Lawrence, KS Community Arts Mini Grant

Lawrence, KS Community Arts Mini Grant is sponsored by City of Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission. Mini grants to support individual artists (18+) in Lawrence with equipment costs aligned to their art practice.

Community Arts Grant Program - City of Lawrence, Kansas Community Arts Grant Program Parks, Recreation and Culture Community Arts Grant Program Due to the ongoing winter storm, City facilities, including City Hall and all Parks, Recreation and Culture facilities, will be closed on Tuesday, Feb. 18. This is due to the forecasted winter storm resulting in dangerous travel conditions.

Read the news release for full details >> The 2026 Community Arts Grant online application (below) opened on December 31, 2025 and will close on February 2, 2026 at 11:00 p. m. The 2026 Mini Grant PDF application form was posted on this webpage on January 26, 2026 .

Completed applications must be submitted to parneill@lawrenceks. gov by 11:00 p. m.

on March 6, 2026 . Mini Grant Application Form - Downlaodable PDF The Community Arts Grant (CAG) program was established in 1991 to benefit the local arts community for art-related programs and projects. It is overseen by the Cultural Arts Commission and funded through transient guest tax (TGT) revenue (tax paid by hotel guests).

Since 1991, 252 grants have been awarded, equaling over $400,000 in City grant support. The CAG Program aligns with the City Strategic Plan , particularly the Unmistakable Identity outcome area and the following commitment areas: community engagement, equity and inclusion, and environmental sustainability.

Applicants are specifically asked to articulate how their project or program supports Unmistakable Identity and potentially advances on one or more of the key progress indicators , particularly UI-2, UI-6 and UI-13 . This is reflected in the score form that the Cultural Arts Commissioners use to review and score the grant applications.

FY 2026 Community Arts Grant Guidelines FY 2026 Community Arts Grant Score Form Sample Application Budget Sample Excel Budget Calculation Form 2026 Community Arts Grant - Overview Presentation For those who are new to the Community Arts Grant application process, we are offering a Pre-Application review . Interested applicants can submit their grant application PDF form by 11:00 p. m.

on by January 15, 2025 – or sooner – for initial screening and basic minimum requirements by staff. Feedback will be returned by January 22, 2025 prior to the final application deadline. The pre-application fillable PDF form can be downloaded HERE .

Pre applications are optional, not required. For more information, contact Porter Arneill at parneill@lawrenceks. gov or (785) 832-3449 .

Mini Grants provide as many as six grants of up to $500 each to help support artists (18+) with costs for equipment specifically aligned with their art practice. Mini Grant Application Form - Downlaodable PDF NOTE: Community Arts Grants awards will equal no more than 50% of the total project or activity cost . Cost-share may be cash and/or in-kind.

Fifty percent match funds must be clearly shown in the budget proposal on the grant application. Only one grant is allowed per project. Regular Grants - anticipated schedule December 31, 2025, to February 2, 2026, at 11 p.

m. – Application period for FY 2026 Community Arts Grants (Grants can be awarded retroactively to January 1, 2026.) Application deadline: February 2, 2026, by 11 p.

m. Thursday, January 8 (2 to 3 p. m.)

and Friday, January 16 (2 to 3 p. m.) – Informational meetings for grant applicants – Virtual and recorded on YouTube - Presentation 1/8/2026 Community Arts Grant Guidelines Orientation video The 1/16/2026 presentation was cancelled Pre-Application review.

Interested applicants can download the pre-application PDF form , fill it out and submit it by email by January 15, 2025 – or sooner – for initial screening and basic minimum requirements staff review. Feedback will be returned by January 26, 2025. Wednesday, February 11 (7:30 p.

m.) – Cultural Arts Commission meeting - review scores and make recommendations Tuesday, February 17, 2025 – City Commission reviews regular Community Arts Grants Program funding recommendations for approval at City Commission meeting Mini Grant - application opening, deadline and review schedule The PDF Mini Grant application form will be available on the program webpage beginning January 26, 2026 .

Applicants must submit their completed application by email to parneill@lawrenceks. gov no later than 11:00 p. m.

on March 6, 2026 . Application deadline: March 6, 2026, by 11 p. m.

