beer. But then in future years, someone suggested that we keep a portion of it for ourselves, our studio, and to cover costs of running the event. And we all agreed, so we started keeping a piece of the pie, but not a big piece.
ZH: A piece of the cheese! We were just trying to create another source of funding because we felt like the funding that was available wasn’t properly allocated. We wanted it to be decided by people voting and showing up and deciding it as a community. That was a huge reason that we did it. We made enough to give the artist like $800 the first year and we were so stoked! The whole point of it was that it was community selected artists who got to present their work.
The “starving artist” trope, while stereotypical and complicated, is one that many of us can relate to. Choosing between buying groceries, going out with friends, or making sure you have enough money for art supplies in order to meet a project deadline is an all-too-familiar scenario. This situation is common for visual artists navigating the creative industry. We work hard to produce original ideas and execute them, but that generally comes with a small paycheck, or at least for many of us, especially at the beginning of our careers.
One might have the opportunity to be included in an exhibition at a local gallery, but it’s not uncommon that an exhibition opportunity doesn't come with any financial compensation at all. Some artists are connected to the right galleries or are lucky enough to sell a piece. And even then, that’s not regular, dependable income that an artist can rely on.
The promise of “exposure” is tossed around as a form of currency for artists – “You should really apply for this opportunity, it will give you a lot of exposure and get your work in front of important curators.” Unfortunately, this grim reality means that many artists commit to unpaid opportunities with the hope that “getting their name out there” will lead to possibilities of getting paid from different opportunities in the future. This grind can be especially difficult for emerging artists, specifically those who are in school or making the transition from college to “career.”
I was in that position once too, and so were many of my peers. We were young and naive, but we had an idea and we all wanted to make a difference for other artists experiencing the same thing we were. After spending nearly $1,000 putting together a senior thesis project during one of the most financially unstable times in our lives (a common situation for fine art students at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design), a group of us wanted to do something to make that time feel a little better for the students who came after us and that’s how the Grilled Cheese Grant was born.
RHS: What is your memory or recollection of how we started the Grilled Cheese Grant and why?
ZH: Although the days were foggy, I do remember it pretty well… we had a studio space (After School Special) above a brewery right out of undergrad. We learned about the soup thing in Chicago – Sunday Soup.
Although its origin is debated, Sunday Soup is a concept that is credited to InCUBATE (The Institute for Community Understanding Between Art and the Everyday) in Chicago. It is a simple concept: make a big pot of soup, invite friends, charge a small fee, provide guests with both a bowl of soup and a ballot to vote for a creative project. During the dinner, artists “pitch” their creative idea and at the end, the project with the most votes receives the pot of money.
After School Special (ASS) was an artist collective that operated out of a shared studio space in Riverwest from 2015-2018. They put together exhibitions, events, and the eight founding members organized the first Grilled Cheese Grant in 2016.
ZH: We were thinking about that and basing it off of that quite a bit. A lot of us were really frustrated because we didn't get any funding for our thesis projects when we were in undergrad. There was a MIAD Scholarship, but it only supported a few graduating seniors. We were honestly a little bratty in that way, and definitely felt like “they got the money and we didn’t.”
I think we were also thinking about how the MIAD scholarship worked. Who was awarding the money? Who was deciding who gets the money? The institution of it was also a question. It wasn’t the faculty who was deciding, I remember that was an aspect. And all of that didn’t sit well with some of us. We were fresh out of undergrad. So after learning about Sunday Soup, we thought maybe we could all do something like that and create another funding avenue for artists and for a local non-profit. I think we even paid ourselves a little that year, but I could be wrong.
RHS: All the early stuff is hazy to me for similar reasons. It was either that we didn’t keep anything for ourselves, except maybe paying ourselves back for beer. But then in future years, someone suggested that we keep a portion of it for ourselves, our studio, and to cover costs of running the event. And we all agreed, so we started keeping a piece of the pie, but not a big piece.
ZH: A piece of the cheese! We were just trying to create another source of funding because we felt like the funding that was available wasn’t properly allocated. We wanted it to be decided by people voting and showing up and deciding it as a community. That was a huge reason that we did it. We made enough to give the artist like $800 the first year and we were so stoked! The whole point of it was that it was community selected artists who got to present their work.
RHS: I’ve been thinking about the high-low thing in the art world a lot lately. People with the money vs. the people without it…the people that need it aren’t the people that have it. There's a level of accessibility with Grilled Cheese Grant where people (meaning those who are parents, friends, family of the selected finalists) and the students or artists who may have never experienced a gallery show or exhibition or art event are participating and feel welcome. And GCG could, for some, be their first pursuit into the art world. Galleries can have that “high art” feeling, especially typical and established “white-walled” spaces and they can make people feel uncomfortable – especially if you’re not familiar with the art world. People might not know how to act or how to interact or operate in spaces like those, they might feel like they don’t belong there. Grilled Cheese Grant is less about that and more about “Hey come show up and support your friend, hangout, and pay a little bit of money for a sandwich.” It feels more accessible in that way.
