New Grants and Resources + Weaving common threads w/ LMRM

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES | VOLUME 58| March 5, 2026

Bustling Spaces is excited to introduce you to our featured Arts Organization for the month - LMRM!

LMRM (pronounced “loom room”) is a project space fostering opportunities for art-making, research, and community programming around digital weaving. Based in Chicago, LMRM is currently one of few places in the world offering public access to a TC2 digital jacquard loom and the only one in the U.S. with an open studio model: no residency application, and no university enrollment. Through rental equipment, workshops, events, and collaborations, LMRM strives to emphasize weaving as a contemporary art practice. Head over to their website to learn about their programs, check out their Full 2026 Warp & Workshop calendar, and learn about founder Hope Wang at the end of our newsletter

In addition, LMRM has launched an exciting Learn + Weave Fund to sponsor scholarship packages for ALAANA artists, underrepresented in the digital weaving field. By donating, you’re not just funding workshop seats—you’re helping diversify the questions being asked within craft.

On March 12th, LMRM and Bustling Spaces join forces to bring you

Grant Lab, a free hands-on workshop focused on building clear budget narratives for real applications. Grant Lab! will be tailored to how LMRM can provide these items to help you create specificity in your grant applications.

We’ll be providing tips and strategies to assist, and we’ll guide you in an interactive walkthrough of a real grant application. Feel free to bring your grant project ideas in progress or upcoming applications you’re preparing!

This event will be hybrid - attend in-person or virtually.

Register here: Grant Lab Registration

Funder: Illinois Arts Council
Grant Program: General Operating Support (GOS) and Youth Employment in the Arts (YEA) Grants
Max Award/Opportunity: GOS Max = determined by funding formula | YEA Max = $4,500 ( see guidelines for details)
Application Closes: March 18, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines

General Operating Support Grants are offered to 501(c)(3)s providing ongoing arts programs and demonstrating a strong commitment to making them accessible and relevant to a diverse range of participants.
Youth Employment in the Arts Grants provide up to $4,500 to general operating recipients to support employment opportunities in their organization for up to four (4) youth aged 14 to 22.
An information session replay is available on the website, and drop-in assistance sessions will take place on the following dates: Thursday 2 /19, Friday 2/27, Tuesday 3/3, and Wednesday 3/11.
Access the links to these resources as well as full guidelines, timeline, and application instructions here: IAC Fiscal Year 2027 GOS & YEA Grants Grants
Applications are due March 18 and awardees will be notified in August.

Funder: First Presbyterian Church of Chicago
Grant Program: Built on Belief 2026 Open Call - The Common Ground: Community and Sacred Futures
Max Award/Opportunity: $3,000 Artist Honorarium + $9,000 max Artist budget
Application Closes: April 3, 2026
Funding Area: Art & Design, Placemaking, Performance (Individual Artist)

This year, the Chicago Architecture Center is partnering with Arts at First—the community-centered arts program at The First Presbyterian Church of Chicago (First Church)—to realize a site-specific initiative on church grounds that will open to the public in October in conjunction with Open House Chicago 2026
This open call invites artists, designers, and interdisciplinary practitioners to propose site responsive works that explore the intersections of architecture, religion, and spirituality. Selected projects will animate the historic First Church campus at 6400 S Kimbark in Woodlawn through outdoor installations and interior activations that reimagine sacred and public spaces through the lenses of architecture, community, and spiritual resilience.
Find out more and apply here: Built on Belief: The Common Ground
Weekly open office hours will be held from 2 - 3PM CST on Zoom on the following dates: 03.05/03.12/03.19/03.26/04.02 (office Hour Zoom Link)
Applications are due April 3rd, and selected artists will be notified on May 15, 2026.

Grant Tip of the Week 💡- “The Ginger Garlic Paste of Grant writing”

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

After reviewing the grant opportunities, scroll down to the “strategy and tips” section. Vicky Blume from Fractured Atlas tells you the ways you can leverage material from prior applications as you’re writing new ones.

