Funding resources for art in Boston
Find out how to get funding for an art project that improves the quality of life in the City.
There are several resources for artists looking for funding. The Boston Cultural Council awards grants each year for art projects throughout the City. We created a page with more information about these grants.
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Still have questions? Contact:
Arts and Culture
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1 City Hall Square
Room 802Boston, MA 02201-2029
Public art funding
There are also funds for people who want to create art to enhance the City’s public spaces. We fund artists who have ideas for permanent or temporary public art projects:
The Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund
Edward Ingersoll Browne, a trust attorney who loved his community, created this fund in 1892. He gave one-third of his estate to this fund. The money goes toward projects that will improve public spaces.
The deadline is March 15. Visit the Browne Fund website for more information:
Fund for The Arts
Funding for this public program is through the New England Foundation for the Arts. They look for projects that bring artists and nonprofits together. These projects should engage audiences and inspire others to take part in the arts. Visit the New England Foundation for the Arts website for more information.
Henderson Fund
George B. Henderson created the Henderson Fund in 1964. Projects must make Boston more beautiful, and need to be able to be seen from a public area. Interior projects must be in a building that's open to the public for most of the year. Visit the Henderson Fund website for more information.
The Percent for Art Program
The Percent for Art Program is a critical outcome of the Boston Creates cultural plan, which called for:
"integrating arts and culture into all aspects of civic life, inspiring all Bostonians to value, practice, and reap the benefits of creativity in their individual lives and in their communities."
Through the program, we set aside one percent of the City’s annual capital borrowing budget for the commissioning of public art. The Percent for Art Program is administered by the:
- Arts and Culture, and
- Boston Art Commission.
- the Budget office
- Property Management, and
- other City Departments.
- See all the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture current open calls and applications.
Other grant opportunities
Other grant opportunitiesBrookline
Brookline Interactive Group Multimedia Grants
Cambridge
Somerville
Northampton
The Northampton Cultural Council
Springfield
Hampden and Hampshire Counties
The Beveridge Family Foundation, Inc.
Western Massachusetts
Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts
Hampden County
Field Trip
Capital Project/Project Support
Film
Visual Arts
- The National Endowment for the Arts
- Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant (for people 45 and older)
- The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation
- The Pollock-Krasner Foundation
- William H. Johnson Prize (for African-Americans early in their careers)
- Women's Studio Workshop (residency grants for women)
Literary Arts
Humanities
Multi-Discipline
- Artplace America
- Barr Foundation
- Highland Street Foundation
- New England Foundation of the Arts
- The Massachusetts Cultural Council
- The Boston Foundation
- Mass Humanities
- Creative Capital
Additional Resources
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Still have questions? Contact:
Arts and Culture
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1 City Hall Square
Room 802Boston, MA 02201-2029
