DCASE, MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON ANNOUNCE $2 MILLION IN GRANT AWARDS TO SUPPORT THE ARTS, UPLIFT CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS


DCASE, MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON ANNOUNCE $2 MILLION IN GRANT AWARDS TO SUPPORT THE ARTS, UPLIFT CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

The Neighborhood Access Program supports Chicago arts and culture organizations, while the new Arts Relief Fund delivers timely aid amid Trump administration cuts that threaten Chicago’s cultural vitality.

CHICAGO — The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the 49 arts, culture, and humanities organizations receiving support through the Johnson administration’s Arts Relief Fund Program, through which the City is stepping in to help sustain arts and culture organizations navigating the loss of critical federal funding, in addition to the 39 organizations benefitting from over $1.4 million in new Neighborhood Access Program (NAP) grants.

“Art and culture play a vital role in our democracy,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “Chicago’s artists and cultural organizations are essential to the fabric of our neighborhoods and to the identity of our city. As the Trump administration continues to defund outlets for free expression, it's up to cities to fill the gap. That's why I'm proud Chicago is stepping up to ensure that creative institutions, and the communities they sustain, are equipped with the resources they need to continue to thrive, grow, and inspire.”

The Arts Relief Fund is a one-time intervention which ensures the city’s creative heartbeat continues to thrive, even as national arts and humanities programs face severe reductions as a result of wide-ranging cuts imposed by the Trump administration.

The grants will help replace lost federal income, protect jobs in the arts sector, and maintain access to creative experiences for Chicago residents—particularly in communities where cultural programs serve as anchors for education, tourism, and neighborhood identity.

“Chicago’s arts and cultural institutions do more than inspire us. They educate, employ, and unite us,” said DCASE Acting Commissioner Kenya Merritt. “Both the Arts Relief Fund and Neighborhood Access Program underscore DCASE’s commitment to supporting our creative economy and specifically ensuring that organizations impacted by funding losses can continue to provide the vital programs, performances, and opportunities that make our city’s arts ecosystem one of the most vibrant in the nation.”

Recent changes to long-standing federal arts and humanities programs have left many local organizations struggling to bridge the financial gap. The Arts Relief Fund responds directly to those challenges, providing immediate support to organizations whose essential programs, exhibitions, and performances were jeopardized by cuts to agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Nearly 50 organizations were selected to receive Arts Relief Fund Grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, including:

American Writers Museum

Black Girls Dance

Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre

Chicago Architecture Foundation dba Chicago Architecture Center 

Chicago Artists Coalition 

Chicago Children's Museum 

Chicago Collections Consortium 

Chicago History Museum 

Chicago Media Project 

CircEsteem 

Creative Netwerk 

Crossing Borders Music Collective 

Deeply Rooted Productions dba Deeply Rooted Dance Theater 

Due South Foundation 

Experimental Sound Studio 

Facets Film Forum 

Field Museum of Natural History 

Firebird Community Arts 

Frank Lloyd Wright Trust 

Full Spectrum Features NFP 

Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance 

Haitian American Museum of Chicago 

Hearing in Color 

Hyde Park Art Center 

Hyde Park Jazz Festival  

International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago 

Kuumba Lynx 

Lincoln Park Zoological Society 

Lyric Opera of Chicago 

Mandala Arts 

Mexican Folkloric Dance Company of Chicago 

Music and Dance Theater Chicago, Inc. 

Pegasus Theatre Chicago 

Praize Productions, Inc., NFP 

Rendezvous Arts Inc. 

SkyART, NFP 

Sones de Mexico Ensemble 

South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT) 

South Side Community Art Center 

Steppenwolf Theatre Company 

The Chicago Philharmonic Society 

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center 

The Illinois Humanities Council 

The Joffrey Ballet 

The Simple Good 

Third Coast Percussion NFP 

Thompson Street Opera Company 

Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art 

University of Illinois Chicago

The Neighborhood Access Program aims to support the cultural vitality of every neighborhood via grant programs and partnerships which are responsive to the complex needs each community.

NAP grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 will increase access to future grantmaking, especially for community organizations that provide place-based arts and culture programming, including:

18th Street Casa de Cultura - La Peña de Pilsen

Jessica Anderson - Black & Bronze: A Bronzeville Music Fest

Albany Park Theater Project - Albany Park: Our Neighborhood, Our Stories

Alt Space Chicago - Waste Into Wonder Fair

Afro Latinx Arts Alliance - Arts Programming

BandWith Music Ltd. - BandWith First Fridays

Bridgeport Music Collective - Music for Community on the Near South Side

Chicago City Theatre Company dba Joel Hall Dancers & Center - Awakening the Dancer in Uptown

CircEsteem - Circus, Community, and Culture in Humboldt Park

Community Film Workshop of Chicago - Using Documentaries to Build Community

CRE8 Space L3C - CRE8 Space Summer Fashion Design Program

Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange (CCRX) - From Waste to Wonder Workshop

Diasporal Rhythms, NFP - Keepers of the Culture Bronzeville Summer Arts Camp

Federación de Clubes Michoacanos en Illinois - Casa Michoacán Commemorations & Community Events

Folded Map, NFP - Sustaining the EAC Arts Village Experience

Hegewisch Business Association - Hegewisch History Museum

Sonja Henderson - Mothers Healing Circle

Eric Hotchkiss - Provisions: Food, Story, and Shared Space in Englewood

IAYV South Side Sanctuary - The Stage at South Side Sanctuary

Instituto Gaspar Yanga - Writing and World Building

Lawndale Pop-Up Spot - Route 66 @ 100: A North Lawndale Experience

#LetUsBreathe Collective - Activating the #BreathingRoom with #LetUsBreathe Collective

Mercedes Inez Martinez - Son Monarcas

NDoula Community Alliance - Elemental Reproductive Healing Arts

Alva Nelms - Building Leather Sneakers

OPEN Center for the Arts - Fiestas Invernales 2025- 2026

Konrad Pawelek - Echoes of the Yards: A Musical Legacy of Polish Communities

Puerto Rican Arts Alliance - Colores del Barrio: Youth Painting & Public Art Workshops in Humboldt Park

Christian Roldan - The Other Side of the Brain: Business Education 4 Artists

Salman & Shahneel (Suqoon Habibis) - ChaiTown Addas

South Asia Institute - Ink & Identity: South Asian American Literary Festival Chicago 2026

Southeast Chicago Chamber of Commerce - Line Light Chicago

Danielle Stolz - E-tegami Chicago

Stoviink Creatives - Art Off The Wall

Subhajit Sengupta - Neighborhood Melodies: A Celebration of Cultures in Rogers Park

The Alliance 98 - Community-Driven Mural & Art Fest

The Coalition of Black House Museums - Heritage Celebrations

Voice of the City - Art, Nature, Ancestry at Origin Woods Phase II

Walls Turned Sideways - Liberation Lab

What’s Your Forté Foundation - Youth Arts Residency in Partnership with The Simple Good

Reflecting the Johnson administration’s commitment to investing in communities which historically have been underserved and faced chronic disinvestment, 87% of the NAP grantees are located on South and West Sides of the city.


Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

Wendy Thompson-Friend Health