KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo (ACGK) has announced its 2023 grant programming for Kalamazoo County.
According to council officials, grants are available to individuals and organizations in Kalamazoo.
“We are so pleased to be able to continue to offer financial assistance to both individual artists and organizations in our community again this year,” said Kristen Chesak, ACGK Executive Director and grant program administrator. “Our grant opportunities are some of the only opportunities for individual artists available in our area. These funds are one of the ways we support the amazing projects and events that make our community such a wonderful place to work and live.”
Three main grants are available through the ACGK. In addition to summaries and deadlines for each found below, more information is available on the ACGK’s website at https://www.kalamazooarts.
Kalamazoo Artistic Development Initiative (KADI) — Funded by the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, this grant is designed to support individual artists in their endeavor to develop themselves and their art through projects or professional development. Attention is paid, and weight is given, to the artistic merit of a project, or how a professional development opportunity will help further an artist’s career. There are two separate categories for this grant: Professional Development and Project Support. Applications for Round I are open now and are due May 12.
Kalamazoo Artistic Development Initiative (KADI) Immediate Needs Minigrant — Funded by the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, this funding provides for individual artists who have unanticipated, sudden opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding or incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with the committed exhibition, performance, or deadline dates. Applications open May 15. Applicants are free to apply when needs arise. Decisions are usually made within 2 weeks.
The Arts Fund of Kalamazoo County — Established in 1986 through a Kalamazoo Community Foundation Initiative Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, this grant is intended to support artists and artistic projects that remove barriers, provide access, and engage culturally diverse and historically excluded communities. Applications for Round I will open July 17 and are due on Sept. 15.
In addition to its own grants, ACGK also administers the State of Michigan’s Michigan Arts and Culture Council’s (MACC) minigrants for seven counties.
MACC Minigrants, Region 8 Minigrant — This state-funded grant program provides minigrants of up to $4,000 for locally developed, high-quality arts and cultural projects as well as up to $1,500 for professional and organizational development. These are special opportunities to address local arts and cultural needs as well as increase public access to arts and culture. Minigrants support a broad range of artistic expression from all cultures through projects which preserve, produce, or present traditional or contemporary arts and culture and/or arts education.
For assistance with the grant application process for any of the ACGK grant programs, 12 workshops are offered beginning in April and continuing through November. Details and a schedule are available online at https://bit.ly/
For additional information about the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo and its grant programs, visit www.kalamazooarts.com or contact Kristen Chesak at kchesak@kalamazooarts.org or 269-342-5059.
