Streetcorner Canvases is the City of Indianapolis’ traffic signal box (“TSB”) art program, through which communities can engage with artists and each other to develop artwork on TSBs in their neighborhood. The Indy Arts Council has been managing the program on behalf of the City since 2015.
Grants
Each year, Indy Arts Council offers a number of grant programs to artists and arts administrators. These grants enhance and support the development of quality arts performances, programs, professional development, services, exhibitions, and arts activities throughout central Indiana. Grant applications are adjudicated in an objective process that is free from conflicts of interest and assures fairness and professionalism.
Our grant programs fall into two categories: grants for individuals and grants for organizations.
We invite all eligible applicants to apply for a grant opportunity.
Active & Upcoming Grants
-
Streetcorner Canvases: Traffic Signal Box Art Partnership Program
APPLICATIONS ARE OPENLearn More -
Annual Grants Program
NEXT ROUND OPENS JANUARY 2025Learn MoreThis grant program provides general operating support to Marion County-based nonprofit arts & culture organizations.
View the 2024 public panel review recording here.
-
DeHaan Artist of Distinction Award
NEXT ROUND OPENS JANUARY 2025Learn MoreThe DeHaan Artist of Distinction Award is for contemporary visual artists who want to take risks.
-
Art & Soul Featured Artists
NEXT ROUND OPENS SUMMER 2025Learn MoreArt & Soul is a celebration of Black art and music in Indianapolis. Each year, four Featured Artists are recognized for their exemplary contributions to our creative community.
-
Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship Program
NEXT ROUND OPENS SUMMER 2026Learn MoreWhat would you do if you were given $12,000 to seek renewal? Since 1999, the Arts Council, with support from Lilly Endowment Inc., has invited 500+ central Indiana artists and arts administrators to do just that.
-
Public Art for Neighborhoods Grants
APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSEDLearn MoreOpen to Indianapolis-based artists and non-arts community organizations, artists and communities to collaborate on arts & culture projects that all residents can enjoy.
-
Public Art for All Grants
APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSEDLearn MorePublic Art for All Grants make funding available to project partners who have the capacity and desire to address public art equity issues.
Previous Grants
-
Beckmann Emerging Artist Fellowships
-
Indy Keeps Creating Relief Grants
-
Mental Health & Wellness Grants
-
Art for Awareness
Nearly 35 artists have used these $3,500 grants early in their careers to develop their knowledge and skills. They recorded new music, choreographed dances, bought supplies and rented studios, traveled and studied, and more. Many of these artists now have established careers and are well-known in Indianapolis and beyond.
Since 2008, Indy Arts Council has awarded $3,500 grants to central Indiana-based emerging musicians, dancers, theater lighting designers, painters, poets, sculptors and other artists. This program ends in 2024 with a final round of Beckmann fellows, who will be announced in December 2023.
The Beckmann Emerging Artist Fellowships honored the legacy of Robert D. Beckmann, Jr., a visual and performing artist and founding member of Indy Arts Council. And after 15 years, the fellowship program will end with the final round of Beckmann artists announced in December 2023.
The Arts Council launched #IndyKeepsCreating in March 2020 as a hashtag to rally artists, arts organizations, and stakeholders facing the isolation and other challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also became the umbrella name for a series of grant programs supporting independent artists and nonprofit organizations that suffered major financial losses.
In 2020, the Arts Council was entrusted to administer nearly $14 million to help ensure #IndyKeepsCreating through relief and recovery funding for independent artists and nonprofit arts organizations.
In 2021, the initiative evolved to include:
- Artist Restart Grants: Covering the tools, studio rentals, rehearsal spaces, submission fees, and other work-related costs. More than 175 $1,000 grants were distributed in the summer to help artists restart their careers.
- Wug Laku Mental Health & Wellness Grants: Created to provide access to mental health care and wellness programs for artists and arts administrators. The $250 and $750 grants honored the legacy of Wug Laku, a local artist and mentor who died in 2017 due to untreated mental illness.
- The Indy Keeps Creating Series: Featured artist- and community-led cultural activities from August 2021 to March 2022 including the Sidewalk Galleries, Cultural Connection Series, and Music Series. The program was supported by $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding made available through the City of Indianapolis.
Indy Arts Council offered Mental Health & Wellness Grants to support artists and creative workers in navigating and preventing addiction and substance abuse.
These grants aimed to help artists experiencing social and emotional challenges without sufficient means to obtain treatment. These grants were intended to address, reduce, treat, and prevent substance abuse and addiction, and covered costs for one-on-one therapy, support groups, art therapy, and wellness & mindfulness practices. Grant awards ranged from $250 to $750.
Funding for these grants was made possible through the City of Indianapolis and the Opioid Settlement Funds. As of July 1, 2024, all available funds for this program have been allocated.
In 2024, Indy Arts Council awarded a total of $135,000 for Art for Awareness Grants. The funds support programs that use arts-based activities to prevent or create awareness of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) or addiction in Marion County. These projects are based on collaboration between artists and SUD experts and employ evidence-based techniques. Read more about the awardees and their projects here.
FAQs
Grants
Am I eligible to apply?
Equitable access to arts funding for all arts organizations and artists in Indianapolis a guiding principle of Indy Arts Council’s grant making. Such funding will unite arts organizations and artists with diverse populations of our community to nurture a thriving culture for the arts within the City of Indianapolis.
Each grant may have specific eligibility requirements. If so, those details will be clear within each grant program description and application. Please refer to each grant specifically before applying.
How can I apply?
When grant funding opens, the application link will be live on our website. Additionally, information about applying will be included in our Artist Opportunities newsletter. Sign up here.
I applied, when will I hear back?
If you receive a confirmation after submitting your application, you did the hard part! Timelines will be included in grant information, when available. Otherwise, the grant review team and/or Indy Arts Council will be in touch when decisions are made. Please make sure your contact information is current in all applications so we can reach you.
How is the money allocated?
Grant funding is allocated based on the specific grant. Details will be included in the grant description and application.
How can I connect to the Indy Arts Council staff with questions?
Grants questions, if not answered within the specific grant description or application, should be directed to Nikki Kirk or Zach Patterson.
For questions about eligibility requirements and our grant programs in general, join Nikki during office hours on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Sign up for a 1:1 session here.
For questions about the grants portal, the application process, and tech issues, join Zach during office hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Sign up for a 1:1 session here.
Need additional help? Email grants@indyarts.org or call 317-631-3301.
Equity Statement
We will make equitable access to arts funding for all arts organizations and artists in Indianapolis a guiding principle of Arts Council grant making. Such funding will unite arts organizations and artists with diverse populations of our community to nurture a thriving culture for the arts within the City of Indianapolis.