NEXT 30 DAYS

Funder: Illinois Arts Council - Disability LEAD Conference Scholarships
Maximum Grant Size: $1,500
Application Closes: March 5, 2026
Funding Area: Disability Justice / Conference (Organizational Staff)

Funder: Terra Foundation - Exhibition Grant (LOI)
Maximum Grant Size: $200,000
Application Closes: March 6, 2026
Funding Area: Visual Art (Organization)

Funder: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) - R3 Restore. Reinvest. Renew Grants
Minimum Grant Size: $25,000 (see guidelines for details)
Application Closes: March 6, 2026
Funding Area: Violence Prevention / Re-entry / Youth Development (Organization)

Funder: SouthArts - Jazz Road tours
Maximum Grant Size: $15,000
Application Closes: March 10, 2026 (Letter of Inquiry)
Funding Area: Music (Jazz, Artist / Ensemble)

Funder: Woods Fund - Woods Fund Chicago Grants
Maximum Grant Size: $35,000
Application Closes: March 10, 2026
Funding Area: Racial & Economic Justice / Community Organizing (Organization)

Funder: Chicago Community Trust - Sponsorships
Maximum Grant Size: $10,000
Application Closes: March 12, 2026
Funding Area: Events, Panels, Forums (organization)

Funder: Live Music Society - Music in Action
Maximum Grant Size: $50,000
Application Closes: March 12, 2026
Funding Area: Music (Organization / Venue)

Funder: League of Chicago Theaters - ComEd Powering the Arts
Maximum Grant Size: $20,000
Application Closes: March 13, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Organization)

Funder: Artist Grant
Maximum Grant Size: $1,200
Application Closes: March 15, 2026
Funding Area: Visual Arts (Organization)

Funder: New England Foundation for the Arts - National Dance Project Production Grant
Maximum Grant Size: $45,000 for dance project creation / $10,000 general operating support / $20,000 for U.S. tour
Application Closes: March 16, 2026
Funding Area: Dance (Organization + choreographer)

Funder: Elastic Arts: Dark Matter Residency
Maximum Grant Size: $1000 stipend / $1000 event budget
Application Closes: March 16, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Individual Artist)

Funder: Illinois Arts Council General Operating Support and Youth Employment in the Arts
Maximum Grant Size: GOS Max = determined by funding formula | YEA Max = $4,500
Application Closes: March 18, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines, Youth in Arts (Organization)

Funder: The DAG Foundation - DAG Prizes for Artistic Innovation
Maximum Grant Size: $20,000
Application Closes: March 18, 2026
Funding Area: Literature, Music, and Visual Arts (Individual Artist)

Funder: New Music USA - New Music Organization Fund
Maximum Grant Size: $10,000
Application Closes: March 19, 2026
Funding Area: Music (Organization)

Funder: Chicago Community Trust: Community & Civic Leadership RFP (Invite Only)
Maximum Grant Size: $75,000
Application Closes: March 19, 2026
Funding Area: Social Change/Leadership (Organization)

Funder: Field Foundation - Leaders for a New Chicago
Maximum Grant Size: $50,000 for each individual awardee, $25,000 for the awardee’s affiliated nonprofit.
Nomination Window Closes: March 20, 2026
Funding Area: Arts & Culture / Justice / Journalism (Individual + Organization)

Funder: National Endowment for the Arts - Research Grants in the Arts, Pt. 1
Maximum Grant Size: $100,000
Application Closes: March 23, 2026
Funding Area: Arts Research (Organization)

Funder: Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation
Maximum Grant Size: $2,000
Application Closes: March 27, 2026 (*mail-in, postmark must be 3/27 or earlier)
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Organization or Individual)

Funder: Hyde Park Art Center - Bridge Performance Incubator Program
Grant Award: 10-week seminar-style exploratory practice cohort
Application Closes: March 29, 2026
Funding Area: Performance (Individual Artist)

Funder: Chicago DPD/SBIF (47th/King Drive | 63rd/Pulaski | 87th/Cottage Grove | Central West | Ewing Avenue)
Maximum Grant Size: $150,000 commercial | $250,000 industrial
Application Closes: March 30, 2026
Funding Area: Capital (Organization)

Funder: Illinois Department of Hunan Services - Problem Gambling Awareness Art Competition
Maximum Grant Size: $2,000
Application Closes: March 31, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple Disciplines (Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film)

Funder: Landmarks Illiinois - Preservation Heritage Fund Grant
Maximum Grant Size: $5,000
Application Closes: April 1, 2026
Funding Area: Historic Preservation (Organization)

