Spring Grants, Black Art & Black Love w/ ILA Creative Studio

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES | VOLUME 63| May 15, 2026

Our featured Arts Organization for this month is ILA Creative Studio!

ILA Creative Studio is dedicated to uplifting Black artists by providing the resources, education, and community they need to thrive. They believe in the transformative power of Black creativity and are committed to fostering spaces that empower artists at every stage of their journey.

ILA connects Black artists to the resources, education, and opportunities essential for sustainable creative careers. Through deliberate programming and workshops, they expand access to professional guidance and communal investment. Their core initiatives include Hear We Art™, supporting personal and collective healing through artmaking; G-to-G (Getting To Our Goals), providing professional development and industry coaching; and The BLACC app, a central digital hub connecting artists to the information and opportunities needed to elevate their work.

Artists, tap into this organization and their amazing work! Scroll to the section of newsletter right after the grant listings this month to learn more about their programs, follow them at @ilacreativestudio on Instagram, and visit their linktree to subscribe to their newsletter, see upcoming programs, and learn how to support the work.

In 1 month, Join ILA for Black Art Love Affair (BALA) , an annual celebration and fundraiser honoring Black artists and the creative heartbeat of Chicago.

This year’s theme explores the duality in the question, “F O R F R E E ?” The only way we’ve grown to know true freedom is through our art, our creativity. But when that gets taken, exploited, and used, it disconnects artists from the genuine purpose of what their gifts were meant for. For us.

This year, we’re freely redistributing what’s been withheld. For our communities. For our artists. For our people.

This will be an evening filled with sponsored cocktails, delicious eats, a silent art auction, an interactive art installation, and a beautiful awards program for our honorees.

Date / Time: Wednesday, June 17th, 6:00pm-9:00pm CST

Location: Little Black Pearl, 1060 East 47th Street

Tickets are still available at this link: ILA - Black Art Love Affair 6/17/26

Can’t attend BALA? Support the work with a donation at the same link.

Funder: City of Chicago DCASE (Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events)
Grant Program: CityArts
Max Award/Opportunity: Determined by formula (see p. 9 of guidelines)
Application Closes: June 3, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Nonprofits)

The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) supports artists and cultural organizations, invests in the creative economy, and expands access and participation in the arts throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. Chicago arts and culture nonprofits of all sizes and artistic disciplines can apply for CityArts general operating grants.
*NEW FOR 2026:
This year the CityArts Program will offer two types of grants: General Operating Grants for Arts & Culture Organizations, and Project Grants for Arts & Culture Organizations
Eligible organizations may apply for both a general operating grant AND a project grant in 2026. Some past grantees that cannot apply for general operating support in 2026 may be eligible to apply for project funding if otherwise eligible. Refer to Eligibility Criteria in CityArts guidelines for more details.
Join a DCASE information session webinar to learn more about 2026 CityArts Program grants for arts nonprofits. Both sessions will cover the same material and will be recorded and posted for reference.
- Tuesday, May 12, 2026 | 10-11:30 a.m. | Recording
- Wednesday, May 20, 2026 | 2-3:30 p.m. | Register
Please email CulturalGrantMaking@cityofchicago.org with any questions.

NOTE: The Arts Alliance IL Help Desk is providing specific support for the 2026 CityArts Grant! Reach out for assistance at the link below:

Arts Alliance IL Help Desk

CLOSES TODAY! Funder: Field Foundation
Grant Program: A Road Together
Max Award/Opportunity: $100,000/yr for 3 years (see guidelines for details)
Application Closes: May 15th
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Nonprofits)

Established in 2023, ART provides multi-year, unrestricted, general operating funding to small and mid-sized arts organizations with annual operating budgets up to $1 million. A panel of Chicago artists and cultural leaders recommend ART grant recipients using a participatory grantmaking process. In 2026, we will award three-year ART grants to 25 organizations. Grants will range from $10,000 to $100,000 per year.
- Watch the info session here: Field ART Information Session
- Review Presentation slides here: Field ART Slide Presentation
- Download scoring rubric here: Field ART Rubric

Send questions to arts@fieldfoundation.org

[Grant] Tip of the Week 💡- Introducing: The Spice Rack

There’s a pot of gold at the end of this newsletter!

