Franklin Furnace’s mission is to present, preserve, interpret, educate, and advocate on behalf of avant-garde art, especially forms that may be vulnerable due to institutional neglect, cultural bias, ephemerality, or politically unpopular content.
The organization provides physical and virtual venues for the presentation of time-based art, including artists’ books and periodicals, performance art, installation art, and unforeseen contemporary avant-garde artforms; and undertakes other activities related to these purposes.
Franklin Furnace is dedicated to serving early-career artists; to cultivating appreciation of avant-garde art for all, and to fostering artists’ zeal to circulate ideas.
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The Franklin Furnace FUND for Performance Art awards grants annually to early career artists of all backgrounds to assist the production of new major performance art works. Artists from all areas of the world are encouraged to apply and selected artists must present their work in New York City.
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Franklin Furnace has no curator; each year a new panel of artists reviews all proposals. This peer panel system allows all kinds of artists from all over the world an equal shot at presenting their work. Every year the panel changes, and brings new perspectives of “early career artist" and "performance art." So if at first you don't succeed, please try again.
Application Launch: 03/01/2025
In pursuit of its mission to present, preserve, interpret, educate and advocate on behalf of avant-garde art, especially forms that may be vulnerable due to institutional neglect, cultural bias, their ephemeral nature, or politically unpopular content, Franklin Furnace has since 2023 offered the annual XENO Prizes for Performance Art and Artists’ Books, named in honor of xenophiles, people who appreciate all people and cultures.
- The 2025 XENO PRIZE for Performance Art recipient will be selected from among proposals from the 2025-26 Franklin Furnace FUND for Performance Art (closing April 1st, 2025), to receive $5000 in support of new work by an early-career LGBTQ+-identifying performance artist working in one of the twenty six United States where, according to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, laws and policies ban gender-affirming care.
- The XENO PRIZE for Artists' Books will be selected from submissions to a Call for Proposals issued March 1 2025, to receive $5000 to publish one artist's book on the topic of book banning/burning in an edition of at least 100 copies.
- Independent artist jurors will make the selections and both awards will be announced in September 2025.
The 2024 XENO PRIZE is made possible by the Board of Directors, Members, and friends of Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc.
If you have any technical problems with the online application form, please check Submittable’s Support Page. Please note that they are available Monday - Friday from 11am - 7pm Eastern Standard Time. For other questions, please contact proposals@franklinfurnace.org