Arts Midwest
/OVERVIEW: Arts Midwest’s grants fund collaborations between Midwestern communities and performing, visual and arts education from all over.
IP TAKE: While the performers and groups can come from anywhere in the world, Arts Midwest only supports arts and culture opportunities in the Midwestern United States. Grantseekers should remember that the organization does not typically support performers or artists directly and applications must come from the presenting organizations.
This is an accessible, but competitive regional funder, so make sure to reach out before applying with any questions about the application process.
PROFILE: Created in 1984, Arts Midwest is the result of a merger between two other organizations that were established by the National Endowment for the Arts in the 1970s in order to strengthen and cultivate arts on a regional level. It is part of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations group of funders. Arts Midwest promotes “creativity, nurtures cultural leadership, and engages people in meaningful arts experiences, bringing vitality to Midwest communities and enriching people’s lives.” Arts Midwest funds “performing, visual, and literary arts and leadership development initiatives” to support arts and culture in the American Midwest, ie. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The organization’s performing arts grantmaking primarily funds presenting organizations, although it does occasionally support individual artists.
Grants for Arts and Culture and Arts Education
Arts Midwest’s grantmaking programs include the following:
The GIG Fund provides “flexible support to help arts and culture organizations grow their capacity, fund artists engagements, and build community. Visual and performing arts organizations based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Native nations in these geographic areas are eligible for grants of up to $4,000 but must demonstrate the ability to raise matching funds through donations and/or revenue. Recent grantees include the 16th Street Theater of Berwyn, Illinois; Chicago’s Elastic Arts Foundation, the Indianapolis Museum of Art; and the Gateway Dance Theater of Des Moines, Iowa. Applications due dates usually fall in October.
The American Rescue Plan is conducted in partnership with nine state arts agencies to distribute $8 million to midwestern arts organizations in the process of rebuilding financial health after COVID-19 shutdowns. To apply for grants of up to $150,000, organizations should visit the program’s current opportunities page, which provides links to participating organizations.
Arts Midwest’s Jazz Road program provides early- and mid-career jazz artists with grants of “up to $15,000 to develop tours and up to $40,000 to conduct multi-week residencies.” The program aims to support “artists from within our region and across the country to engage new audiences and further explore their work, ensuring that artists are paid equitably.” Past grantees include the Phillipe Lemm Trio, the Jalen Baker Quartet and the Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet, among others. To apply, grantseekers should contact program manager Carly Newhouse.
Arts Midwest also offers a series of professional development, networking, and other types of community Programs for performing artists and organizations. There is also the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund to offer support, relief, and recovery for performing artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grantseekers can see past programs and activities here.
Grants for Music
While the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, and GIG Fund programs outlined above support dance, music, theater, and other performing arts equally, a handful of programs focus on music exclusively. The Jazz Road program seeks to help emerging and mid-career jazz artists from anywhere in the United States “engage new audiences and further explore their work, ensuring that artists are paid equitably.” The program provides grants of up to $15,000 for tour development and up to $40,000 for multi-week residencies. It is operated in partnership with other regional arts organizations and is administered by South Arts. The Arts Midwest World Fest presents international musical ensembles in intensive week-long residencies in smaller Midwest communities. The program seeks to “foster an understanding of and appreciation for global uniqueness and differences.” This program funds musicians directly. However, performers must be a global music ensemble. Finally, this funder supports international music programming through the Arts Midwest Folkefest, which brings musicians from Finland and Sweden to midwestern communities to deepen awareness of Nordic traditions and heritage in the region.
Grants for Theater
Theater support is a big part of Arts Midwest’s Touring Fund and GIG Fund programs. However, potential theater grantees will have to compete for these grants with applicants from other disciplines. The Shakespeare in American Communities program is this funder’s only theater exclusive program. It seeks to connect “youths across the country to Shakespeare’s plays by supporting performances and workshops in schools and in the justice system.” Grantseekers can learn how to apply here.
Grants for Writing
This funder does not offer many opportunities for grants in the literary space; however, it does collaborate on a big one through its partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts for the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read. Grantseekers can see current and previous featured books and access further information about the program on the NEA’s Big Read website. Detailed information about how to apply can be found here.
Important Grant Details:
Grant amounts vary widely by program. Each program has its own application deadline and procedure. Grantseekers should be sure to study each carefully before applying.
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