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Northampton Arts Council, Inc.

The Northampton Arts Council serves over 25,000 diverse residents of Hampshire County annually—including artists, students, families, seniors, immigrants, low-income individuals, and underrepresented cultural groups—ensuring our programming reflects the whole community.

We are deeply rooted in our region, Northampton, as well as Holyoke, Springfield, Greenfield, and the rest of the Valley, and meet eligibility criteria across Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties through:

Local presence: administrative staff and board members live locally, and events are produced within our service region.

Community participation: decisions are guided by residents via surveys, listening sessions, and public forums, especially when designing public art initiatives like the Northampton Public Arts Festival.

Community members lead our work in multiple ways:
Resident-led board: 16 local artists, educators, nonprofit professionals, and community members oversee funding decisions, strategy, and programming priorities.
Grant review process: Our 11-person Local Cultural Council grant panel is peer-led, empowering community applicants to review and decide among local arts and culture projects. It consists of over 55% LGBTQ members and 18% BIPOC,

Direct input: For the 2025 Public Arts Festival, neighborhood feedback called for inclusive public art. As a result, we commissioned two permanent murals by artist Sabrina Dorsainvil that reflect themes of identity, equity, accessibility, and civic care—expressing community voices in a visible way. The new murals will be seen by over 1 million visitors annually.

We operate within a strategic focus of supporting a vibrant local arts and creativity ecosystem and increasing equity and opportunity for regionally under­served communities.

Contact

Brian Foote, Executive Director
arts@northamptonma.gov
413-587-1069
http://www.northamptonartscouncil.org/

Address
240 Main Street
#1
Northampton, MA 01060-3113

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Application Information

FY26 Allocation

$23,600

FY26 Local Priorities

Arts projects that include a public component, such as exhibits, festivals, short-term artist residencies, performances, workshops, readings, virtual presentations, and lectures held in Northampton, Florence, or Leeds; this includes programming held in schools.

Artists residing in Massachusetts, whose projects will be held in Northampton, Florence, or Leeds. For individuals, “reside” does not mean they have to be a “legal resident” of Massachusetts as defined by the State for tax purposes. They need to reside in Massachusetts.

Nonprofit cultural and educational institutions offer programs and events that bring the arts and culture to a Northampton area audience.

Work demonstrating the highest artistic merit.

Projects that are financially feasible and have multiple sources of funding.

If you are live-streaming a public event, captions should be provided. In place of captions, you might consider having a message that says, “This event will be recorded and then embedded on our YouTube channel, where captions and a transcript will be available.” Before putting on a virtual program, you could ask people to register, and in the registration submission, ask people to communicate any accessibility needs with a deadline by which they need to let you know. It is easier to book a captioner and cancel (with at least 48 h notice) than to get one in 48 hours.

Also note: Schools, not artists, should apply for projects that take place in schools.

For-profit entities that propose projects that provide public benefit.

“Public entities” include Tribal, Federal, State, and Municipal government entities.

Sole proprietors are considered individuals and are eligible.

FY26 Local Guidelines

The Council does NOT fund:
Projects or events completed before applying.
Fundraising or profit-making events that do not benefit the arts.
Continuation funding for projects already awarded a grant from the Northampton Arts Council.
More than one application by the same artist or cultural group.
General operating support.
Money to replace municipal funding for the arts.
Humanities and Science Applications.
Applicants who still need to submit their final report for FY25 or FY24 or FY23 or FY22 or FY21 or FY20 LCC Grants they received.

How Grant Recipients Are Paid

Direct Grants

Apply Now

FY25 Funding List

Name Project Title Amount
Allis, Sunny There's Nothing Wrong With Love $780
Available Potential Enterprises, Ltd. ETERNAL $1,060
Ayres, Wylder The Queer Story Slam $1,110
Back Porch Productions LLC Back Porch Festival $1,100
Bettagere Nagendra Prasad, Pranav Swaroop Project SARANG - Colors of South Asian Music $500
Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity, Inc. Tell Her This Live! $515
Chapman, Anna [RE]tangle:GATHER $1,001
Chinese Association of Western Massachusetts, Inc Chinese Lantern Festival and New Year Celebration $765
Ferguson, Carrie Queer Kids Fest 2025 - Author Presentations $1,020
Francis, Indë Mirror, Mirror $765
Gately, Sara Access to the Arts $250
Grow Food Northampton, Inc. Grow Food Northampton Farmers Markets Music $900
King, Matthew Global Groove Festival $1,050
Krosoczka, Gina Northampton Youth Arts & Lit Fest $995
Manselle, Jafar “West African Drumming Workshop - Come Out to Play” $250
Mothers Institute for Collaboration and Art MICAfest: Mothers in Contemporary Art $1,070
Northampton Center for the Arts, Inc. 2025 Youth Performance Festival $795
Northampton Jazz Festival, Inc. Northampton Jazz Festival $810
Northampton Parents Center, Inc. Weekly Drop-In Music Classes for Families with Young Children $1,015
Pedraza, Kit Queer Curiosities $400
Play Incubation Collective Inc PIC PIPS 2025 $700
Queer Joy Collaborative Creating the Joyful Kids Chorus $425
Quinn-Vasic, Paige Noho Art Club $800
Self-Evident Education, Inc. The Power of Truths Arts & Education Festival $1,130
Smith, Ronald Saturday Jazz Workshop Jam Sessions $750
Striving For All Art Therapy for Foster Children $1,045
The Northampton Academy of Music, Inc. Academy Regional Poetry Slam $1,045
Translate Gender, Inc. CoACT Community Theatre for BIPOC Youth $1,050
Valley Arts Mentors Mentorship Program & Webinar Series $355
Valley Light Opera, Inc. Production of H.M.S. Pinafore $500
Westwater Weekes, Naomi Reclaiming Folk $500

Apply Now

Review Complete LCC Program Guidelines


Mass Cultural Council publishes updates daily. Last update was made on September 12, 2025 at 07:46 PM UTC
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