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Dan Blask, Program Manager
Mass Cultural Council believes that when creativity thrives, so does the Commonwealth. We are honored to announce 447 grants of $5,000 each to artists, culture bearers, and creative practitioners as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 Grants for Creative Individuals.
See a list of this year’s grant recipients.
The program awards unrestricted grants to individuals in all creative fields: visual artists, literary artists, theater and dance artists, film/media artists, music artists, designers, traditional artists/culture bearers, drag artists, cross-disciplinary artists, and more.
We received 3,084 eligible applications to Grants for Creative Individuals. Awards were decided through a review process that includes geographic distribution, funding priorities, and scores from reviewers from the Massachusetts creative/cultural sector.
Reviewers prioritized applications based on the program mission: to equitably advance creativity throughout the Commonwealth with unrestricted grants to individuals who demonstrate achievement of creative expression and commitment to their artistic/cultural practice.
Approximately 98% of the grantees are receiving their first grant from Mass Cultural Council.
The reviewers for the FY25 Grants for Creative Individuals were: Gonzalo Bacigalupe, Craig Bailey, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, J. Andres Ballesteros, Erin Becker, NaDaizja Bolling, Maria Cabrera, Sriram Emani, Madge Evers, Jamaal Eversley, Wei Fan, Claudia Fiks, Raquel Fornasaro, Marlon Forrester, Matthew Hincman, Dr. Hubert Ho, Weiying Olivia Huang, Marianne Kent, karen Krolak, Nayana LaFond, Diego Leonardo, Reynaliz Herrera Martinez, Rebecca McGowan, U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo, Kim Moberg, Young Min Moon, Kat Nakaji, Jason Prokowiew, Nathan Sabanayagam, Homa Ershad Sarabi, Maizy B. Scarpa, Anna Seda, Wenhua Shi, Cecilia Soriano, Shubha Sunder, Azadeh Tajpour, Traci Talbert, Mireille Tushiminina, Naomi Westwater Weekes, and Robyn Weisel. Mass Cultural Council extends its deepest gratitude to the reviewers for contributing their energy and insights to our process. If you are interested in reviewing for a future grant cycle, please register your interest.
Mass Cultural Council is excited to celebrate this investment with this year’s recipients and invites you to join us at the Massachusetts State House at 1pm on May 19, 2025. More information and event registration are available online.
This announcement reflects Mass Cultural Council’s second year of Grants for Creative Individuals funding. The program was launched in FY24 after a year-long evaluation of our support for creative individuals as part of the Agency’s Racial Equity Plan. We plan to offer the Grants for Creative Individuals to Massachusetts creatives every year, subject to the Agency’s state budget appropriation and governing Council-approved spending plan.
The Grants for Creative Individuals are part of Mass Cultural Council’s sustained effort to advance creativity in the Commonwealth. Sign up for the monthly Artist News e-newsletter to receive all updates, details, and deadlines for Mass Cultural Council’s funding and support for creative individuals.
