Federal, state, and other arts and culture grants/opportunities. Questions regarding a particular opportunity should be directed to the organization listed with the opportunity. Inclusion here should not be interpreted as an endorsement.
State of Hawaiʻi
City and County of Honolulu Office of Economic Revitalization: Hawaiʻi Small Business Fair at Leeward Community College, September 17
Saturday, September 17, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Free day of workshops and classes to help local business adapt to the emerging post-COVID economy. There will be workshops on online selling and social media marketing, finding access to working capital, trademark, and intellectual property protections, how to manage a staff, and more. Register for a free ticket on Eventbrite: Hawaii Small Business Fair 2022.
Chinatown Arts District “Heart of Honolulu” Family-Friendly Art Festival, October 8
October 8, 2022, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. If you are an artist or crafter interested in renting a booth space, please email [email protected].
Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities Call for New Board Members Open Through October 15
Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities is currently accepting applications for community leaders interested in joining our Board of Directors—an energetic and creative governing body committed to the humanities in Hawaiʻi. We are particularly interested in strengthening leadership in the following areas to help us grow as an organization: Maui, Hawaiʻi Island, and Molokaʻi humanities and community work, media and storytelling, K-12 humanities education, legal expertise, government/civic leadership, local business leaders. Ages 21 and up are welcome. For more information, please read the HI Humanities August newsletter: Mailchi.mp/HiHumanities/hihumanities-call-for-new-board-members.
Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities Grants Open Through October 26
- Public Humanities Grants: funding up to $10,000 for programs seeking to promote deep thinking, conversation, and connection on issues that impact our communities in Hawaiʻi. Deadline: October 26, 2022.
- Preservation and Access Grants: funding up to $10,000 towards projects that mālama our history, preserve resources that are important to a community, and make them publicly accessible to researchers, students, and the general public. Deadline: October 26, 2022.
For more information, please visit the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities grants page: HiHumanities.org/what-we-do/our-grants-program.
Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture: Micro-Grants for Food Security Program Applications due September 19
The Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is now accepting applications for the second year of the Micro-Grants for Food Security Program (MGFSP), which provides support for small-scale gardening, herding and livestock operations to help produce food in areas that are food insecure. The maximum award per household is $5,000. Due to the high level of interest from individuals, organizations will not be eligible for this year’s MGFSP program. The online application form and program information are available at the HDOA Market Development Branch website at: https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/add/md/. Applications are due by Monday September 19, 2022, 12:00 p.m.
Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and Arts (MOCA) Call for Exhibitions
MOCA is currently accepting proposals for 2023 exhibitions. MOCA manages civic spaces inside Honolulu Hale such as the courtyard and Lane Gallery. These spaces are used to showcase the talents of visual artists and showcase the work of non-profit organizations and schools from our diverse community. Partnerships with community organizations have enabled MOCA to grace the halls of City buildings with a wide range of artwork displayed monthly. All exhibits are free and open to the public. For more information, please visit the MOCA website: HonoluluMOCA.org/call-for-exhibitions.
Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA)
Performing, Teaching, and Presenting at the State Art Museum
If you are interested in doing contract work performing, teaching, or presenting in the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum, please go to one of the forms linked below:
- Performing at HiSAM: HiSAM Performance Request Form
- Teaching a Workshop at HiSAM: Workshop Teacher Application Form
- Installation in the Mirror Room: Mirror Room Installation Proposal Form. Please note that this is our installation space and only full proposals will be considered. If you are interested in using our POD studio space, please complete that form instead.
- Utilizing the Passion on Display (POD) Space: POD at HiSAM Proposal Form. Please note that this is considered free studio space and is not a paid opportunity. If you would prefer to have an installation at HiSAM, please complete the form for the Mirror Room.
State Foundation on Culture and the Arts: Visual Art Consultant
Participate in making decisions about artworks for the SFCA Art in Public Places Collection. Informed community panelists make decisions at the SFCA regarding artwork purchases and gifts. Participate by volunteering as a Visual Art Consultant! Application on the SFCA website: https://sfca.hawaii.gov/programs-for-artists-presenters/volunteer-to-select-artwork/.
Calls for Artists in Hawaiʻi
Art Kauaʻi 2022
Entry day Saturday September 10, 2022. For more information, please visit the Kauaʻi Society of Artists (KSA) website: KauaiSocietyOfArtists.org.
Call for Entry (CAFE)
The Call for Entry (CAFE) website can be searched by state (choose the “sort by” menu on the left side of the screen). Search the Café website: Artist.CallForEntry.org.
- Plein Air Perspectives 2022: The 3rd Annual Hawaiʻi Statewide Jury Exhibition, sponsored by the Hawaiʻi Island Art Alliance and open to all Hawaiʻi based artists. Entry deadline 9/16/2022.
- Hawaii Nei Art Exhibition 2022: All media juried exhibition celebrating the native flora and fauna of Hawaiʻi Island. Open only to Hawaiʻi Island artists. Entry deadline 10/14/22.
Federal Grants
The Grants.gov website can be searched by eligibility, category, and more. Below is a selection of currently open grants related to arts and culture.
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
IMLS Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services 2023, CFDA Number 45.308
The Native American/Native Hawaiian Services grant program is designed to support Indian tribes and organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Hawaiians in sustaining heritage, culture, and knowledge through exhibitions, educational services and programming, workforce professional development, organizational capacity building, and collections stewardship.