Wednesday, March 11 (7:30 p. m.) – Cultural Arts Commission meeting - review scores, discussion and make recommendations Tuesday, March 17, 2026 – City Commission reviews Community Arts Grants Program funding recommendations for approval at City Commission meeting 2026 Community Arts Grants - Application This application closed on Monday, February 2, 2026 at 11:00 p.

m.

2025 Community Arts Grants 2025 Community Arts Grants - recipient list 2024 Community Arts Grants - Recipient List Lawrence Arts Center, Free State Festival: $10,000 Amplify Lawrence, Inc., 2024 Amplify Lawrence Camp Experience: $5,000 Van Go, Inc., Benchmark, 2024: $9,000 Spencer Museum of Art, d/b/a/ University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc., native Fashion: $9,000 Art Tougeau, Inc., A Low-rider Twist to a 25 Year Lawrence Tradition: $4,303 Lawrence Art Guild Association, Emerging Artist Booth: $2,996 Marla Quilts, Inc., National African American Quilt Convention: $5,000 Lawrence Juneteenth Organization, Lawrence Juneteenth Celebration: $6,500 Black:30 Association, Inclusive Market Project: $5,390 Lawrence Kansas Pride Inc., Lawrence Pride Party 2024: $4,800 Project Title Organization / contact Amount Report Lied Center of Kansas - Theatre on the Spectrum $4,000 View Report Nick Carswell Music - Echoes Through A Green Space $2,000 View Report Van Go, Inc. - Benchmark 2018 $4,000 View Report Spencer Museum of Art - The Ties that Bind: Haiti, the United States, and the Art of Ulrick Jean-Pierre in Comparative Perspective $4,000 View Report Kansas Public Radio - KPR Live Day $3,500 View Report Lawrence Arts Center - Rethink: I am a Veteran $2,500 View Report Lawrence Public Library - Dinner and a Movie Series $2,000 View Report Art Tougeau - Art Tougeau Parade $3,000 View Report Total $25,000 Project Title Organization / contact Amount Report Lawrence Unified School District #497 - Confabularryum - Program Description $5000 Haskell Cultural Center and Museum - 90th Anniversary of Haskell Stadium and WWI Arch Dedication Event - Program Description $8000 Postponed to 2018 Busker Festival - Buskers for Final Fridays project - Program Description $5000 View Report Spencer Museum of Art - And Still We Rise and Narratives of the Soul - Two African American Quilt Exhibitions - Program Description $7000 View Report Total $25,000 Project Title/Organization Amount Report Lawrence Unified School District #497 - Confabularryum - A Festival of Creativity and Making $5,000 View Report Marla Quilts Inc. - National African American Quilt Convention $4,000 Scheduled for July 2017 (See Spencer Museum report 2017 Nick Carswell - Echoes Through A Green Space $1,550 Project Cancelled Lawrence Children’s Choir - Capo, Cadenza and Credenza: Intergenerational Choral Education $2,000 View Report Spencer Museum of Art - Community Reopening Celebration $2,335 View Report Van Go, Inc. - Benchmark 2016 $4,000 View Report Lawrence Opera Theatre - LOT2016:- Shakespeare 400 $2,000 View Report Ballard Center - Mural: A Celebration of the Ballard Center & North Lawrence's History $2,000 In Process Lawrence Art Guild Association - Art in the Park $2,115 View Report Total: $25,000 - Project Title/Organization Amount Report Full Circle Community Mural Project / Douglas County Housing, Inc. & Full Circle Youth Program $2,000 View Report Hispanic Heritage Month Festival / Inwrought Music Management $500 View Report Lawrence Traditional Music and Dance Celebration / Lawrence Folk $800 View Report Lawrence Intersection Repair / The Percolator $1,500 View Report MXM2015 (MixMaster) Music Conference & Showcase / Silly Goose Records $1,400 View Report Collection Cards: Heroes Edition / Spencer Museum of Art $800 View Report Total: $ 7,000 Project Title/Organization Amount Report Busker Festival - Lawrence Busker Festival 2014 $2,000 View Report Douglas County Housing Inc. - Music for the People $545 View Report Lawrence Alliance - Festival of Cultures $500 View Report Lawrence Percolator - Lawrence Inside-Out: City of the Arts $1,200 Silly Goose Records Collective - MXM2014: Mix/Master Music Info Sessions & Showcase $1,100 View Report Van Go, Inc. - Rolling Mural: Moving History of Lawrence $1,000 View Report Total: $6,345 Project Title/Organization Amount Report Busker Festival 2013 / Lawrence Busker Festival $2,000 View Report Youth Arts Collaborative / Douglas County Housing, Inc. $1,325 View Report Percolator Arts Caravan / Lawrence Percolator $1,000 View Report 2013-2014 Season / Under the Table $1,000 Festival of Cultures / The Lawrence Alliance $500 View Report Quantrill's Raid: Modern Views / Watkins Community Museum $500 View Report Final Fridays Public Arts Program / Final Fridays Exhibitions & Performing Arts $350 View Report The Arts Train / Van-Go $350 Total: $7,025 Project Title/Organization Amount Report Lawrence Busker Festival $2,000 View Report Douglas County Senior Services, Inc. – Douglas County Senior Services Oral History Quilt Project $2,000 View Report Four Winds Native Center – Indigenous Youth Dance Troupe $1,700 View Report VanGo, Inc.: JAMS Summer Benchmark session $1,000 View Report Family Promise of Lawrence: Family Art Nights $500 View Report Total: $7,200 Project Title Organization / contact Amount Contact Info The New Old San Antonio– b.

