Artist Funding Opportunities: $1.2 Million+ for June & July 2025
- Forbidden Fruit
- 5 days ago
- 8 min read
Funding Opportunities for Artists: June & July 2025
Summer settles into its stride, bringing with it a robust lineup of funding opportunities for artists ready to make their mark. This Artist Funding Guide for June and July presents over $1.2 million in opportunities designed to fuel ambitious projects, foster international connections, and provide the resources needed for artistic breakthroughs. Whether you're ready to embark on transformative residencies, secure funding for boundary-pushing work, or connect with global creative communities, these opportunities offer solid pathways to advance your practice during this productive period.
Remember:
Read the full guidelines – Requirements can change from year to year.
Check eligibility – Many grants have location or discipline-specific criteria.
Prepare your materials early – Some applications require work samples, proposals, or letters of recommendation.
Grants to Fund Your Creative Work
Summer brings substantial funding opportunities that provide essential financial support for artists across disciplines and career stages.
June Deadlines
June 4: Jazz Road Tours – Supports 3-6 site tours with grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, focusing on rural communities and areas traditionally underserved by jazz. Also provides business development tools to advance careers beyond subsidies.
June 4: Independent Projects Grant – Partnership between NYSCA and the Architectural League of New York awarding $10,000 grants for New York State-based individuals and teams to explore design topics through creation or research.
June 6: Art Fluent Evolution Grant – Provides unrestricted $1,000 funding to individual artists with recognized artistic excellence in fine art media. Open to artists worldwide, both amateur and professional.
June 8: Great Meadows Foundation Artist Professional Development Grants – Offers $500-$6,000 to artists residing in Kentucky's 120 counties and the Greater Louisville area of Clark and Floyd counties in Indiana.
June 9: Annual Arts Grants and Residencies – City of Melbourne offers up to $20,000 for arts projects delivering public outcomes in 2026, plus art residencies with 6-12 month studio spaces and up to $5,000 funding for artists. Open to individual artists, groups, and small to medium arts organizations.
June 10: Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) Get Ready Grants – Provides up to $1,000 for craft artists to safeguard studios, protect practices, and prepare for emergencies. Priority given to underrepresented applicants including BIPOC and folk/traditional artists.
June 17: Ian Potter Cultural Trust Emerging Artist Grants – Offers grants up to AUD $15,000 for individual Australian artists working across disciplines, funding travel or projects commencing after September 19, 2025.
June 18: The Gerbode Foundation 2025 Theater Production Awards – Provides $400,000 total to support new theater works by California-based writers, playwrights, spoken word artists, and theater-makers. Bay Area nonprofit organizations can apply for $50,000 grants.
June 23: Grants for Artists' Progress – Offers 65 unrestricted grants of $1,500 for artists working in all disciplines across Washington State.
June 23: Connections Through Culture Grants 2025 – British Council supports artistic collaboration between UK and Asia-Pacific/Europe with grants up to £10,000. Applications must include at least one UK partner and one partner from eligible countries including Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and others.
June 26: Spring $1,800 Innovate Grants for Art + Photo – Awards two $1,800 grants quarterly to one visual artist and one photographer. Twelve additional applicants receive honorable mentions and website features. Open to international artists.
June 30: Nest Heritage Craft Prize – Texas-based makers, artists, and craftspeople can win $25,000, with four finalists also receiving grant funding for work demonstrating technical mastery and cultural tradition connections.
June 30: Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarships – Enables Australian visual arts students and graduates to study abroad for twelve months with a tax-exempt stipend of $75,000, plus institutional fees, return airfares, and travel/medical insurance. Open to Australian citizens or permanent residents aged 18+.
June 30: Vilcek Foundation Grant for Nonprofit Organizations – Supports U.S. nonprofit organizations working with immigrant artists and communities to promote diversity in arts, sciences, education, and humanities.
