Minnesota State Arts Board

The Minnesota State Arts Board is a state agency that stimulates and encourages the creation, performance, and appreciation of the arts in the state.

Upcoming Opportunities

Application materials are now available for the FY 2026 Arts Education grant program. Applications must be submitted by February 7, 2025.

Application materials are now available for the FY 2026 Creative Individuals grant program. Applications must be submitted by March 7, 2025.

The Arts Board will offer six grant programs in the fiscal year 2026 grant cycle. They include: Accessible Arts, Arts Education, Arts Experiences, Cultural Expression, Creative Individuals, and Operating Support . Application deadlines for all programs can be found on the calendar.


Request for Proposals
The Minnesota Percent for Art in Public Places program is requesting proposals from artists, galleries, museums, or others who have existing artwork available to sell. The artwork must be relevant to Walker|West Music Academy and must support the music academy in connecting with its community, diversity, history, the African American/African diaspora, and the Rondo neighborhood. This RFP is not limited to, but priority will be given to work by artists who live or lived in the Rondo neighborhood, the cities of Saint Paul or Minneapolis, and/or the state of Minnesota.

Proposals must be submitted no later than 4:00 P.M. (CST), January 31, 2025.

To receive a copy of the Request for Proposals: Art for Purchase - Walker|West Music Academy, contact Mary LaRoche by e-mail at percentforart@state.mn.us.


Information Session
The Arts Board will offer virtual information sessions to help potential applicants understand grant program requirements and the application process. Two overview sessions will be offered on January 7 and 8. These sessions will provide a high-level overview of the grant programs offered for organizations or individuals in FY 2026. The sessions will be recorded and available for viewing on the Arts Board website.

Information sessions providing a deeper dive into each of the five grant programs will be offered January through May. Details and links to join the virtual sessions can be found in the Information Sessions section of the Arts Board Web calendar.


Grant Application Workshops
Individuals or organizations that would like to learn how to apply for grants are invited to attend in person workshops hosted by Arts Board staff. These interactive workshops are designed for people who are new to seeking grants. Attendees will learn the basics of applying for a grant, including how to prepare an application and how applications are reviewed. Tips from previous grantees will also be offered. Workshop attendees will have the opportunity to reserve one-to-one time with an Arts Board staff member. The workshop and one-on-one sessions are free and open to the public. The dates, times, and locations of upcoming sessions are listed below.

To register and get more information, click on the location of the session.
Owatonna Arts Center | Saturday January 18, 2025, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Litchfield Public Library | Saturday February 1, 2025, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Accessibility 101 for Arts and Culture Organizations

Webinar Recording | Download PowerPoint and Session Resources
The Arts Board and the National Endowment for the Arts offered a one-hour webinar to help Minnesota arts and cultural workers answer the question, "where do I start?" when creating inclusive, accessible spaces and programs for people with disabilities. The PowerPoint linked above includes resources that were shared during the session.
The webinar features:
Beth Bienvenu, Accessibility Director, National Endowment for the Arts
Katharine Hayward, Accessibility Specialist, National Endowment for the Arts

 

Open call for grant program advisors

The Minnesota State Arts Board relies on the generous involvement of Minnesota citizens to evaluate artistic activities and review grant applications to help determine which will be recommended to receive funding. This involvement, and the insights advisors bring, are the vital foundation for the Arts Board's grant decisions each year.

For this reason, hundreds of people–ranging from individuals who don't work in the arts, but have knowledge or passion for the arts, to individuals who have experience with Minnesota nonprofits in paid or volunteer positions, to professionals working in the arts–are needed to experience arts activities and review applications remotely, ongoing.

Find out if this is the right fit for you, visit  grant program advisor opportunities.

 

Stay in Touch

If you'd like to receive information and updates from the Arts Board via e-mail, please sign-up for the board's Arts Board e-news.

 

WebGrants

The Minnesota State Arts Board's WebGrants system is open for registration.

How to Register in WebGrants
How to Use WebGrants
Webgrants FAQ
Login to WebGrants

 

Arts Research / Policy / Cultural Issues

Minnesota Arts Dashboard

Minnesotans have long believed that the arts are important. The Minnesota State Arts Board has created a dashboard to help report ways that the arts add value to our individual and collective lives, and some of the ways that Minnesotans show that they value the arts. The dashboard reports the status of 16 key indicators that fall under five broad, strategic outcomes. The data produced will be used to track progress toward achieving those five outcomes, to ensure that all Minnesotans are benefitting from public funding for the arts, and to inform the way the Minnesota State Arts Board and Minnesota's eleven regional arts councils invest state resources in programs and services. Click here to download the Minnesota Arts Dashboard.