-Minnesota State Arts Board - Minnesota North Star

Grants for Individuals

Grant opportunities for individual artists and culture bearers


Current grant programs, offered in the fiscal year 2024 grant cycle

(*) An individual may submit an application in only one of these programs.

(*) Arts Education—Project grants to help Minnesotans develop personal relationships with an art form(s) by supporting learning experiences for individuals of all ages and abilities. Project grant funds may be used for age-appropriate classes, workshops, camps, after-school programs, online education programs, community arts education, school residences or partnerships, etc.

(*) Arts Experiences—Project grants to support individuals and organizations in providing meaningful arts experiences for Minnesotans within their communities. Funds may be used for a variety of arts programming such as creating and/or presenting concerts, plays, tours, exhibitions, arts festivals, public art, or other kinds of activities that provide Minnesotans opportunities to engage in arts activities that are instilled into community or public life.

(*) Cultural Expression—Project grants to support activities that share, explore, pass on, express, or celebrate culture through the arts. Culture may be defined by a common ethnicity, tribal affiliation, geographic or regional identity, occupation, language, or recreation. Traditional and contemporary forms of cultural expression may be funded in this program. Funds could be used to support practicing a cultural art form; presenting cultural festivals, community celebrations, performances, media or exhibitions; offering demonstrations, etc. Funds could also be used to deepen or pass on cultural traditions through apprenticeships or documentation.

(*) Creative Individuals—Project grants to help individual artists and culture bearers develop or sustain their creative practices and meaningfully engage with Minnesotans. Grantees may use funds to support their creative practice and meaningfully connect to and engage with audiences, participants, students, and/or communities during the grant period.


Grant programs offered in previous fiscal years

Artist Initiative—Project grants for artists at all stages of their careers, to support artistic development, nurture artistic creativity, and recognize the contributions individual artists make to the creative environment of the state of Minnesota.

Arts Learning—Project grants to provide opportunities for lifelong learners to acquire knowledge and understanding of and skills in the arts.

Arts Tour Minnesota—Project grants to support touring performances, exhibitions, and other related arts activities throughout the state.

Creative Support for Individuals—This program is designed to help Minnesota artists and culture bearers adapt to changes in their working environment caused by the global pandemic. Grantees will be able to use funds to sustain their practice and stay relevant and connected to audiences, participants, students, or communities now and in the future.

Cultural Community Partnership—Project grants to enhance the careers of individual artists of color. Artists, at any stage in their careers, can apply for grants to help support collaborative projects.

Folk and Traditional Arts—Project grants to support the artistic traditions and customs practiced within community and/or cultural groups by identifying, documenting, preserving, presenting, and honoring Minnesota's folk arts and traditions.

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