ZH: It’s very approachable. And now, especially how you guys have set it up and are able to award funding to everyone, it’s just awesome. Yes, you are doing a show, but it’s still work and you realize as you get older like wait, I should be getting paid for this - it’s a lot of work.
RHS: Now, I think Grilled Cheese Grant is seen as this institution and MIAD helps promote us, because we are supporting students and they also want to support our program as an alumni-run initiative. Since we began, there was a big growth and transition from awarding one large monetary amount to the top finalist for Grilled Cheese Grant to raising enough money to support all five finalists in some capacity. Since our growth, we noticed that MIAD also transformed their senior scholarship program. They went from awarding maybe 2-3 scholarships around 2015 to awarding more than 10 or even 20 smaller scholarships to multiple students. Which is wonderful!
ZH: It was not a lot of money when we were in school - it was like three $500 scholarships.
RHS:It seems like they caught on to what we were trying to do, which is cool. We always wondered why it went to one artist because all artists need money and we (GCG) are trying to share the love. For many years, we didn’t want to award GCG money to people who were already given a MIAD scholarship. It’s because we wanted to share the love, share the money, or share the cheese so to speak. We wanted people to feel like there was some support for everyone out there. And we are all artists and we are doing this because we feel it’s important.
Over the years, we have grown their respect [MIAD]. We wanted to host it at Vanguard because it has the same aura as the After School Special studios. It’s been at MARN [Milwaukee Artist Resource Network], WPCA [Walker’s Point Center for the Arts], Yours Truly, Gluon Gallery, etc. Hosting it at Vanguard, it’s almost like the early flavor is back, some spaces have a more institutionalized feeling like MARN, and I think we found our flavor with Vanguard. It’s a studio space - it’s a little gritty, a little punk, and very much a working space. We opened it up to not only seniors and extended the geographical area because we don’t want it to feel exclusive, so we are transforming as well. Seniors who applied but weren’t selected as a finalist can now apply again in subsequent years and that’s one of the biggest changes that I see as a success. Those early years out of college can be some of the most challenging – with money, continuing an artistic practice, and simply just balancing life – so I hope folks see this as a continuing opportunity for them.
ZH: Exactly! Like you don’t want it to be only for people who can afford to go to college. What about self-taught artists? The changes expand their opportunity to get it over the years. It’s exciting. It was a very DIY endeavor at the beginning and it has really grown. I don’t know that people quite understand that we didn’t pay ourselves at the beginning…like at all.
RHS: We are incredibly fortunate now that we can pay each organizer a small stipend, but that only happened two years ago. All the labor up until that point from organizers was happening on a volunteer basis. And it’s a lot of labor. A LOT.
ZH: It seems like a huge event now. I wonder how many people we had at the first one. I think the second one was bigger, but I thought we brought in like 100 people into the ASS studios.
RHS: Was the second year the Brat Sounds year? Someone spray painted their name on a sheet of plastic …
ZH: OH MY GOD I DID THAT! I need a refresher this felt like so long ago. I wasn’t there for the third one, just the first and second. I definitely made the Brat Sounds sign and our first ballot box!
RHS: We still do a ballot box and big check thing, it’s just refreshed and refined.
ZH: When we started doing stuff, some of it was shitty on purpose. There was definitely a DIY or punk aesthetic. Also, we had no money, so it was out of necessity, so we ended up making a lot of things with cardboard and leftover wood scraps we found around the studio. A lot of spray paint and duct tape…It’s really great to see how it’s grown.
RHS: It’s helpful for me to be reminded of your involvement in years one and two. There was incredible growth between those first two years. I think we only had like 10 applications the first year, if I remember correctly.
ZH: Yea it was definitely less than 15, and did we jury the first year?
RHS: I think so and then we realized that maybe it would be a better move to invite a jury.
ZH: It’s nice to look back and see or understand any missteps that happened in the early years also, because I think that contributes to the growth and transformation. Like, of course we juried it ourselves, we didn’t have any money to pay anyone!
RHS:
ZH: It’s very approachable. And now, especially how you guys have set it up and are able to award funding to everyone, it’s just awesome. Yes, you are doing a show, but it’s still work and you realize as you get older like wait, I should be getting paid for this - it’s a lot of work.
RHS: Now, I think Grilled Cheese Grant is seen as this institution and MIAD helps promote us, because we are supporting students and they also want to support our program as an alumni-run initiative. Since we began, there was a big growth and transition from awarding one large monetary amount to the top finalist for Grilled Cheese Grant to raising enough money to support all five finalists in some capacity. Since our growth, we noticed that MIAD also transformed their senior scholarship program. They went from awarding maybe 2-3 scholarships around 2015 to awarding more than 10 or even 20 smaller scholarships to multiple students. Which is wonderful!
