Madison Arts Commission awards $106,000 for arts projects in 2025-2026 grant cycle

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Logos for the Madison Arts Commission and Wisconsin Arts Board

The Madison Arts Commission is awarding a total of $106,000 to 66 organizations and individuals for projects through its annual arts grants program.

The arts grants program provides support for projects that enrich the cultural landscape of the City and is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Grants are awarded to both individual artists for fellowships and organizational applicants for projects or arts education programs.

The Madison Arts Commission received 74 applications during the 2025-2026 grant cycle, with requests totaling $227,432. Unfortunately, due to limited funds, a number of applicants were unable to be fully funded or awarded a grant.

Funded projects include a breadth of subjects and media, from poetry and literary arts to visual arts, dance, film, and more. Projects will reach nearly every corner of Madison and help leverage funds from other sources to make these programs a reality.

This year's grant recipients are:

Music Grants
Applicant/Fiscal ReceiverProject TitleRequestedRecommended
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.Auricle New Music Series 2025-2026$5,000$1,000
Hawthorne Neighborhood Assoc.Hawthorne Neighborhood Association (HNA) Concert Series$3,185$1,000
Just Bach Concerts, Inc.Just Back Concerts Season 8$1,614$1,000
Annie Kubena Creative, LLCLadyslipper$2,000$1,000
Madison Jazz Society, Inc.MJS Jazz Camp 2025: JAZZ IGNITE!$5,000$2,000
Create Wisconsin, Inc.Madison New Music Ensemble 2025-26 Concert Series$2,100$1,000
Madison Symphony Orchestra, Inc.HeartStrings® 2025-2026$5,000$1,000
Create Wisconsin, Inc.Heaven Inside$2,000$1,000
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.Synthfest Madison 2025$5,000$2,500
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.Under the Oak$5,000$1,000
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Inc.Concerts on the Square - Mozart & Mahler$4,900$1,900
Arts Education & Legacy Grants
Applicant/Fiscal ReceiverProject TitleRequestedRecommended
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.ALL Arts Outreach 2025-2026$5,000$2,000
Centro Hispano, Inc.Calli Arts and Culture$3,670$1,800
Madison Public Library Foundation, Inc.Dream Bus Summer Arts Programming 2025$4,592$2,200
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.Creating a Zine Library within Juvenile Justice System$5,500$2,200
Nora Katherine Novich LeonardLet's Make It Up! Camp$5,000$1,000
YWCA Madison, Inc.RestorArt: Using artistic expression as a tool for healing, restoration, and belonging for Youth$2,000$1,000
African Association of Madison, Inc.Africa Fest$1,500$1,500
Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society of WI, Inc.Fire from Heaven: BDDS's 34th Summer Chamber Music Festival$1,500$1,500
Capitol City Band AssociationConcerts in the Park 57th season$1,500$1,500
Cycropia Aerial Dance, Inc.Cycropia Aerial Dance, Inc. at Orton Park Festival$1,500$1,500
Fermat's Last Theater Company, Inc.Documentary theater performances for Fall 2025, Spring 2026$1,500$1,500
Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective, Inc.2025 Sugar Maple Music Festival youth workshop$1,500$1,500
Friends of Allen Centennial Garden, Inc.Summer Sundays: Jazz in the Garden$1,500$1,500
Girls Rock Camp Madison, Inc.Girls Rock Camp Madison Tuition Assistance Program$1,500$1,500
Grace Episcopal Church Foundation, Inc.Grace Presents 2025-2026 Concert Series$1,500$1,500
Handel Aria Competition, Inc.Handel Aria Competition Final Performance Round$1,500$1,500
Kanopy Dance Theatre, Inc.Anna Sokolow: Her Truth, A Collaboration with Two Professional Dance Companies$1,500$1,500
Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development, Inc.LOUD Voices: Publication of 4th installment of 'I Didn't Know There Were Latinos in Wisconsin' anthology$1,500$1,500
LunART, Inc.LunART Festival 2025, "Her Legacy, Our Voice"$1,500$1,500
Madison Bach Musicians, Inc.15th Annual Baroque Holiday Concert and Outreach Event$1,500$1,500
Madison Children's Museum, Inc.Cultural Heritage Celebrations$1,500$1,500
