Holyoke Local Cultural Council
The Holyoke Local Cultural Council (HLCC) consists of community members appointed by the Mayor based on their credentials, interest in the arts, and commitment to arts programming in the city of Holyoke. The HLCC encourages individuals and organizations to apply for financial support through its annual grant program, which is part of a statewide grant program administered by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC).
HLCC Members 2026-27
Gloria Caballero-Roca
Tim Damon, Secretary
Christopher Dunay
Mark Dunlap
Navae Fenwick Rodriguez, Co-chair
Chris Fournier, Co-chair
Mardelle Nietupski
Rachel Rushing, Treasurer
Contact
[email protected]
413-320-2550
Address
City Hall, Office of the Mayor
536 Dwight Street
Holyoke, MA 01040
Connect on Social
Facebook
Application Information
FY27 Allocation
$68,300
FY27 Local Priorities
As determined by the most recent community surveys, the following are funding priorities for the 2026-27 grant cycle:
Professional development of local artists through community projects
Arts education in the schools
Public events like concerts or festivals
Projects celebrating diversity
Según lo determinado por las últimas encuestas comunitarias, estas son las prioridades de financiación para el ciclo de subvenciones 2026-27:
Formación profesional de artistas locales a través de proyectos comunitarios
Educación artística en los colegios
Eventos públicos, como conciertos o festivales
Proyectos que celebren la diversidad
FY27 Local Guidelines
The Holyoke Local Cultural Council (HLCC) typically receives requests totaling more than twice the amount of money available for us to grant. The goal of the HLCC is to provide some funding to as many qualified projects as possible. Local council support is not intended to be used as the sole source of funding for projects of a continuing nature. Most continuing projects receive only partial funding and for no more than three consecutive years.
The HLCC looks favorably upon projects that promote equity and inclusion through a focus on accessibility, language justice, and representation. Emphasis is placed on supporting projects that directly benefit Holyoke residents.
Other considerations:
Funded projects must be completed during the calendar year (January – December) following the October application deadline.
If you are hoping to work with a particular venue, indoor or outdoor, for a live presentation, a letter of support from the venue will strengthen your application. We encourage applicants to prepare and provide details for a virtual alternative in the event that in-person presentation is not possible.
Field trips must be to destinations within the state.
If you need assistance with your application, please contact us at [email protected].
El Consejo Cultural Local de Holyoke (HLCC) suele recibir solicitudes que suman más del doble de la cantidad de dinero de la que disponemos para conceder subvenciones. El objetivo del HLCC es proporcionar financiación a tantos proyectos que cumplan los requisitos como sea posible. El apoyo del consejo local no está destinado a ser la única fuente de financiación para proyectos de carácter continuado. La mayoría de los proyectos continuados reciben solo financiación parcial y durante un máximo de tres años consecutivos.
El HLCC valora positivamente los proyectos que promueven la equidad y la inclusión centrándose en la accesibilidad, la justicia lingüística y la representación. Se hace hincapié en apoyar proyectos que beneficien directamente a los residentes de Holyoke.
Otras consideraciones:
Los proyectos subvencionados deben completarse durante el año natural (enero-diciembre) siguiente a la fecha límite de solicitud, que es en octubre.
Si desea trabajar con un recinto concreto, ya sea interior o al aire libre, para una presentación en directo, una carta de apoyo de dicho recinto reforzará su solicitud. Animamos a los solicitantes a preparar y proporcionar detalles sobre una alternativa virtual en caso de que no sea posible realizar la presentación presencial.
Las excursiones deben realizarse a destinos dentro del estado.
Si necesita ayuda con su solicitud, póngase en contacto con nosotros en [email protected].
How Grant Recipients Are Paid
Reimbursement Grants
FY26 Funding List
| Name | Project Title | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Integration Studio LLC | Truth Tellers Theater Ensemble, Year 3 | $750 | ArtsHub of Western MA | Artist Marketing Workshop | $625 | Blues to Green, Inc. | Legacy Education Project- Zaccai Curtis Residency at Holyoke High School | $1,875 | Cepeda, Brendaliz | Cultural Connections: Exploring Puerto Rican Heritage Through Bomba | $1,250 | Ciampa, Elena | The Jazz Queens | $250 | Collider Music & Food Inc. | Secret Planet Presents: Chuwi | $900 | Colon Ortiz, Natasha | Opportunity Academy Art Class | $1,400 | Comeau, Robert | Honor America's 250th with Holyoke History Tours | $450 | Common Wealth Mural Collaborative, Inc. | Holyoke Community Mural Training Program | $4,000 | Common Wealth Mural Collaborative, Inc. | Burn or Get Burnt, WMass 6th Annual Graffiti Jam | $2,700 | Congo, Deanna | Magic for Seniors | $225 | Escamilla, Marshall | Following the Dino Tracks: Live Science Events Across Western Mass | $750 | Ethnic Arts Center of Somerville, Inc. | Wonderful Me! Puppetry Arts Project | $800 | Fairservis, Beth | Homework House Arts & Crafts Project | $2,250 | Goffe, Deborah A. | Liturgy|Order|Bridge: Practice Sessions | $500 | Gordon, Damany | Ladies First: House Classics Live | $1,500 | Hersey, Lisa | Stitched Journals | $350 | Holyoke Art, Inc. | Storefront Gallery | $1,200 | Holyoke Art, Inc. | The Great Holyoke Brick Race 2026 | $750 | Holyoke Art, Inc. | Holyoke PrideFest 2026 Entertainment | $3,803 | Holyoke Art, Inc. | Art @ Home: Travel Kits with the ARTery | $600 | Holyoke Art, Inc. | 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture Film screening + Q&A with Mary Lambert | $1,250 | Holyoke Civic Symphony Orchestra, Inc. | HCS audience engagement and outreach, celebrating diversity in 2026 concert programming through local participation, improved messaging, and broader welcome | $375 | Holyoke Community Charter School | Ceramic Arts: Puerto Rican Cultural Expression through Clay | $1,000 | Holyoke Community College Foundation, Inc. | River Valley Radical Futures | $500 | Holyoke Council on Aging | Art at Home with the Holyoke Senior Center | $1,800 | Holyoke High School | From Seed to Stage Poetry Summit | $1,700 | Holyoke Public Library Corporation | Genealogy Programs: "Roots & Identity: Discovering Hispanic Family History" and "Personal Digital Archiving" | $360 | Holyoke Public Library Corporation | Piano Men: The Music of Billy Joel & Elton John | $250 | Holyoke Public Library Corporation | Local History Programs: "Recovering Histories of Indigenous Presence in the Connecticut River Valley" and "Make a Victorian Puzzle Purse" | $800 | LOCULUS Collective | TRANSMISSIONS: performance residencies | $2,000 | Maichack, Gregory | The Seahorse: How to Pastel Paint | $250 | Maichack, Mary Jo D. | Memoir Writing Workshop - Making a Present of Your Past | $250 | Manning, James J. | Chomp, Stomp and Read | $550 | Martin, Jess | Echoes of Nature, Echoes in Community | $900 | Mazzola, Joseph | Winter Vacation Sewing Classes for Kids | $1,100 | Mazzola, Joseph | Teen Sewing Classes (Summer Session) | $1,200 | Means, Pamela | Pamela Means presents Black, Brown, and Beige: Our Shared History and Present Day | $800 | Miller, Ivor | Afro-Caribbean History through the Arts | $4,500 | Mind the Fool | Mobile Puppet Lab | $1,000 | Neill, David | Christmas/Holiday Sing along with The Fanfare Brass | $700 | Northampton Center for the Arts, Inc. | 2026 Youth Performance Festival | $750 | Page, Stephen C. | A Flowering of Song Jazz Piano Concert | $325 | Pasley, Becca | Bicycle Noise Creation Machine | $300 | Pioneer Valley Concert Band | The Sounds of Summer | $700 | Pioneer Valley Roller Derby, Inc. | Skating with Pride | $700 | Piti Theatre Company, Inc. | Story Wizards for Women's History Month | $375 | Porcino, John P. | To Life!: Celebrations in Story, Song and Music | $200 | Post, Kathy | La Vie en Bleu Jazz Ensemble at Wistariahurst | $375 | Pots On Wheels, Inc. | Pottery at Wisteriahurst | $1,350 | Print Shop, Inc. | Print Day in May – Print Shop Open House | $1,000 | Print Shop, Inc. | Collaborative Print Residency 2026 | $850 | Print Shop, Inc. | First Saturdays at the Print Shop: Family Art & Design Workshops | $2,250 | Real Live Theatre | The Birth/Death Project: Interviews & Sharings | $600 | Resilient Community Arts Inc. | Plein Air at Holyoke Heritage State Park | $900 | Rodriguez, Julissa | We Are Each Other's Magnitude | $1,000 | Ross, Sheldon | Ragtime Five Brass Quintet Concert | $275 | Rushing, Rachel | Holyoke Paper Festival: Something to Say | $1,400 | Silverthorne Theater Company, Inc. | The Employee Dharma Handbook: A Theater Thursday Reading | $650 | Small Planet Dancers | Republic of Dance | $300 | Stepanek, Julie | Monthly ukulele program` | $850 | Sylla, Abou | Concert: Balafon Quartet - Tradition Reimagined | $1,000 | Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center, Inc. | Gaia Roots and the Valley Rhythm Keepers at Holyoke Media | $850 | Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center, Inc. | Connecting culture and music w/ Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center at the Homework House | $1,100 | Thalheimer, Anne | 24 Hour Comics Day | $1,200 | Thalheimer, Anne | Art Enrichment Classes at the Care Center | $1,500 | Thalheimer, Anne | Mimic the Masters | $1,000 | The Color Collaborative | Playground Mural @ HHSP | $1,650 | The Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts, Inc. | Golden Age | $750 | The Performance Project, Inc. | An Evening of New Work Premieres by Emerging Artists | $1,500 | The Wistariahurst Foundation, Inc | Diversity Explored and Celebrated: A series of lectures and workshops | $1,500 | The Wistariahurst Foundation, Inc | Unfolding: Fans and Fashion from the Wistariahurst Collections | $1,850 | The Wistariahurst Foundation, Inc | Community Canvas: The Great Hall Transformed | $1,500 | The Wistariahurst Foundation, Inc | Hidden Women by Tammy Denease | $900 | Tran, Anthony | Flamenco Performance | $1,000 | Translate Gender, Inc. | Trans Day of Visibility Community Programming | $3,750 | Tufo, Ralph | Squeezebox Stompers Concert | $700 | Valley Community Arts Teaching | VCAT Workshops Summer 2026 Term | $1,100 | Vega Yoga & Movement Arts, Inc. | 5 Public Performances | $2,500 | Waterman, Jon | Live Music Making History Live - A Journey through the Roots of American Popular Music | $250 | Young, Ben | Jazz 101 at Holyoke Public LIbrary | $475 | Young, Ben | YesterSounds Anew | $300 |
Review Complete LCC Program Guidelines