ZH: It was not a lot of money when we were in school - it was like three $500 scholarships.
RHS:It seems like they caught on to what we were trying to do, which is cool. We always wondered why it went to one artist because all artists need money and we (GCG) are trying to share the love. For many years, we didn’t want to award GCG money to people who were already given a MIAD scholarship. It’s because we wanted to share the love, share the money, or share the cheese so to speak. We wanted people to feel like there was some support for everyone out there. And we are all artists and we are doing this because we feel it’s important.
Over the years, we have grown their respect [MIAD]. We wanted to host it at Vanguard because it has the same aura as the After School Special studios. It’s been at MARN [Milwaukee Artist Resource Network], WPCA [Walker’s Point Center for the Arts], Yours Truly, Gluon Gallery, etc. Hosting it at Vanguard, it’s almost like the early flavor is back, some spaces have a more institutionalized feeling like MARN, and I think we found our flavor with Vanguard. It’s a studio space - it’s a little gritty, a little punk, and very much a working space. We opened it up to not only seniors and extended the geographical area because we don’t want it to feel exclusive, so we are transforming as well. Seniors who applied but weren’t selected as a finalist can now apply again in subsequent years and that’s one of the biggest changes that I see as a success. Those early years out of college can be some of the most challenging – with money, continuing an artistic practice, and simply just balancing life – so I hope folks see this as a continuing opportunity for them.
ZH: Exactly! Like you don’t want it to be only for people who can afford to go to college. What about self-taught artists? The changes expand their opportunity to get it over the years. It’s exciting. It was a very DIY endeavor at the beginning and it has really grown. I don’t know that people quite understand that we didn’t pay ourselves at the beginning…like at all.
RHS: We are incredibly fortunate now that we can pay each organizer a small stipend, but that only happened two years ago. All the labor up until that point from organizers was happening on a volunteer basis. And it’s a lot of labor. A LOT.
ZH: It seems like a huge event now. I wonder how many people we had at the first one. I think the second one was bigger, but I thought we brought in like 100 people into the ASS studios.
RHS: Was the second year the Brat Sounds year? Someone spray painted their name on a sheet of plastic …
ZH: OH MY GOD I DID THAT! I need a refresher this felt like so long ago. I wasn’t there for the third one, just the first and second. I definitely made the Brat Sounds sign and our first ballot box!
RHS: We still do a ballot box and big check thing, it’s just refreshed and refined.
ZH: When we started doing stuff, some of it was shitty on purpose. There was definitely a DIY or punk aesthetic. Also, we had no money, so it was out of necessity, so we ended up making a lot of things with cardboard and leftover wood scraps we found around the studio. A lot of spray paint and duct tape…It’s really great to see how it’s grown.
RHS: It’s helpful for me to be reminded of your involvement in years one and two. There was incredible growth between those first two years. I think we only had like 10 applications the first year, if I remember correctly.
ZH: Yea it was definitely less than 15, and did we jury the first year?
RHS: I think so and then we realized that maybe it would be a better move to invite a jury.
ZH: It’s nice to look back and see or understand any missteps that happened in the early years also, because I think that contributes to the growth and transformation. Like, of course we juried it ourselves, we didn’t have any money to pay anyone!
RHS:
Asking people to do things for free was a big part of the early years as well. Now we understand more about what artists should be compensated for, but we wouldn’t have gotten there without doing things the way we did them in the early years. We wanted to make opportunities for people like us, especially when we had exhibitions at ASS. We were doing it at the level we could. We did so much at After School Special - there was a new show each month. It was wild!
“Seniors who applied but weren’t selected as a finalist can now apply again in subsequent years, and that’s one of the biggest changes that I see as a success. Those early years out of college can be some of the most challenging – with money, continuing an artistic practice, and simply just balancing life – so I hope folks see this as a continuing opportunity for them.”
ZH: We built that gallery with walls from MIAD. And it’s awesome that GCG outlasted After School Special and Company Brewing! I think it’s important to situate how it started. The description of what it is now and what it was - there are all sorts of things that link up but a lot of it is very different and I think that’s really exciting.
RHS: The growth has been awesome. We have had those milestones – the transformation between year one and two was exponential and then years four to five was another pivotal time. The first year at Vanguard was another incredible year. It is about the money, but it’s also about so much else, the people, the support… it does shift every year. The first year at Vanguard was so emotional for the team. We all cried because of the vast support and growth we felt from the community, the artists, and the event. This is still a grassroots endeavor, but we have come such a long way since year one.
ZH: I remember the first year grabbing the bread ballot box and going out to that big room on the second floor of Company Brewing to count all of the money, we were all huddled around the money on the ground like gremlins and we gave it all to the winner that same day. $500! It was hilarious seeing us all crouched on the ground counting money. We were fun!
Grilled Cheese Grant has raised over $25K for artists since 2016.