Madison Choral Project, Inc.Powerful Music Powerful Joy: Madison Choral Project 2025-26$1,500$1,500
Madison Flute Club, Inc.2026 Wisconsin Flute Festival$1,500$1,500
Madison Savoyards, Ltd.Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe$1,500$1,500
Madison Youth Choirs, Inc.Madison's Big Sing$1,500$1,500
NewBridge Madison, Inc.NewBridge Summer Concert Series at Warner Park Shelter$1,500$1,500
People Building Opportunity Through Grace and Action, Inc.Fall Gospel Fest$1,500$1,500
Sessions at McPike Park, Inc.Garver - A New Place to Embrace$1,500$1,500
Simpson Street Free Press, Inc.Youth Publishing in Madison: Writing About the Arts and Local History$1,500$1,500
TNW Ensemble Theater, Inc.Time Is Rhythm$1,500$1,500
Urban Community Arts Network, Ltd.Mad Lit: Where Arts and Culture Shine$1,500$1,500
Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & LettersAnamarie Edwards & Warren King (paired solo exhibitions)$1,500$1,500
Visual Art Grants
Applicant/Fiscal ReceiverProject TitleRequestedRecommended
Access to Independence, Inc.Artists Beyond Boundaries$5,000$1,000
IP Ministries, Inc.Legacy Quilts Project$2,000$1,000
Creative Vixen Design, LLCIndigenous Generations$2,000$1,000
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.Native Art Market 2025$5,000$2,000
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.MADE: Contemporary Fiber Arts$5,000$2,500
IP Ministries, Inc.Memory Collectors Storytelling Project$5,000$2,500
Textile Arts Center of Madison, Inc.Creando Arte + Comida: An Embroidered Recipe Book$5,000$2,000
Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters"Echoes from the Arc": The Arc Benders$5,000$1,000
Neighborhood House Community Center, Inc.Collaborative Community Art$2,500$1,200
Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, Inc.Imagining Ideal Gender Futures for Education into Reality with Trans and Nonbinary K-12 Students$3,000$1,200
Textile Arts Center of Madison, Inc.Free Community Programming$3,400$1,700
Dance, Festivals, Literary Arts, Theater, Film, and Other Grants
Applicant/Fiscal ReceiverProject TitleRequestRecommendation
Isthmus Dance Collective, Inc.Shifting Gears Bike Path Dance Festival$5,000$2,500
Madison Contemporary Dance, Inc.Creative Movement Project$5,000$2,000
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.B.A.M (Battle, Art & Music) Festival: Tournament of Power$5,000$1,000
Disability Pride Madison, Inc.The Disability Pride Festival$5,000$3,700
Madison Music Collective, Inc.2025 Madison Jazz Festival$5,000$2,000
Create Wisconsin, Inc.Driven By Stories$2,000$1,000
Midwest Mujeres, Inc.Voces y Sueños: Yo Quiero Dinero! Annual night of storytelling!$4,800$3,600
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.uHuman's Creative Recovery Lab$4,996$3,700
East Madison Community Center CorporationEast Madison Community Center (EMCC) Theater Arts Program$4,725$2,300
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin SystemWisconsin Screenwriters' Symposium$3,000$1,500
Nepali American Friendship AssociationThe song of Elderly People$1,500$1,000
Arts & Literature Laboratory, Inc.Mills Folly Microcinema 2025-2026$5,000$1,000
Madison Poet Laureate Program
ApplicantRequestedRecommended
Madison Poet Laureate$1,500$1,500
Madison Youth Poet Laureate$500$500

View the full list of applicants

About the Madison Arts Commission

The Madison Arts Commission (MAC) is an 11-member citizen commission appointed by the Mayor to advise the City about matters of arts and culture. MAC’s mission is to foster arts appreciation by initiating partnerships, developing new audiences, and sponsoring diverse artistic activities by emerging and established artists and arts organizations while preserving Madison’s rich artistic tradition. To support a full creative life for all, the Madison Arts Commission commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, and equitable city.

To receive the latest news from Madison Arts, you can sign up for e-mail updates on the City’s e-mail lists page by entering your e-mail address and checking the box next to “Madison Arts Updates” under the Department of Planning & Community & Economic Development (DPCED) section.

 

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