The Chicago Commitment: Culture, Equity, and the Arts Grant

The Chicago Commitment: Culture, Equity, and the Arts Grant is sponsored by MacArthur Foundation (via Instrumentl). This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

2025 Culture, Equity, and the Arts Grants - MacArthur Foundation Login into your grantee account, reset your password, or submit an idea to the MacArthur Foundation.

2025 Culture, Equity, and the Arts Grants Culture, Equity, and the Arts in Chicago Dance education, artistic skill-building, orchestral concerts, and informative gallery exhibitions are just a few of the ways arts and culture organizations help enrich communities in Chicago. Fifteen arts and culture and/or arts-centered organizations, in these and other arts practices, will receive 2025 Culture Equity and the Arts awards, totaling $3.

2 million over three years. The awardees were recommended by a participatory grantmaking panel that reflects Chicago’s community, diversity, and geography. Pictured above, students take a deejaying class during Little Black Pearl's after-school program.

Credit: Marc Monaghan The following organizations will receive $240,000 over three years: BUILD, Inc. is an art-centered youth development organization in Chicago that provides young people on the city’s West Side with opportunities to cultivate creative interests and discover artistic talents.

Chicago Sinfonietta is a professional orchestra that presents symphonic performances; commissions new work; provides mentoring programs for young musicians, conductors, and administrators of color; and facilitates music education through its programs with Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

Forward Momentum Chicago provides in-school and after-school dance education to students and young people on Chicago’s South and West Sides, including in CPS. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago brings artists, art, and audiences together to enrich, engage, educate, and change lives through the experience of dance.

Hyde Park School of Dance teaches a wide range of dance styles—such as ballet, jazz, and hip-hop—to students of all ages through workshops and classes, as well as provides affordable space and marketing to resident dance companies on the South Side. Illinois Humanities organizes civic discussions, programming, performances, and exhibitions to create a culture in which the humanities are a vital part of the lives of Illinois communities.

Little Black Pearl Workshop is an arts, entrepreneurship, and educational facility serving the Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland, and Woodlawn neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side. Marwen provides free after-school and weekend programs for middle- and high-school aged youth, emerging artists, and alumni, and inspires young people to build their futures through art and community.

People’s Music School creates access to tuition-free music education in Chicago with a curriculum grounded in music lessons, ensemble work, music theory, and performance. Uniting Voices is a multiracial, multicultural choral music organization for children living in Chicago that fosters mutual understanding and respect between young people of different identities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and neighborhoods.

The following organizations will receive $165,000 over three years: After School Matters , empowers CPS high school students to explore their interest in the arts and develop skills for success in college, career, and life. Black Ensemble Theater , works to eradicate racism and its devastating effects on society through the theater arts and related programming by and about African Americans.

Chicago Philharmonic Society is an orchestra that performs concerts annually, nurtures professional talent through residencies, and provides music education to Chicago students, including in CPS. DuSable Black History Museum presents artistic and historical exhibits, as well as educational, film, literary, and musical events, to educate visitors on significant topics affecting Black Americans.

Urban Gateways addresses disparities in access to arts and culture and enhances artistic exposure for elementary and high school students in the Chicago area.

Chicago Philharmonic Society DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Hyde Park School of Dance Little Black Pearl Workshop Latest News & Related Content Investing in people, places, and partnerships to advance racial equity and build a more inclusive Chicago. Culture, Equity, and the Arts in Chicago Reflecting diverse creative sector voices and sustaining the creative life of the city.