Portland Institute for Contemporary Art has announced grant awards totaling $75,000 to regional artists. It’s a new initiative called the Precipice Fund that’s designed to strengthen support to individual artists.

This is new territory for PICA, which traditionally hasn’t made direct grants. But now they’re administering funds given the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. PICA convened an independent panel of judges to review applications and re-grant the money.

Roya Amirsoleymani, who helped set up the program, says the Precipice Fund aims to help projects that emphasize community over competition.

The grants include residency money for established names, like artist and curator Mack McFarland and choreographer Linda K. Austin, and also for emerging talents like Dominic Billand, who collected short compositions for a sort of mix-tape, accompanied by visual works.

The grants, range from $2800 to $5000. They’ll primarily fund visual art, but also creative projects like a made-for-TV play to be produced on public access channel, and an installation in a decommissioned crab fishing boat.

Some awards will provide operating support for small galleries in Portland. Another group that received funding put on an exhibition this year at the Umpqua Dunes.

PICA called on grantees and short-list finalists to keep working together, both in this round, and future projects.

This story originally appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.