Hey friend - quick question:

Is your mind a lil….spicy? Idea generator always on 10? Is structure a struggle? Could the relationship between you and your thought processes be described by the hashtag #itscomplicated ?

If you’re a neurodiverse creative, some of these descriptors could apply to you. They apply to some of us, too, and a lot of the people we know, and it really impacts how we access / create / discuss funding & resources, so we decided we should talk about it.

Head to the bottom of the newsletter and find out about a developing initiative from Bustling Spaces - the Spice Rack!

NEXT 30 DAYS

*REMINDER: Check our new rolling grants listings in the last section

Funder: Chicago Art Department - CAD Studio Residency
Maximum Grant / Opportunity: 12-month subsidized studio residency
Application Closes: May 15, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Individual Artist)

Funder: Chicago Department of Planning and Development -Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, Q2
Maximum Grant Size: $250,000
Application Closes: May 15, 2026
Funding Area: Capital (Organization)

Funder: National Performance Network - Creation and Development Fund (Phase 1)
Minimum Grant Size: $15,000
Application Closes: May 18, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple disciplines (Artist + Partner Organizations)

Funder: Center for Craft - Craft Archive Fellowship
Minimum Grant Size: $5,000
Application Closes: May 20, 2026
Funding Area: Craft Arts Research (Individual Researcher)

Funder: National Black Theatre - “I Am Soul” Playwright Residency
Minimum Grant Size: $7,500
Application Closes: May 22, 2026
Funding Area: Theater (Individual Playwright)

Funder: First Peoples Fund - Rooted Pathways
Maximum Grant Size: $55,000
Application Closes: May 22, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Native-led Arts & Culture Org)

Funder: Crossroads Fund - Chicago Racial Justice Pooled
Maximum Grant Size: $50,000
Application Closes: May 29, 2026
Funding Area: Racial Justice (Organizations / Collectives)

Funder: Chicago DPD/SBIF (35th/Halsted | 47th/State | Elston/Armstrong| Ogden/Pulaski | Pilsen Industrial Corridor)
Maximum Grant Size: $150,000 commercial | $250,000 industrial
Application Closes: May 30, 2026
Funding Area: Capital (Organization)

Funder: Black Film Space x cliveRd. - Proof of Concept Short Film Grant
Maximum Grant Size: $8,000
Application Closes: May 31, 2026
Funding Area: Short Film (Individual Filmmaker)

Funder: National Trust For Historic Preservation - National Trust Preservation Funds Grants
Maximum Grant Size: $5,000
Application Closes: June 1, 2026
Funding Area: Historic Preservation (Organization / Site)

Funder: Experimental Sound Studio - Ryan Deffet Studio Grant
Maximum Opportunity: 40-hours free, engineered recording studio time
Application Closes: June 1, 2025
Funding Area: Music / Sonic Art (Individual Artist)

Funder: Venturous Theater Fund - Venturous Capital Grants
Maximum Grant Size: $45,000
Application Closes: June 1, 2025 (Letter of Inquiry)
Funding Area: Theater (Organization)

Funder: Forefront - South Suburban Nonprofit Capacity Building Cohort
Maximum Grant Size: Free 6-week strategy & development program
Application Closes: June 1, 2026
Funding Area: Nonprofit Capacity Building (South Suburban Nonprofits)

Funder: Ox-Bow School of Art - Longform Residency
Maximum Grant/ Opportunity : 3-week Residency (needs-based funding available)
Application Closes: June 7, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Individual Artist)

Funder: Film Independent - Fast Track
Opportunity: 4-day Film finance market intensive
Application Closes: June 8, 2026 (non-member deadline
Funding Area: Film (Individual Artist)

Funder: Black Harvest Film Festival
Maximum Grant Size: Film Festival Screening - additional awards may apply (see guidelines)
Application Closes: June 10, 2026
Funding Area: Film (Black Filmmakers)

Funder: Grove & Pines Film Festival - The Erin Carine Grant for Queer Creatives
Maximum Grant Size: $5,000
Application Closes: June 10, 2026
Funding Area: Film (Individual Filmmaker)

