The Luminary: Futures Fund Grant

The Luminary: Futures Fund Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Amount: US $2,500 - US $8,000
Last Updated: March 18, 2026

Summary

The Luminary's Futures Fund Grant supports innovative artistic projects in St. Louis, offering funding between $2,500 and $8,000. Launched in 2019 as part of the Andy Warhol Foundation's Regional Regranting Program, it aims to resource local artists and small collectives during a time of diminishing funding. The program emphasizes projects that engage communities and push creative boundaries, contributing to the cultural vitality of the region while fostering new models for arts organizing and collaboration.

Overview

Futures Fund The Futures Fund is an annual grant program administered by The Luminary to support innovative, experimental, and forward-thinking artistic projects in the St. Louis region. Launched in 2019, the Futures Fund is part of the Regional Regranting Program of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, a national initiative designed to advance independent, artist-led practices through localized, community-based support. The Regional Regranting Program currently includes 36 partner organizations in cities across the United States and Puerto Rico—from San Juan to Seattle, Mobile to Minneapolis—each responding to the specific needs and creative ecosystems of their local context. Over the past decade, this network has collectively awarded more than $4.7 million in funding and supported over 1,000 independent art projects, making it one of the most impactful grassroots arts funding efforts in the country. As the St. Louis partner in this expansive network, the Futures Fund plays a critical role in resourcing local artists and small collectives at a time when direct project funding remains scarce. The fund provides grants ranging from $2,500 to $8,000 to projects that are bold in concept, deeply engaged with their communities, and responsive to the complex realities of contemporary life. In a cultural landscape marked by the closure of artist-run spaces and shrinking institutional support, the Futures Fund encourages new ways of thinking, making, and organizing. It exists to sustain the region’s creative vitality, support artists as cultural leaders, and imagine more just and expansive futures—both for St. Louis and beyond.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. What types of projects are eligible? Projects that are initiated by individual artists and collectives within the St. Louis regionProjects that take place within 40 miles of Downtown St. LouisProjects that have a strong visual arts component and visual impactProjects organized and implemented by (but not limited to) visual artists, curators, writers, cultural organizers, collectives, collaboratives, or artist-run collectivesProjects that are open and accessible to the publicProjects that are innovative to the St. Louis areaExamples of eligible projectsNew artist-driven organizations, institutions, collaborations and spaces for presenting and experiencing art and performance.Visual arts projects that prioritize engagement or collaboration with other cultural practitioners, community members, and organizations.Research projects that center a visual arts inquiry and have a public-facing component, such as a lecture or pedagogical program, attached.Socially-responsive projects such as alternative education projects, microcinemas, mutual aid initiatives and more, wherein visual art is the focal point or vehicle for engagement.Publications and online networks for distribution of artworks, arts writing, and informationPublic art projects such as murals, outdoor sculptures, or installations with a temporary or permanent physical presence*Please note: Artist-led projects can be located at otherwise excluded incorporated businesses, but the project must be distinct and separate from that organization’s regular programming.You can submit multiple applications only if they involve different collaborators or organizations.Yes, though this season’s regrants will focus on project-based funding, a percentage of the fees may go to support the everyday expenses of the organizers, including rent, fees, and administration in acknowledgement of the ongoing struggles that arts workers face. Additional collaborators and/or participants do not need to be U.S. citizens or have social security numbers.But the artist/lead organizer must have a social security number in order to receive payment of the award. Please note the lead applicant must be a full-time St. Louis resident with an address located within 40 miles of the St. Louis city center.You may purchase equipment with grant funds so long as the equipment is necessary for the development of your project.Web-based projects are eligible (blogs, podcasts etc..), as long as the content is related to visual art.Applicants can be the lead organizer on more than one proposal at any given time, though in this case, only one of their projects will be funded. Alternatively, applicants can be listed as additional collaborators on multiple proposals without affecting their eligibility on projects where they are designated as the lead artist.

Ineligibility

What types of projects are not eligible?Projects organized by existing incorporated businesses (includes LLCs, B Corps, state non-profits, 501(c)(3) organizations, and 501(c)(4) organizations), universities or schools (private, public, charter), religious institutions*Projects seeking to get support retroactively or seeking reimbursementProjects that are in support of one individual artist and their solo practice in their studioProjects without a public-facing component