Where to Find Arts Grants in Seattle
Get that money š°
March 9, 2023


Being an artist is hard! You’ve got to transform inspiration and passion into something you’re proud of and then present it to an audience. And then there’sĀ the money part.Ā
But here’sĀ a little pro tip:Ā The Seattle Office of Arts and Culture (ARTS) hasĀ several grants to make funding projects a lot easier for Seattle-based artists.Ā
Here are a few you can consider for projects you’ve got brewing in that brainĀ of yours. Note: Many of these application cycles are for projects taking place in 2024.
šø: Courtesy Office of Arts & Culture | The Creative Advantage Roster's teaching artist Antonio Gomez
CityArtist
Applications open March 28th - May 9th, 2023

TheĀ CityArtist 2024Ā grant is for Seattle-based artists and curators researching, developing, and presenting ideas or ventures. Specifically, artists and curators working inĀ literary, media/digital/filmĀ (includingĀ screenwriting), andĀ visual arts.
For the 2022 cycle of funding, artistsĀ received grantsĀ for live presentations, fashion films, spoken word performances, public readings, and screenings of multimedia videos. For the 2024 round, individuals can apply for up toĀ $8,000 in fundsĀ for projects that connect residents throughout Seattle and are presented for public benefit. And if you donāt see your discipline represented this year, donāt worry.Ā They rotate every grant cycle, meaning 2024 could be your year.
āArtists are the ultimate storytellers who create a universal language that we can all understand,ā wrote actingĀ ARTS director royal alley-barnesĀ in a statement about this grant. āTheir work and creativity impact our worldview, and forge relationships between communities, businesses, and organizations. It is imperative that we invest in artists through grants like CityArtists because artists everywhere is art everywhere.ā

Artists at the Center
Applications open May 16th - June 27th, 2023

The Seattle Center is undoubtedlyĀ one of the best cultural spacesĀ in the city. TheĀ Artists at the CenterĀ grant furthers its cultural tradition by allowing selected artists to organizeĀ pop-upĀ music, dance, theatrical, and multi-disciplinary performances at Seattle Center. The Center chooses artists with “an equity and social justice lens,” emphasizing upliftingĀ emerging and underservedĀ artists. Now in its second year, for the 2022-2023 cycle, 26 awardees were given a total of $106,000 and received technical production support. Watch for the next cycle’s application window opening, and get your dance or music performance on.
Dot ur i’s, cross ur t’s šļø
These are all exciting opportunities! But make sure you do everythingĀ VERYĀ carefully. Read the guidelines, triple-check your eligibility, ask questions, and be as clear and concise as possible. You donāt want a simple mistake to come between you and your grant.
Arts in Parks
Applications open September 26th - November 7th, 2023

Seattle is home to over 485 parks. Meaning, youāre just a hop, skip, and jump from a place toĀ loll about with your friends. As such, parks also provide good opportunities for community gatherings, and the CityāsĀ Arts in ParksĀ grant encourages just that.Ā
Done in partnership with ARTS and Seattle Parks and Recreation, individual artists, community-based groups, and neighborhood councils interested inĀ activating a city parkĀ with a free and accessible event can apply for this grant. The funding body is primarily interested in proposals in āunderserved and economically constrained areas of the cityā with a focus on uplifting new and established festivals or events that ācelebrate diversityā and ābuild community connections.āĀ
Basically, is there aĀ cultural dance festivalĀ orĀ music workshopĀ youāve always dreamed of putting together? Then this is your grant.
Each individual or group can apply forĀ up to $7,800Ā in funding. Before you submit an application,Ā cross referenceĀ the Cityās preferred parks list and note the parks that are ineligible for this grant funding (like downtown and center city parks). Guidelines for the 2024 grant will drop on September 26th, when the application period begins.Ā
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute Facility Grant
Applications ongoing

Making something that celebrates and preserves the Black American and African diasporic performing arts and cultural legacies? Need aĀ giant space? AndĀ tons of seats? Then the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute Facility (LHPAI) Grant is for you, babe.Ā
The LHPAI Grant is for individuals, groups, or communities making artistic or cultural projects that reach underserved audiences and ābuilds community through arts and culture.ā Butāimportant!āthis grantĀ does not have a monetary amount. Rather, the grant represents 40 hours of āstaffed building useā at the LHPAI facility for your proposed art or cultural activity. It covers facility use and paid staff time.Ā
The guidelines encourage you toĀ start the process as early as possible. They recommend at least two months before the project starts or the event date. So get to it!
Artist-in-residency for Digital Artists
Applications deadline April 14th

Though this technically isn’t a grant, itĀ isĀ an excellent opportunity for artists to getĀ significant supportĀ from the City.Ā
ARTS and the Seattle Department of Transportation partnered to host a residency from June through December 2023 forĀ two digital artistsĀ working in digital data visualization art. What’s unique about this residency, however, is that the studio/office space provided is inside theĀ Fremont Bridge’s northwest towerĀ and theĀ University Bridge’s southeast tower.Ā
The call and artistic discipline change every residency cycle. In 2020, two graphic novelists, Roger Fernandes and E.T. Russian, were tasked withĀ creating graphic novelsĀ inspired by their respective experiences and reflections on the history of each bridge. And this year, the residency requires the two selected artists to make an “in-depth exploration” of data related to both bridges and then present those findings or information using “artistic digital data visualization.”Ā
This residency is open to digital artists who callĀ King, Snohomish, Pierce, or Kitsap counties homeĀ and who can travel to Seattle for the project’s duration. Each artist will receiveĀ $10,000, which is inclusive “of all residency time, costs, project, presentation, documentation of the work, and applicable taxes” with an application deadline ofĀ April 14. Nice!

JasĀ KeimigĀ is an arts and culture writer in Seattle. Their work has previously appeared in The Stranger, i-D, Netflix, and Feast Portland. They won a game show once and have a thing for stickers.