Grants to USA Nonprofit Institutions for the Exhibition of American and Native American Art is sponsored by Foundation. Supports nonprofit institutions in the USA to promote American and Native American art through public displays.

American Art Grant Categories - Henry Luce Foundation American Art Program Grant Categories The Henry Luce Foundation believes that art museums are vital public knowledge organizations that serve as accessible forums for creative expression and public dialogue.

Encouraging museums to center their collections in this work, the American Art Program’s Responsive grants support a wide range of projects that reconsider and reinvigorate collections through partnerships with diverse collaborators and communities. We welcome projects in the visual arts across all media and chronologies, including Native American art and cultural objects.

Successful applicants will initiate or apply new research and fresh approaches to collection-focused documentation, publications, reinterpretation, reinstallations, and in-house or touring exhibitions. We encourage projects that address collection holdings that have been inadequately preserved, studied, shared, or presented. Preferred projects will exemplify ethical best practices, particularly with ethnically specific collections.

The American Art Program welcomes the submission of project Concept Notes through our website on a rolling basis. If there is interest in the project and a proposal is invited, program staff will determine the board meeting docket on which the grant will be placed for approval. We highly recommend that Concept Notes be submitted well in advance (ideally six to eight months) of project start dates.

The Autry’s Joe D. Horse Capture leading the Museum of Fine Arts Boston team through close analysis of Plains beadwork. Museum Partners for Social Justice.

The American Art Program supports scholarly loan exhibitions that contribute significantly to the study and understanding of art of the United States, including all facets of Native American art.

These grants advance the Program’s efforts to empower art museums to reconsider accepted histories, amplify the voices and experiences of underrepresented artists and cultures, and facilitate important dialogue with diverse collaborators and communities. We accept Concept Notes for loan exhibitions every spring. Applicants are judged as a pool throughout three stages of review.

An external panel of advisors, including art historians and curators, participate in the advanced stages of the process. Visit our grants database to see recently funded exhibitions. 2026 Application Calendar April 24: Deadline for institutions to submit an exhibition Concept Note through the online portal.

May 15: Applicants will be informed of first-round decisions. June 26: Deadline for selected institutions to submit full proposals through the online portal. July 24: Applicants moving on to the second round will be notified.

September 25: Applicants moving on to the final round will be notified. November 5: Announcement of awards approved by the Foundation’s board. In our review process, we give the highest consideration to the cultural significance of the art, the intellectual rigor and originality of the exhibition’s conceptual framework, and the organizational capacity for the successful execution of the project.

We secondarily consider geographic and institutional diversity. While accompanying publications and additional tour venues are not required, they can enhance a project’s strength. Program Requirements and Guidelines Concept Notes must be submitted online by the originating institution and not by a participating-venue institution.

(Letters are not accepted from individuals.) Art of the United States, including Native American art, should constitute significantly more than half of the checklist. The organizing institution’s permanent collection should not constitute more than half of the exhibition checklist.

A single, privately held collection should constitute no more than half of the exhibition checklist. The holdings of a single commercial dealer should constitute no more than half of the exhibition checklist. The proposed exhibition should not open before March of the year following your application submission.

Museums outside of the United States may submit appropriate projects for consideration only if they have proof of valid non-profit status provided by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Only one exhibition per year can be submitted per institution.

Start the Application Process (this link opens in new window) Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art We support scholarly training in Art History by awarding dissertation fellowships annually to doctoral candidates at colleges and universities in the United States. Administered by the American Council of Learned Societies on behalf of the Luce Foundation, the program provides stipends and travel and research funds.

Meet the Fellows and Learn More The American Art Program is eager to work with new grantees at organizations of any scale, including Native American Tribal museums. We are also eager to partner with academic museums and galleries that seek to share collections through on-and-off-campus partnerships and demonstrate the potential of art-based inquiry to advance learning and skills across various disciplines.

The American Art Program supports curatorial training by offering fellowships and term positions linked to Responsive Grant projects. Apprentice-level positions must involve continuous mentorship by senior curators associated with the proposed work. The Program also supports projects located entirely in museum or collection archives.

Although we rarely fund independent conservation projects, we do consider conservation-related components in proposals for collections-based projects. Please note that proposals related to performance art, film (including documentaries), the creation of art, the purchase of art, and the work of emerging artists are not eligible for funding through the American Art program.

You may submit your concept note at any time through our online portal. If you have any questions in advance of completing your concept note, contact Randall Griffey, Program Director for American Art, at [email protected] . From museum exhibitions to national conferences, Luce grantees bring audiences together for meaningful dialogues that support our mission to cultivate a healthy democratic culture and an equitable society.

Exhibition: Joyce J: Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams Step into the visionary world of Joyce J. Scott, celebrated as one of today’s most prolific and boundary-breaking artists. Best known for her virtuosic use of beads and glass, Scott upends hierarchies of art and craft, captivating audiences with beauty, humor, and a...

Exhibition: Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies A defining Black woman artist of the twentieth century, Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012) has not received the mainstream art-world attention afforded many of her peers. The Brooklyn Museum, in partnership with the National Gallery of Art, closes this gap with Elizabeth...

Exhibition: Of Salt and Spirit: Black Quilters in the American South Step into the world of quilting with Of Salt and Spirit: Black Quilters in the American South. Over the past twenty years, the Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) has amassed one of the largest quilt collections in the American South. This exhibition will feature over...

Clare Boothe Luce Program Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Designated Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Invited Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust East and Southeast Asian Archaeology Initiative Henry R.

Luce Professorship Program HRL Initiative on Religion in Intl Affairs Clare Boothe Luce Program Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Designated Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Invited Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust East and Southeast Asian Archaeology Initiative Henry R.

Luce Professorship Program HRL Initiative on Religion in Intl Affairs Clare Boothe Luce Program Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Designated Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Invited Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust East and Southeast Asian Archaeology Initiative Henry R.

Luce Professorship Program HRL Initiative on Religion in Intl Affairs Clare Boothe Luce Program Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Designated Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Invited Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust East and Southeast Asian Archaeology Initiative Henry R.

Luce Professorship Program HRL Initiative on Religion in Intl Affairs Clare Boothe Luce Program Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Designated Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Invited Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust East and Southeast Asian Archaeology Initiative Henry R.

Luce Professorship Program HRL Initiative on Religion in Intl Affairs Clare Boothe Luce Program Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Designated Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Invited Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust East and Southeast Asian Archaeology Initiative Henry R.

Luce Professorship Program HRL Initiative on Religion in Intl Affairs Clare Boothe Luce Program Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Designated Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Invited Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust East and Southeast Asian Archaeology Initiative Henry R.

Luce Professorship Program HRL Initiative on Religion in Intl Affairs Clare Boothe Luce Program Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Designated Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Invited Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust East and Southeast Asian Archaeology Initiative Henry R.

Luce Professorship Program HRL Initiative on Religion in Intl Affairs Clare Boothe Luce Program Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Designated Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in STEM Invited Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust East and Southeast Asian Archaeology Initiative Henry R.

Luce Professorship Program HRL Initiative on Religion in Intl Affairs Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Religion in International Affairs Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Religion in International Affairs Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Religion in International Affairs Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Religion in International Affairs Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Religion in International Affairs Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Religion in International Affairs Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Religion in International Affairs Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Religion in International Affairs Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Religion in International Affairs