July Deadlines
July 2: Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists – Queer|Art awards a $10,000 grant to one Black trans woman visual artist, plus $1,250 awards to four finalists. Includes studio visits with rotating judges (Legacy Russell, Jordyn Jay, and Lee Laa Ray Guillory), consultations, and access to Queer|Art|Mentorship program tools. Open to U.S.-based artists.
July 4: Franklin Furnace XENO Prize for Artists' Books – Awards $5,000 to publish one artist's book on book banning/burning topics in an edition of at least 100 copies.
Rolling Deadlines
Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund – Provides $500-$5,000 for visual artists creating company projects, plus a separate $10,000 fund for creators during extraordinary hardship.
The Adolf and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant – Offers one-time financial assistance (typically $5,000, up to $15,000) for qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors facing unforeseen catastrophic incidents.
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant – Welcomes applications from painters, sculptors, and artists working on paper with grants up to $50,000 intended for one year.
Open Calls for Exhibitions & Competitions
Summer's active exhibition season creates ideal conditions for artists to share their work with engaged audiences seeking fresh creative perspectives.
June Deadlines
June 4: Artville Public Art Open Call – Seeks proposals for temporary, site-specific public art projects during Nashville's Artville festival weekend (September 26-28, 2025). Selected artists receive grants plus chances for cash prizes totaling $10,000.
June 6: 2025 Booooooom Art & Photo Book Award – Global arts platform offers to publish six standalone books at zero cost to artists, plus three additional projects as smaller zines. Open to U.S. artists, illustrators, and photographers.
June 7: Abington Art Center Solo Series Review – Offers 9-12 artists solo exhibitions in historic rooms at Alverthorpe Manor in Jenkintown, PA. Artists selected for Fall, Winter, or Spring seasons, with additional Community Art Gallery considerations.
June 8: Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025 Open Call for Curators – Invites global curators to explore contemporary issues in Asian contexts. Five finalists receive one-on-one mentorship, China research tours, and $4,000 grants for exhibition proposals.
June 9: 2026 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise – Awards six $50,000 prizes in Fashion & Design and Fashion & Culture categories to young immigrant fashion professionals demonstrating outstanding early achievement.
June 15: Akron Poetry Prize – University of Akron Press competition offering $1,500 and book publication as part of the Akron Series in Poetry. Open to all poets writing in English.
June 16: NO DEAD ARTISTS Call for Submissions – Global exhibition at Ferrara Showman Gallery provides springboard opportunities for emerging artists, leading to national press, gallery representation, and museum acquisitions.
June 17: Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award – New York Foundation for the Arts presents $8,000 cash grant to one New York State-based playwright or screenwriter who self-identifies as LGBTQ+.
June 19: Weather Photographer of the Year – Royal Meteorological Society competition showcasing striking weather and climate photographs while raising environmental awareness. Open internationally with £5,000 cash prize.
June 25: Artist Open Call: Wasted – Paul Robeson Galleries at Rutgers University Newark curates exhibition addressing plastic's impact. Global call for artworks made about, with, or referencing plastic, with honoraria and program payments.
June 30: Nest Heritage Craft Prize – Texas makers, artists, and crafters compete for $25,000 winner prize and finalist funding through singular, handcrafted pieces demonstrating technical mastery and cultural tradition.
July Deadlines
July 1: Terrain 16 Call for Artists – Annual juried multimedia art and music event in Spokane celebrating regional artists across painting, poetry, interactive art, film, and more to make the Inland Empire more vibrant and cultural.
Residencies & Fellowships: Time and Space to Create
Summer residencies provide dedicated time and inspiring environments for artists to push their practice into new territories.
June Deadlines
June 11: Banff Centre Artist in Residence – Winter 2026 – Five-week residency for individual and duo visual artists at any career stage, offering supportive learning environment and studio space for self-directed research.
June 15: Women's Studio Workshop – Two programs available: studio residency for artists working in intaglio, letterpress, papermaking, screenprinting, darkroom photography, or ceramics; and education residency for artists interested in working with local students. Both offer studio space and housing.
