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
[email protected]
413-587-1069
http://www.northamptonartscouncil.org/
Address
240 Main Street
#1
Northampton, MA 01060-3584
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Application Information
FY27 details to come.
FY26 Funding List
| Name | Project Title | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Ayres, Wylder | Project Transmutation | $1,655 | Bombyx Brass Collective | Bombyx Brass Collective Masterclasses and Performance | $930 | Bridge Street School | Super Stories Fifth Grade Mural | $1,255 | Carlino, Kim A. | Fun Sized: A Tiny Public Art Festival | $1,505 | Center for Human Development, Incorporated | All In Drum Circle | $1,805 | Da Camera Singers | Hear Our Voices; We've Always Been Here! | $600 | Ferry, Chris | Emerging Filmmakers of Western Massachusetts | $1,500 | Flo Fest | Flo Fest | $1,630 | Florence Poetry Carnival | Poetry and Pie | $840 | Ghost Ensemble, Inc. | Deep Listening in Community: Public Performance | $905 | Goffe, Deborah A. | Liturgy|Order|Bridge: Practice Sessions | $305 | Green Street Brew A Capella Group | Local Vocal Chord Bowl #15 | $785 | Grow Food Northampton, Inc. | Grow Food Northampton Farmers Market Music | $1,815 | Herskovitz, Rebecca | Silent Disco Studio Hour | $1,215 | Manselle, Jafar | West African Drumming Workshop - Come Out to Play | $200 | Means, Pamela | Pamela Means presents Black, Brown, and Beige: Our Shared History and Present Day | $730 | Northampton Center for the Arts, Inc. | 2026 Youth Performance Festival | $1,260 | Pandina, Melissa | Steamroller Festival | $1,860 | Play Incubation Collective, Inc | 2026 PIC PIPS and Development Workshops | $905 | Ripp, Alexandra | Imaginary Friends | $1,290 | ServiceNet, Inc. | Whole Children/Milestones theater production | $610 |