Funder: First Peoples Fund - Yéego Action Grant for Native Artists / Culture Bearers
Maximum Grant Size: $2,500
Application Closes: Rolling on the 10th of each month (next round closes June 10, 2026)
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Individual Native Artist)

Funder: City of Chicago DCASE - Midway Airport Public Art Opportunity
Maximum Grant Size: $170,000
Application Closes: June 12, 2026
Funding Area: Visual Art (Individual Artist / Artist Team)

Funder: Illinois Humanities - Envisioning Justice Grants for Individuals
Maximum Grant Size: $5,000
Application Closes: June 12, 2026 **(opens May 1)
Funding Area: Humanities / Mass Incarceration Awareness (Individuals)

Funder: Illinois Humanities - Envisioning Justice Grants for Organizations
Maximum Grant Size: $10,000
Application Closes: June 12, 2026 **(opens May 1)
Funding Area: Humanities / Mass Incarceration Awareness (Organizations)

Funder: National Black Theatre - The SOUL Directing Residency
Opportunity: 18-month NYC Directing Residency + $7,500 minimum stipend
Application Closes: June 12, 2026
Funding Area: Theater (Individual Director)

NEXT 60 DAYS

Funder: Illinois Capital Development Board - Art in Architecture Program, NEIU
Maximum Budget Size: $375,000
Application Closes: June 17, 2026
Funding Area: Visual Art (Individual Artist / Artist-led Team)

Funder: Literary Arts Fund - Innovation Project Grants
Maximum Grant Size: varies (see guidelines for details)
Application Opens*: June 2026 (TBD)
Funding Area: Literature (Literary Arts Nonprofits)

Funder: Chicago Community Trust - Sponsorships
Maximum Grant / Opportunity: $10,000
Application Closes: June 30, 2026
Funding Area: Events, Conferences, Cultural Events (Organizations)

Funder: SouthArts - Jazz & Human Connection Creative Residency
Maximum Grant Size: $40,000
Application Closes: pending **(opening soon)
Funding Area: Music (Individual Artist / Jazz )

Funder: SouthArts - Jazz Road Legacy Residency
Maximum Grant Size: $40,000
Application Closes: pending **(opening soon)
Funding Area: Music (Individual Artist aged 55+ / Jazz )

Funder: Queer | Art - Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists
Maximum Grant Size: $10,000
Application Closes: July 2, 2026
Funding Area: Visual Art (Individual Artist - Black Trans Woman)

Funder: Salt Lick Incubator - Artist Project Grants
Maximum Grant Size: $15,000
Application Closes: July 15, 2026 **(opens June 1)
Funding Area: Music / Singer - Songwriter (Individual Artist)

Funder: AXS Film Fund - Documentary / Nonfiction film grant*(opens 6/1)
Maximum Grant Size: $10,000
Application Closes: July 31, 2025
Funding Area: Film (Individual Filmmaker - prioritizing those w/ disabilities)

Funder: Chicago Department of Planning and Development -Adopt-A-Landmark Fund
Maximum Grant Size: $250,000 (*select projects may receive more with approval from city council)
Application Closes: August 10, 2026
Funding Area: Historic Preservation (Organization)

Rolling Grants

NEW! Funder: The Neuro - Community, Artist Residency & Mentorship
Opportunity: Reduced Fee 1 - 2 month artist residency
Application Closes: Rolling
Funding Area: Multiple disciplines (Individual artist who has experienced a neurological disruption - see guidelines)

NEW! Funder: First Peoples Fund - Yéego Action Grant for Native Artists / Culture Bearers
Maximum Grant Size: $2,500
Application Status: Rolling
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Individual Native Artist)

NEW! Funder: Pollock-Krasner Foundation - Grants for Artists
Maximum Grant Size: $50,000
Application Status: Rolling
Funding Area: Visual Arts (Artist)

Funder: Arts Work Fund
Maximum Grant Size: $40,000
Application Status: Rolling
Funding Area: Capacity Building/Planning (Organization)

*RE-OPENED - Funder: Reva & David Logan Foundation
Maximum Grant Size: Varies
Application Status: Rolling (LOI)
Funding Area: Arts, Social Justice, and Journalism (Organization / Individual)

Funder: Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+): Emergency Relief Grant
Grant/Award: $3,000 Emergency Relief Grants
Application Status: Rolling
Funding Area: Emergency relief for Craft Artists (Individual)

Funder: Epiphany Center for the Arts - Call for Exhibitions
Maximum Grant Size: Exhibition platform / space (see guidelines for details)
Application Status: Rolling
Funding Area: Visual Arts (Artist)

Funder: New Music USA--Reel Change: Fund for Diversity in Film Scoring
Maximum Grant Size: $20,000
Application Status: Rolling
Funding Area: Music (Artist)

To view additional rolling grants please visit this link!