a. l. m.

$1000 Darin White- darin. white@gmail. com Final Fridays Flash Galleries – Downtown Lawrence Arts District $1000 Jane Pennington, jfpennington@gmail.

com Reframing my Story, Douglas County Housing Inc $1000 Chris Lempa, clempa@ldcha. org Lawrence Busker Festival – Lawrence Busker Festival $1,000 Richard Renner, 749-2226 rrenner@vodvill. com Based Artist Residencies – Lawrence Arts Center $1,000 Susan Tate, susantate@lawrenceartscenter.

org To Catch a Butterfly- Theatre Lawrence $1000 Kay Traver, 843-7469, kaytraver@att. net JAMS – Summer Benchmark – Van Go, Inc. $1,000 Kristen Malloy, mandy@van-go. org Project Title Organization / contact Amount Contact Info Drums on Children’s Learning Center’s Playground – Children’s Learning Center, Inc. $500 Holly Turner, clc5@sunflower.

com Final Fridays Fringe Festival – Downtown Lawrence, Inc.- $1000 Jane Pennington, 842-3883 director@downtownlawrence. com Summer Film Intensive – Lawrence Arts Center $1000 Ric Averill, 843-2787 ricaverill@lawrenceartscenter. org Lawrence Busker Festival – Lawrence Busker Festival $1,000 Richard Renner, 749-2226 rrenner@vodvill.

com Ride Lawrence” Functional Art Bike Rack for the Lawrence Farmer’s Market – Lawrence Central Rotary $1,000 Scott Wagner, 830-4822 swagner@lawrenceks. gov Youth Education Program (YEP) – Lawrence Community Theater $1,000 Hailey Gillespie, 843-7469 lctks@sbcglobal. net Collaborative Arts Experiences for Kids – Trinity In-Home Care $500 Kelly Evans, 842-3159 kelly@trinityinhomecare.

com JAMS – Summer Benchmark – Van Go, Inc. $1,000 Jim Lewis, 842-3797 mandy@van-go. org Special Grant Project Final Fridays Seed Funding – Downtown Lawrence, Inc. on behalf of Downtown Lawrence Arts District $10,000 Jane Pennington, 842-3883 director@downtownlawrence. com Project Title Organization / contact Amount Contact Info Cottonwood Choir- Cottonwood, Inc. $500 Lynn Stover, 840-1646 lstover@cwood.

org Youth & Family Programming- Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships- $510 Gayle Sigurdson, 832-1692 Ksfpc_coordinator@yahoo. com Functional Art Bike Rack for Lawrence Arts Center - Lawrence Central Rotary $500 Carolyn Chinn Lewis, 864-0140 cclewis@ku. edu High School Musical –Lawrence Community Theatre $1000 John Phythyon, 843-7469 lctks@aol.

com Out of Thin Air - Lawrence Corporation for the Advancement of the Visual Arts $1000 Dave Loewenstein, 550-8531 lawrencepercolator@gmail. com Iron Pour - Ministry of Sculpture $500 William Vannerson, 850-572-7715 whvannerson@yahoo. com Theater in the Park - Roger Hill Volunteer Center and Lawrence Youth Ensemble $1000 Tracie Howell, 865-5030 info@rhvc.

