Public Art for Turbulent Times

As we approach fall here at NEFA, we are thrilled to mark the beginning of our grantmaking season for Public Art. This year, we're excited to relaunch our full slate of grant programs, including Public Art for Spatial Justice (PASJ), Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice (CISJ), the Public Art Learning Fund (PALF), and Making It Public (MIP). After last year's paring down of our offerings, we're eager to connect with more artists, cultural producers, and communities than ever before. 

Acknowledging the Moment

Before diving into deadlines, we want to take a moment to recognize that our global and national political landscape feels particularly violent and overwhelming for many of us. In these turbulent times, it's easy to feel powerless. However, Team Public Art believes in the strength, resilience, and creativity of our local communities. Artists and organizers have always been at the forefront of community building, especially during moments of crisis. Through this slate of grants, we hope to provide opportunities for artists and communities to come together, support one another, and create spaces of care and healing. 

Guided by NEFA’s organizational values, our vision for public art is rooted in the belief that public art can shift public culture and change the future. We support diverse cultural and artistic expressions of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) as essential to creating more equitable public spaces. Our commitment to addressing the intersectionality of spatial justice and racial justice is critical to cultivating a vibrant public art ecosystem. We believe in the importance of context in public artmaking and aim to support art that honors the integrity of people, places, stories, and ideas—past, present, and future. This guiding vision is more important now than ever before and by anchoring ourselves in this work, we believe we can contribute to a more equitable and just world at the local level. 

Re-launching Our Full Slate of Grant Programs

To help realize this vision, we are re-launching our full slate of grant opportunities: Public Art Learning Fund, Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice, and Public Art for Spatial Justice. These are three unique programs that support artists and communities at varying moments on their public art journeys. Each program, however, represents a different facet of Team Public Art’s commitment to fostering a more vibrant and equitable public art ecosystem. 

Here’s a Brief Overview of Each of Our Upcoming Offerings:

Public Art Learning Fund (PALF)

PALF is a professional development grant for artists, creatives, and cultural producers looking to refine or launch their public art practice by developing specific skills, knowledge, and practice areas. PALF:

• Provides grants ranging from $500 to $3,000 to support professional development opportunities for New England artists.
• Aims to foster the continued development of equitable, inclusive, and vibrant public spaces.
• Supports artists in building skills, resources, and connections to strengthen their public art practices.
• Deadline to apply: September 16, 2024

Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice (CISJ)

CISJ supports teams who are committed to creating public art for spatial justice in their communities but need time and space to figure out how to do that responsibly, sustainably and effectively. CISJ:

• Supports teams of Massachusetts-based artists and community collaborators with a $6,000 grant for a six-month imagination journey.
• Encourages envisioning public art that fosters positive social change without the pressure of immediate deliverables.
• Deadline to apply: October 21, 2024

Public Art for Spatial Justice (PASJ) 

PASJ invests in artists and organizations who are ready to implement public art for spatial justice projects in their communities. PASJ:

• Supports Massachusetts-based artists and organizations working with artists to creatively cultivate expressions or embodiments of spatial justice through public artmaking.
• Provides grants ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 for projects that engage public spaces in ways that reflect and promote spatial justice and equity.
• Deadline to apply: December 2, 2024

Making it Public 

In partnership with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s (MAPC) Arts and Culture Department, NEFA invites municipalities in Massachusetts to participate in the Making it Public for MA Municipalities 2025 cohort.

Municipalities selected for the 2025 Cohort will:  

• Participate in a biweekly workshop series with 6 training sessions over 11 weeks (January-April 2025) facilitated by MAPC. These workshops are designed to support Massachusetts municipal staff in facilitating more inclusive and equitable processes for administering a Call for Temporary Public Art. 
• Receive a $15,000 grant from NEFA to fund artists selected through the Call for Temporary Public Art. 
• Deadline to apply: September 30, 2024

In addition to MIP for MA Municipalities, NEFA will also host Making it Public for MA Artists, a 5-week virtual training series designed and facilitated by Forecast Public Art to support artists of all disciplines in exploring and expanding their public art making practice. Registration Making it Public for MA Artists will open in December, and workshops will take place from March-April 2025.

Resources for Applicants

Before starting your application, please take a moment to review all eligibility criteria, funding criteria, and narrative questions. Our pre-recorded webinars are also available to guide you through the application questions and ensure a smooth application process. In addition to exploring the content on our website, we recommend signing up for office hours and attending our live info sessions which will provide additional information on each grant.

To learn more about these opportunities, please sign-up for our newsletter and be sure to check-off “Public Art” so you receive these updates.

We look forward to another inspiring year of public artmaking with you!