More about our Featured Arts Organization: ILA Creative Studio

Hear We Art™ is ILA Creative Studio’s interactive and educational healing arts initiative, combining visual art, music, and guided reflection for an immersive community experience.

Designed by and for Black communities, it centers the idea that healing is not just personal but communal—and that creative practice is a culturally relevant tool for emotional release, connection, and transformation. This isn't just art for art's sake—it's a trauma-informed, accessible modality rooted in both cultural specificity and somatic healing, helping participants build cognitive awareness, develop regulatory toolkits to mitigate stress, and reconnect to their bodies and each other.

On April 30th, International Jazz Day, ILA held a rich Hear We Art session creating visual art to the legendary sounds of Herbie Hancock.

Learn more about Hear We Art™ at the links below:

Visit ilacreativestudio.com and follow @ilacreativestudio on instagram for updates!

STRATEGY & TIPS

Introducing: The Spice Rack 💡

So we as a members of the Bustling Spaces team have been around a bit - we’ve moved in various arts and culture contexts throughout Chicago and beyond, and as we started speaking as a team, we realized something - a lot of creatives in our networks (including members of our team) are neurodiverse / neurospicy! That means accessing funding and resources, as well as planning and implementation of programming and projects, can have a lot more variables and complexities than for neurotypical folks.

In short - sometimes we need different types of support to figure some of this out.

Enter - the Spice Rack!

The Spice Rack will be a series of programs and evergreen resources to support neurodivergent artists, arts administrators and creative entrepreneurs as they tell their story and access resources to support their work.

Grant Club - Neurospicy breakout rooms

Podcast / video interviews with neurospicy artists, neuroscientists, and accessibility advocates.

Neurospicy executive assistance tools (templates, trackers, etc)

Workshops / webinars

Convenings for neurospicy artists and accessibility advocates

and more!

We’ll be rolling out programs a bit at a time while continuing to do research, seek out experts who teach / speak / write on the subject, so look out for opportunities for initial open discussions and peer-sharing regarding how we navigate the funding landscape and the arts & culture landscape in general as neurodiverse creatives.

Have a story, question, or concern that you’d like to share about navigating the art world as a neurodiverse arts & culture worker? Is there certain Spice Rack programming you’d like to see?

Share with us at admin@bustlingspaces.com!

Tell City Council to keep arts funding strong in Chicago’s 2026 budget! Contact your alderperson and urge them to support cultural grants and programs in this year's budget. Contact Your Alderman

Take a closer look at what’s in (and what’s not) for arts and culture in Chicago’s FY26 budget. Read Arts Alliance full analysis for key takeaways and context. Read Arts Alliance’s Analysis

Looking for convenient access to our Newsletter? In addition to receiving biweekly updates, you can also locate the latest newsletter on our website under Programs > Newsletter Catalogue .

Looking for Space on the Southside?

South Side Artists in Sacred Spaces

Check out our interactive map of the congregations that are participating in the South Side Artists in Sacred Spaces program. Here’s the link to the map.

Additional Funding Opportunities & Informational Resources:
Explore more funding avenues! Discover additional resources promoting diverse grants, residencies and other opportunities for artists, arts organizations, and creative businesses. Unleash new possibilities and fuel your artistic journey!

The world of public funding can be overwhelming for creatives. That's why the Arts Alliance Help Desk is here. From running list of public funding opportunities to expert staff who can help you find support for your arts practice or navigate a tricky grant application, the AAI Help Desk is there to make sure nonprofits, individual artists, creative business and beyond can thrive. Visit them at https://artsalliance.org/support!
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