Midwest Culture Bearers Award Grant

The Midwest Culture Bearers Award honors and supports nine folk arts practitioners annually, providing each with a $5,000 unrestricted grant. This initiative aims to amplify the essential work of culture bearers across the Midwest, fostering opportunities for recognition and community connection. By prioritizing traditional practices and knowledge sharing, the award not only celebrates cultural heritage but also strengthens the creative roots of the region, ensuring vibrant artistic expression for future generations.

We support, inform, and celebrate arts organizations and creative communities in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, the Native Nations that share this geography, and beyond.
As one of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, we work to strengthen local arts and culture efforts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, state agencies, private funders, and many others. Arts Midwest is here;
To support the artists and organizations that define and redefine this place. To share ideas that make Midwesterners more visible and connected. To raise up the stories that challenge assumptions, and To build flourishing communities that are powered by opportunity, authenticity, and a deep sense of belonging.
Culture bearers and folk arts practitioners are deeply rooted in the practice and preservation of cultural traditions through craft, storytelling, dance, performance, visual arts, language preservation, foodways, and more. Cultural identities may include geographic communities, occupational groups, or family traditions.
Folk arts and culture bearer practices are often connected to cultural communities and prioritize sharing knowledge with the next generation. Some of the titles they may use are culture bearer, folk artist, taproot artist, traditional artist, elder artist, and ancestral knowledge bearer.
The Midwest Culture Bearers Award is an award celebrating and supporting the work of Midwest culture bearers and folk arts practitioners.
The Midwest Culture Bearers Award will honor and amplify the work of nine Midwestern folk arts and culture practitioners each year. This award seeks to financially support folk arts and culture practitioners, as well as create opportunities for further recognition and relationship-building across the region. Selected individuals will each receive a $5,000 unrestricted, non-matching award.

Eligibility

If you have a folk arts or traditional cultural practice that you have engaged in for at least 10 years and prioritizes the next generation of practitioners, you may apply. You must live in the Arts Midwest region. This includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and the Native Nations that share this geography.