June 15: Prairie Ronde Artist Residency Fall 2025 – Process-based residency at the Mill at Vicksburg, Michigan offering 5-6 week stays with $2,000 completion stipend, $500 travel grant, and access to 80-acre property.
June 20: Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture – Welcomes artists, ecological scientists, and scholars exploring connections to nature, land conservation, historic preservation, agriculture, and community building. Includes studio space, accommodations, and $200 weekly stipend.
June 25: The Archives of American Art Internships (Fall 2025) – Smithsonian offers internships in Washington D.C. for students who haven't completed degrees or graduated within the past six months. Summer internships include a $6,500 stipend based on full-time, ten-week schedule with pro-rated options available.
June 30: Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) – NYC Department of Cultural Affairs municipal residency embedding artists in city government to propose creative solutions to civic challenges. Provides $40,000 funding and in-kind resources for artists working with Mayor's offices and NYC Department of Small Business Services.
June 30: NISDA Offshore Artist Residency – Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts welcomes emerging and professional artists across all fields for independent, self-structured experiences at the Atlantic House with live-in studios of various sizes.
June 30: Centrum 2026 Residency – Provides artists, writers, and creatives permission to relax, focus, and/or reinvent their practice through Self-Directed, Emerging Artist (PNW-based only), and In the Making residencies.
July Deadlines
July 2: Penland School of Craft – Professional craft artists at pivotal career moments can apply for one-year project residencies or three-year career transition residencies with housing and studio space provided.
Rolling Deadlines
Steel Yard Micro-Residencies – Flexible 1-3 month commitments helping artists grow creative industrial art practices. Ideal for completing specific projects, commissions, or prototypes with one ceramics and one metals resident hosted simultaneously.
ART14 Residency – Self-prescribed objectives welcoming all types of creators at all skill levels. Encourages exploration of new media, techniques, and collaboration while engaging with local community.
Alterwork Residency – Provides emerging contemporary artists time and space for new work exploration, culminating in solo closing receptions. Especially interested in conceptual art, practice theory, or public-involving creative processes.
Stochastic Labs Residencies – Fully-sponsored residencies for exceptional engineers, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs worldwide. Variable length including private mansion apartment, co-working space, shop access, monthly stipend, and materials budget.
Ready to Apply? Strategic Application Management
With summer deadlines approaching, effective organization and strategic planning become crucial for maximizing your application success while maintaining your creative practice.
Create an application calendar: Map out all deadlines, required materials, and preparation timelines across a visual calendar. Color-code by opportunity type and mark key milestones like when recommendation letters are due or when you need final portfolio images.
Develop a master materials library: Organize digital folders containing multiple versions of your artist statement (short, medium, long), various portfolio configurations, CV versions, and high-resolution work images. This preparation allows quick customization rather than starting from scratch each time.
Set internal deadlines: Aim to complete applications 48-72 hours before actual deadlines. This buffer allows time for technical issues, last-minute adjustments, and reduces stress that can negatively impact your creative work.
Track application outcomes systematically: Maintain a spreadsheet noting application dates, notification timelines, required follow-ups, and results. This data helps you identify successful strategies and refine your approach for future cycles.
Balance application work with creative practice: Schedule dedicated studio time that's separate from application preparation. Protecting your creative practice ensures you continue producing work while pursuing funding opportunities.
Before submitting, carefully review each opportunity's full guidelines - many have specific eligibility requirements related to geography, career stage, or artistic medium. Remember that many funders seek not just artistic excellence but also alignment with their mission or contemporary concerns.
Ready to level up your grant writing skills? Join Asimina Chremos, Crux, & Stonez for our comprehensive grant writing workshop on June 10th from 6:00-8:00 PM via Zoom. This hands-on session covers organizing your budget & timeline (highly important!) plus an open Q&A session. Bring a notebook and/or laptop to participate + your questions and big ideas!
Stay connected! Follow us on social media or join our mailing list to receive:
Updates about future funding opportunities
Notifications when workshop registration opens
Resources for artists and creators
Community news and events
Best of luck with your submissions - here's to a summer of creative breakthroughs and new opportunities!