org Baby Blues - Thunderbird Theatre Club Haskell $1000 Dr. Joy Richmond, 785-393-2293 jrichmond@haskell. edu Creation/Imagination based drop in childcare - Trinity In-Home Care $500 Kelly Evans, 842-3159 kelly@trinityinhomecare. com Growing New Community Dance Series - Uptown Hoedown $750 Jim Allen, 841-5759 jallen3@sunflower.

com Project Title Organization / contact Amount Contact Info 1. Hip Hop/RAP –The Voice, Recording and Performance –Amy Carlson $983. 70 Amy Carlson acarlson@ku.

edu 2. Art Tougeau Traveling Folk Art Exhibit – Art Tougeau Parade/ Pat Slimmer $750. 00 Pat Slimmer auto@sunflower.

com 3. Busker Fest 2008 -- Lawrence Street Performers Group/ Richard Renner $1,000. 00 Richard Renner rrenner@vodvill.

com 4. A Song on the Wind –Lawrence Community Theatre/John Phythyon $1,000. 00 John Phythyon lctks@aol.

com 5. Art Therapy Project – Lawrence Community Shelter/Loring Henderson $1,000. 00 Loring Henderson loring@lawrenceshelter.

org 6. Edge Community Art Garden – Central Jr. High Edge After School/Laura Leonard $1,000. 00 Laura Leonard lleonard@usd497.

org 7. Visual Voices-Voices of Youth – Women of Color Quilters Network – Lawrence Chapter/ Marla Jackson $1,000. 00 Marla Jackson marlaquilts@sbcglobal.

net Project Title Organization / contact Amount Contact Info 1. The Passport Abroad Art “Tour of the World” Program — Cottonwood Inc. $750 Jessica Miescher jmiescher@cwood. org 2.

Professional Recording: Holiday CD — Lawrence Children’s Choir, Inc. $850 Laura Denneler lccexecdirector@aol. com 3. HERstory Made the Difference — HERstory Productions $1,000 Cherisa Williams cheristulip@yahoo.

com 4. Centro Cultural Summer 2007 — Centro Hispano Resource Center $328. 50 Lydia Leon lleon@saint-johns.

net 5. Summer Arts Program at the Juvenile Detention Center — Lawrence Arts Center $1,000 Noelle Uhler lacdev@sunflower. com 6.

Art Through Glass: An Artist Residency & Art Exposure program for Students — Lawrence Public Schools $1,000 Patrick Kelly pkelly@usd497. org 7. Sounds of Summer Music Therapy Camp — Americana Music Academy $71.

50 Thom Alexander Americana66044@yahoo. com 8. Brave New Girls Hit the Road — Lawrence Community Theatre $1,000 Jane Pennington jfpennington@sbcglobal.

net Project Organization / contact Amount Contact Info 1. Light from the Underground - Jon Allen $500. 00 Jon Allen Opencinema16mm@gmail.

com 2. Central Junior High After-School Program Art Club/ Nikki Lovell $1,000. 00 Nikki Lovvell nlovell@usd497.

org 3. Snow Queen - Lawrence Art Center/Deborah Bettinger $900. 00 Deborah Bettinger lac@sunflower.

com 4. Lawrence Community Theater / Anne Johnson $700. 00 Anne Johnson annejlct@sbcglobal.

net 5. Lawrence All-City Junior High Jazz Ensemble/ Patrick Kelly $1,000. 00 Patrick Kelly pkelly@usd497.

org 6. MAP - Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority/ Kris Hermanson $900. 00 Kris Hermanson khermanson@ldcha.

org 7. Art from the Eastside – East Lawrence Neighborhood Association/ KT Walsh $310. 00 K.

T. Walsh ktwalsh@sunflower.

com City of Lawrence and Lawrence Arts Center Invite All to Connection Fair and Film Screening City Seeks Community Input on Watson Park Landmark Designation 2026 Community Arts Grant Program application opens December 31, 2025 City announces winter holiday closures and service alterations Parks, Recreation and Culture Unified Recreation (formerly Special Populations) Prairie Park Nature Center Police Comprehensive Study Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Municipal Services & Operations Parks, Recreation and Culture Information for Businesses