Tempe Community Arts – Next Wave Grant

Tempe Community Arts – Next Wave Grant is sponsored by City of Tempe, AZ. This grant supports early-stage, small-scale arts and culture projects in Tempe. It is designed for newer nonprofits, small creative businesses (LLCs), and first-time applicants looking to foster innovative ideas and explore bold approaches in the city's cultural future.

Tempe Arts + Culture Submission Manager The Tempe Arts & Culture Division develops and manages the city's arts and culture programs and services. The City is dedicated to enriching the lives of the local and extended community by providing life-long engagement through accessible cultural, social, and educational experiences.

The links below lead to Tempe Arts & Culture programs to help you discover and enjoy a variety of creative and cultural experiences. See a show, take a class, tour a building, peruse an exhibit… there’s much to see and do in Tempe! For information about the Tempe Public Art program visit: www.

tempe. gov/PublicArt For information about Art Grants visit: www. tempe.

gov/artsgrants For information about Galleries and Performing Arts visit: www. tempecenterforthearts. com Deadline: Tues, Dec 1, 2026 Eligibility: Arizona-based artists Exhibition Theme: By Degrees A single stitch becomes a quilt.

A brushstroke becomes a painting. A daily habit becomes a ritual. Small actions can build towards something larger, but accumulation does not always mean progress.

Things gather, multiply, wear down, pile up, disappear, and begin again. By Degrees explores how small actions, objects, experiences, and changes can take on new meaning over time. The artwork does not need to depict accumulation literally or use a repetitive process.

We are interested in how your existing work brings a distinct perspective to the question: When small things accumulate, what do they become? Your work might connect to this theme through: Process: repetition, layering, pattern, mark-making, building, removing, revising, or other sustained ways of making. Materials: collections, multiples, fragments, found objects, accumulated materials, or evidence of use and wear.

Time: growth, aging, erosion, decay, maintenance, habits, or gradual change. People: individual actions becoming collective experiences, traditions, relationships, communities, or movements. Stories: memories, histories, experiences, or small moments that gather meaning as they are remembered, retold, or layered together.

Unexpected Outcomes: small actions or changes that eventually lead somewhere surprising, for better or worse. A passion might become an obsession, a collection might become clutter, a routine might become a ritual, or something new might be built while something else is lost. Artists may apply to one or multiple opportunities through the same application.

1. Group Exhibition: Gallery at TCA | May–August 2027 Submit existing (complete or in progress) artwork for consideration in the By Degrees group exhibition. All visual art media and interdisciplinary practices are welcome.

The jury will consider artistic strength, originality, connection to the theme, and the perspective each work adds to the larger exhibition. Artwork drop off: May 20–21 Installation: May 24–28 Artwork pick up: August 9–10 2. Tempe Post Office Window Exhibition: Mill Avenue | May 13–September 8, 2027 Four artists will each receive a $325 artist stipend to transform one of four storefront windows at the Tempe Post Office.

Selected artists will develop an eye-catching 3D installation responding to By Degrees . New and/or existing work may be incorporated, but artists should think beyond displaying individual artworks and consider the entire window as an environment. The jury will consider applicant portfolio’s artistic strength, connection to the theme, and visual impact.

Three artists will be selected to develop a new project responding to By Degrees while working inside the Gallery at TCA. The residency is designed for projects that change, build, or develop over time. This might happen through an artist's ongoing process, audience participation, collaboration, observation, or another approach that makes the ten-week experience meaningful to the work.

Complete one free online application through Submittable. Artists may apply to multiple opportunities. Artwork title, media, dimensions, and year for each image 2.

Artist Statement | Maximum 700 words Tell us about your artistic practice. How does your work connect to the theme of By Degrees ? What ideas or questions drive your work, how do your materials or processes support those ideas, and what do you want audiences to encounter through your work?

3. Artist Biography | Maximum 300 words Briefly tell us about your background and artistic practice. You may include relevant education or training, exhibitions, residencies, commissions, awards, community connections, or other experiences that have shaped your work.

Residency Applicants Also Submit Letter of interest and project proposal Your letter should describe what you want to explore or create during the ten-week residency, how the project connects to the theme of By Degrees , and why developing the work over time is important to the project.

December 1, 2026 Call closes December 7–11, 2026 Selection panel December 14–18, 2026 Artists notified May 13, 2027 Post Office installation May 20–21, 2027 Gallery artwork drop off May 24–28, 2027 Gallery installation May 31, 2027 Artist Residency begins August 6, 2027 Artist Residency ends August 9–10, 2027 Gallery artwork pick up September 8, 2027 Post Office deinstallation Tempe Community Arts Grants, Final Report Guidelines for Tempe Community Arts Grants, Final Report to Tempe Community Arts Grants, Final Report The Project’s Final Report must be submitted by July 15th to the City of Tempe.

Pursuant to the Grant’s terms and conditions, the City of Tempe has the rights to use any materials submitted in the Final Report for data collection and promotional purposes. Reminder: You must use the Final Budget Form when completing your Final Report. Do not use the original Application Budget Form.

Additional information can be found at www. tempe. gov/ArtsGrants