In the woods, a line of folks carry a string/stick together.
Above:

National Theater Project-supported Mondo Bizarro's "Invisible Rivers" | photo by Bruce France

Arts and culture are essential to a just society

As a social impact organization, NEFA builds, sustains, and fights for arts and culture through grantmaking, partnerships, and advocacy in New England, the nation, and beyond.

Our Vision and Values

Grantmaking for art making. What will you create?

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Upcoming Grant Application Deadlines

NEFA offers grants to artists and organizations to support the creation and presentation of work. 

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New England Dance Fund

September 28, 2026
The New England Dance Fund awards grants to New England-based choreographers of all genres and backgrounds who identify an opportunity that will advance their careers in dance.

Public Art Learning Fund

October 13, 2026
The Public Art Learning Fund aims to strengthen the field of public art in New England by providing professional development support directly to artists.

New England States Touring (NEST) Grant

December 1, 2026
Funds nonprofit organizations to present touring artists in venues across New England.

Public Art for Spatial Justice

December 1, 2026
Supports public art that creatively expresses and embodies a more just version of what’s possible in public.

National Dance Project Travel Fund

Rolling Deadline
National Dance Project Travel Fund provides monetary assistance for U.S. based presenters, curatorial staff, and residency directors or for current NDP artist grantees to connect in person to explore feasibility of presenting NDP-funded projects.

New England Presenter Travel Fund

Rolling Deadline
Presenter Travel Fund enhances the performing arts in the region by supporting travel costs associated with researching artistic work that may eventually be presented in New England.
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What's happening

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In a grassy field, brown, porous paper scultpures, like a circular netting, reach toward the sky.
Public Art

Artist Voices: May Babcock and Site-Specific Public Art as Ecological Citizen

I am a papermaking artist who uses foraged natural materials to craft spacious sculptures, pulp paintings, and installations shaped by place. As a multiracial artist of Taiwanese-Chinese descent, my work is a search for belonging. I relate to plants that tell the stories of entangled ecologies at
Black and white photo of a Black man playing the base.
Music

The People's History of NEFA: Avery Sharpe

In honor of NEFA's 50th Anniversary and in contribution to the People's History of NEFA, Litchfield Jazz Festival/Camp sat down for a brief dialogue with educator and legendary jazz double bassist, electric bassist, and composer Avery Sharpe. Litchfield Jazz Festival/Camp has received numerous New
On an outdoor stage in a city, performers hold fabric and sing admist brightly colored set pieces.
Theater

National Theater Project Awards $540K to Artists, Ensembles, and Community Partners

Since 2010, NEFA’s National Theater Project (NTP) has been a critical means of support for artist-led, ensemble, and devised theater work. The program has done this through direct funding while cultivating an informed, interactive ecosystem of ensembles, artists, and presenters. To date, NTP has
Three paintings: one red sky with the sun, one blue sky with rocks, and one night sky with water.
Public Art

Artist Voices: Michelle de Celia

Michelle received a Public Art Learning Fund grant in 2025 to pursue a self-directed residency in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, focused on Afro-Brazilian ritual arts, material culture, and community aesthetics. When aesthetic styles and vocabularies don’t exist in a hierarchy, there is a lot more that
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Fostering regional, national, and international connections

CreativeGround

CreativeGround spotlights the creative people and places at work in New England: cultural nonprofits like libraries and theaters, creative businesses like recording studios and design agencies, and artists of all disciplines such as performing arts, visual arts, and crafts.

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Center Stage

Center Stage is among the most successful programs to bring contemporary international performing artists into direct contact with people across a wide range of U.S. communities, and to share these experiences globally.

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