Applications close November 15, 2022. For more information: www.imls.gov/grants/available/native-americanNative-hawaiian-museum-services-program
Library of Congress
Connecting Communities Digital Initiative Grants
The Library of Congress is pleased to open applications for the second round of funding in the Connecting Communities Digital Initiative grant program. These grants will support libraries, archives, museums and higher education institutions to create projects that remix and reuse the Library’s digital collections in creative and imaginative ways. In addition, these projects must center the lives, experiences and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, Hispanic or Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander and/or other communities of color in the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, territories and commonwealths (Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands). This program is part of the larger Of the People initiative funded by the Mellon Foundation that creates dynamic opportunities for more people to engage with the Library. Applications due September 30, 2022.
https://blogs.loc.gov/ofthepeople/category/connecting-communities-digital-initiative/
Be a Virtual Volunteer: help transcribe Library of Congress documents online
Volunteers create and review transcriptions to improve search, access, and discovery of these pages from history. https://crowd.loc.gov/
National Archives and Records Administration (NHPRC)
NHPRC Public Engagement with Historical Records
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission seeks projects that encourage public engagement with historical records. The NHPRC is looking for collaborative projects that create models and technologies that other institutions can freely adopt, including the development of new tools that enable people to engage online. Collaborations should include archivists as part of the project team in addition to documentary editors, historians, educators, and/or people working in community-based organizations. Projects that focus on innovative methods to introduce primary source materials and how to use them in multiple locations also are more likely to create a competitive proposal. Projects that center the voices and document the history of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are especially welcome. In addition, with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, the Commission is interested in projects that promote discovery and access to collections that explore the ideals behind our nation’s founding and the continuous debate over those ideals to the present day.
Application closing date: October 6, 2022. For more information: Archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/engagement.html
NHPRC Institutes for Historical Editing
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission seeks proposals to advance inclusive participation, training, education, dialog, and collaborative exchange amongst a diverse and growing community of academic and non-academic practitioners in the editing and publishing of historical records, including the related practices of digital scholarly editing, digital ethnic studies, digital history, and digital humanities. “We strongly encourage collaborative teams that include racially and ethnically diverse faculty and staff in key positions, and that include editorial, archival, and technical staff at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges, and/or other Indigenous and Native American tribal scholars and community members, and members of the Asian American community.”
Closing date for applications: December 8, 2022
https://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/editing.html
NHPRC-Mellon Planning Grants for Collaborative Digital Editions, CFDA Number 89.003
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), with funding provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, seeks proposals for its planning grant program for Collaborative Digital Editions in African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American History and Ethnic Studies. Overarching goal to broaden participation in the production and publication of historical and scholarly digital editions.
Application closing date June 7, 2023
https://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/digitaleditions
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is the only arts funder in the United States—public or private—that provides access to the arts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. jurisdictions. Each year, the NEA awards thousands of grants to provide everyone in the United States with diverse opportunities for arts participation. Learn more about how to apply, the process, and more on the NEA website: https://www.arts.gov/grants.
NEA Literature Fellowships: Translation Projects FY2024, CFDA Number 45.024
Through fellowships to published translators, the National Endowment for the Arts supports projects for the translation of specific works of prose, poetry, or drama from other languages into English.
Application closes January 12, 2023.
https://www.arts.gov/grants/translation-projects
NEA Webinar on GSA’s Art in Architecture Program and Upcoming Artist Commissions Series
The National Endowment for the Arts is hosting an informational webinar about the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Art in Architecture program and upcoming opportunities in New York and New England on Tuesday, September 13, at 1 pm ET. The Art in Architecture Program oversees the commissioning of artworks for federal buildings nationwide. Additional webinars are scheduled for the Upper Midwest, Southwest, and Pacific Northwest. For more information and to register, please visit the NEA website: arts.gov/news/events.
Volunteer to be a National Endowment for the Arts Panelist
Arts Endowment panelists play a central role in reviewing applications for funding. The NEA relies on panels composed of individuals who represent a broad range of artistic and cultural viewpoints, as well as wide geographic and ethnic diversity, to provide advice about the artistic excellence and artistic merit of proposals in a variety of funding categories. Panels are composed of both arts professionals and knowledgeable laypersons. Most panelists are arts professionals who are qualified by their activities, training, skills, and/or experience in one or more art forms. Every panel also includes a layperson – someone knowledgeable about the arts but not engaged in the arts as a profession either full- or part-time. Learn more on the NEA website: arts.gov/form/volunteer-to-be-a-national-endowment-for-the-arts-panelist
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
NEH Digital Humanities Advancement Grants, CFDA Number 45.169
The Digital Humanities Advancement Grants program (DHAG) for organizations supports innovative, experimental, and/or computationally challenging digital projects, leading to work that can scale to enhance scholarly research, teaching, and public programming in the humanities. Deadline: January 12, 2023.
https://www.neh.gov/grants/odh/digital-humanities-advancement-grants
NEH Public Humanities Projects, CFDA Number 45.164
The purpose of this program is to support projects that bring the ideas and insights of the humanities to life for general audiences through in-person, hybrid, or virtual programming. Projects must engage humanities scholarship to analyze significant themes in disciplines such as history, literature, ethics, and art history. Deadline: January 11, 2023
https://www.neh.gov/grants/public/public-humanities-projects
NEH Scholarly Editions and Scholarly Translations, CFDA Number 45.161
This program supports collaborative teams who are editing, annotating, and translating foundational humanities texts that are vital to scholarship but are currently inaccessible or only available in inadequate editions or translations. Typically, the texts are significant literary, philosophical, and historical materials, but works in other humanities fields may also be the subject of an edition.
Applications close November 30, 2022
https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/scholarly-editions-and-translations-grants