Funder: National Endowment for the Arts - Research Grants in the Arts, Pt. 2
Maximum Grant Size: $100,000
Application Closes: April 2, 2026
Funding Area: Arts Research (Organizations)

NEXT 60 DAYS

Funder: Creative Capital - Creative Capital Award + State of the Art Prize
Maximum Grant Size: $50,000
Application Closes: April 2, 2026
Funding Area: Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Film, and Literature (Individual Artist)

Funder: Ignite Fund (opens 3/11)
Maximum Grant Size: $10,000
Application Closes: April 13, 2026
Funding Area: Visual Arts (Individual Artist / Collective)

Funder: Vilcek Foundation Grants
Maximum Grant Size: $20,000
Application Closes: April 30, 2026
Funding Area: Immigrants in Arts, Sciences, Education, Social Services (Organization)

Funder: Chicago DPD/SBIF (79th/Vincennes | Belmont/Central | Foster/Edens | Kennedy/Kimball | Western/Ogden)
Maximum Grant Size: $150,000 commercial | $250,000 industrial
Application Closes: April 30, 2026
Funding Area: Capital (Organization)

Funder: Illinois Humanities - Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards
Maximum Grant Size: $300 + poem publication /performance
Application Closes: May 1, 2026
Funding Area: Poetry (Individual Youth Artist, K-12 )

Funder: SouthArts - Jazz & Human Connection Creative Residency
Maximum Grant Size: $40,000
Application Closes: May 1, 2026
Funding Area: Music (Individual Artist / Jazz )

Funder: SouthArts - Jazz Road Legacy Residency
Maximum Grant Size: $40,000
Application Closes: May 1, 2026
Funding Area: Music (Individual Artist aged 55+ / Jazz )

Funder: Film Independent - Documentary Producing Lab (opens 3/9)
Opportunity: Week-long documentary development lab + pitch event
Application Closes: May 4, 2026
Funding Area: Documentary Film (Individual Artist)

Funder: Film Independent - Fiction Producing Lab (opens 3/9)
Opportunity: 2-week-long fiction development lab + pitch event
Application Closes: May 4, 2026
Funding Area: Film - Fiction (Individual Artist)

Funder: Film Independent - Alfred P. Sloan Producing Grant (opens 3/9)
Maximum Grant Size: $30,000
Application Closes: May 4, 2026
Funding Area: Film - math /tech/science (Individual Artist)

Funder: Chicago DPD: Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, Q2
Maximum Grant Size: $250,000
Application Closes: May 15, 2026
Funding Area: Immigrants in Arts, Sciences, Education, Social Services (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: 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)

Rolling Grants

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

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)

To view additional rolling grants please visit this link!

Photo credit: Felton Kizer

Meet LMRM’s founder, Hope Wang!

Hope is the founder and co-director of LMRM. She is also an artist whose work explores memory, loss, and longing in the architectural landscape. She wears many hats as an artist who unintentionally fell into creative entrepreneurship.

She once wished someone else had started this space so she could simply be an end-user. But limited access to digital weaving, along with her experiences of exploitation in the broader arts economy, sharpened her values. She felt an unignorable need to prove that a studio culture rooted in trust, slowness, and artist dignity IS possible for everyone, regardless of career level or background.

Hope first fell in love with weaving in SAIC’s loom room. For her, weaving was always surrounded by a chorus of movement that connected people to one another. That energy remained essential as she rebuilt her practice outside of an institution. Shaped by both the generosity and the pitfalls of community spaces—from Chinese immigrant churches to art makerspaces—she continues to draw inspiration from resource-sharing. Constraints, like in weaving, challenge her to be more inventive.

STRATEGY & TIPS

Grant Tip of the Week 💡

“The Ginger Garlic Paste of Fundraising”

Fractured Atlas’ Grant tip was so good last week, we wanted to pass it on. Unironically - it’s about when to re-use material! The grant writing version of “reduce, reuse, recycle,” author Vicky Blume encourages grant seekers not to reinvent the wheel. She breaks down what components to always have on-hand, what to remix, and what to make from scratch.

Reusing material is absolutely encouraged - just do it strategically. Head to her blog entry to find out more!

Want more grant tips and opportunities sent directly to your inbox? Sign up for Fractured Atlas’ newsletter here

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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