Public Art Learning Fund Grant

Public Art Learning Fund

The Public Art Learning Fund provides grants to support professional development opportunities for New England artists to strengthen their public art practices. By investing in individual artists, NEFA aims to see the ripple of more equitable, inclusive, and vibrant public spaces and public life throughout New England.

Public Art Learning Fund grants range from $500-$3000.

Through our public art grantmaking and field-building opportunities NEFA aims to:

• Invest in artists and the creative process. Foster public art practices that are dynamic and aesthetically impactful, and authentically honor the integrity of the people, places, stories, and ideas that are engaged in the process and presentation of the artmaking.
• Cultivate artists as civic leaders.
• Strengthen a community of practice by fostering partnerships that facilitate knowledge building and sharing to support the evolving field of public art throughout the New England region.

Funding Priorities

Public Art Learning Fund equips artists with skills, resources, and connections to strengthen public art practices that contribute to more equitable, inclusive, and vibrant public spaces and public life throughout New England.

The Public Art Learning Fund gives priority to timely opportunities that are:

• Specifically expanding an artist’s public art practice.
  • NEFA will look for clarity on desired learnings and application to artist’s public art practice.
• Equitably contributing to more just and inclusive public artmaking in the region.
  • Artists at various stages in their public artmaking practice from urban, suburban, and rural communities across all six states in New England are welcome to apply.
  • NEFA values diverse cultural and artistic expressions as essential to more equitable and vibrant public spaces and recognizes that some artists may experience barriers to accessing professional development opportunities due to race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, and geography.
  • The Public Art Learning Fund intends to prioritize equity in funding opportunities.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• Applicant must:
  • be an artist who resides full-time and makes work in one of the six New England States (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
  • be an artist whose artistic practice engages the public realm or who can demonstrate that they are in the process of expanding their artistic practice towards public artmaking
  • have an active Creative Ground profile.
• Proposed professional development opportunity must:
  • specifically relate to strengthening the applicant artist’s own public art practice
• There are no geographic limitations for the professional development opportunity requested (e.g., an artist may apply to the Public Art Learning Fund to attend a conference outside of New England).
  • Travel expenses are eligible expenses only when traveling beyond a commutable distance from the artist’s home.

Ineligibility

• Applicants who are NOT eligible to apply are:
  • Artists seeking funding to develop or implement a specific public art project.
  • Artists applying for learning opportunities that take place outside of the grant year.
  • The current PALF application is for learning opportunities that take place January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026.
  • Current Public Art Learning Fund grantees and grantees with an outstanding PALF grantee report.