Cambridge Arts Council
Cambridge Arts Council is a city agency that funds, promotes, and presents high-quality, community-based arts programming for the benefit of artists, residents, employees, and visitors in Cambridge, MA. As one of the oldest and most dynamic arts agencies in the country, Cambridge Arts fosters opportunities to recognize, celebrate, and support artists and artmaking reflective of the diverse populations in the city. Operating with funding from local and state government, private foundations, corporate sponsors, and individual donors, Cambridge Arts delivers on its mission by fulfilling three primary roles:
Connector: Through partnerships with artists, presenters, donors and audiences, the agency operates as a vital cultural presence in the region. From connecting local youth with professional teaching artists to securing performance space for both emerging and established ensembles and introducing residents to local artists through Cambridge Open Studios, Cambridge Arts links people and resources from across the artistic spectrum to spark innovative collaboration.
Presenter: In addition to exhibitions and educational programming presented in the Cambridge Arts Space, Cambridge Arts stages high-profile events such as the Cambridge Arts River Festival, a signature city celebration and regional event. The festival features a wide array of music, dance, theater and visual art and attracts a robust audience of close to 200,000 visitors annually.
Funder: Through the Cambridge Arts Grant Program, Cambridge Arts awards dozens of financial grants each year in support of high-quality, community-based art projects representing all artistic disciplines.
*** View our Local Council Grant Guidelines here: https://www.cambridgema.gov/arts/Programs/Grants/howtoapplyforgrants
All local guidelines and requirements MUST be completed IN ADDITION TO the state application.***
To learn more about Cambridge Arts and our programs visit: http://www.cambridgeartscouncil.org
Contact
Deena Anderson, Director of Community Arts
danderson@cambridgema.gov
617-349-4380
https://www.cambridgema.gov/arts/
Address
344 Broadway
2nd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02139-1701
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Application Information
FY25 Allocation
$34,300
FY25 Local Priorities
The Cambridge Arts Grant Program awards funding to individuals, creative partnerships, and local organizations to support high-quality artistic projects that provide direct engagement and benefit to residents and visitors in Cambridge. Grants are awarded in four categories, including: Organizational Investment, Art For Social Justice, Local Cultural Council Project Grants, and Field Trip grants, which provide low-cost opportunities for youth to attend and experience professional art organizations and productions.
FY25 Local Guidelines
Council Guidelines for Cambridge Arts can be found here: https://www.cambridgema.gov/arts/Programs/Grants
How Grant Recipients Are Paid
Direct Grants
FY25 Funding List
| Name | Project Title | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| ANIKAYA/Akhra, Inc. | Conference of the Birds engagement with CRLS | $4,000 | Bemak, Amber | Cosmic Moose and Grizzly Bears Ville | $4,000 | Bhattacharyya, Samadrita | Evolution of Indian Classical dance with Modernism | $600 | Boston Adavu | Boston Adavu Annual Showcase | $1,200 | Boston Children's Chorus, Inc. | Stand the Storm | $2,400 | Boston Choral Ensemble, Inc. | To the Hands | $2,282 | Boston Comic Arts Foundation, Limited | Comics Camp: Cambridge | $4,000 | Boston Opera & Zarzuela Corp. | Zarzuela Fest - A Hispanic Lyric Music Celebration | $2,400 | Brandon, Liane | Still Marching: Photographs of the historic 1970 and 2017 Women’s Marches | $3,596 | Brown, Najee | Crown: A celebration of Black Hair | $4,000 | Cambridge Forum, Inc. | From Mississippi to Massachusetts - a racial odyssey | $4,000 | Cambridge Youth Gamelan | Cambridge Youth Gamelan Explores Balinese Gamelan Composition & Improvisation | $4,000 | Castle of our Skins, Inc. | Alchemy | $4,000 | Chinese American Association of Cambridge, Inc. | Chinese American Celebrations of its Cultural Heritage | $4,000 | Citizens of the World, Inc. | 2025 HBCU Tour | $4,000 | Comstock, Kendra | 4th Annual Worlds Collide Showcase | $1,000 | CultureHouse, Inc. | Cambridge Kiosk | $4,000 | East End House, Inc. | Field Trip to a Musical | $3,120 | Israel Folkdance Festival of Boston,Inc. | Israel Folkdance Festival of Boston | $4,000 | Izuyama, Yumi | Mottainai | $960 | JazzBoston, Inc. | JazzBoston Jazz Jam Session | $4,000 | Juventas Music, Inc. | Juventas New Music Ensemble 2024-25 Cambridge Series | $3,600 | Malis, Denise | Visual Visions | $4,000 | Massachusetts Audubon Society, Inc. | Mass Audubon Pride Festival 2025 | $4,000 | MetaMovements LLC | Cambridge Salsa In The Park | $4,000 | Newtowne School Incorporated | Environmental Education Songwriting & Family Concert | $2,560 | Panethnic Pourovers Inc. | Underserved AAPI & BIPOC Night Market | $4,000 | Pangyrus Inc | Phillis Wheatley’s Poetry: A Revolutionary Encounter | $4,000 | Paret, Vicki | At Water's Edge - Exhibition and Workshop at MassAudubon | $1,200 | Priebe Rocha, Leticia | Saudade: Celebrating Voices of the Diaspora | $4,000 | Rasik | Rasik Dance Concert Series | $4,000 | The Beautiful Stuff Project, Inc. | Storywalk: Mosaic Pages Tell A Story for a School Playground | $4,000 | The Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery | Harriet Jacobs Children's Poetry Book and Reading by Mount Auburn Artist-in-Residence Fatima Seck | $2,000 | The Loop Lab, Inc. | Charles River Conservancy 2025 Artists in Residency Mini-Doc | $4,000 | Van Praagh, Whitney | Fletcher Maynard Academy Mural | $4,000 | Vijayakumar, Gowri | Paper Lanterns | $480 | Voices Rising, Inc. | We Persist | $4,000 | Westwater Weekes, Naomi | Reclaiming Folk | $960 |
