Public Art & Design Program
Funding Opportunities
The Iowa Arts Council has a grant designed to support public art projects and initiatives. To determine if this grant appropriately supports your specific project, please read the grant guidelines for information on project and applicant eligibility. Just as good planning is essential to completing a project, being familiar with funding resources and processes is important. Contact our staff to address your questions and concerns, and apply early in order to avoid the last minute rush that may result in omissions or mistakes in your application.
Public Art Major Grants
Eligible types of activities (An applicant may apply for one of the following, but not both in the same application.)
- Permanent and Temporary Public Art Project Grant – Requests to hire one or more artists to design and/or construct temporary or permanent public artwork Iowans can experience in a public space. The artists or finalists under consideration must be selected prior to the application deadline.
- Public Art Master Planning Grant – Requests to hire a public art consultant to develop a public art master plan, public art program, or “% for Art” ordinance for an organization, neighborhood, community or region that will benefit Iowans. The consultant must be selected prior.
Eligible to apply: Organizations. Individuals are not eligible to apply in this category. Artists wishing to create or exhibit public art should apply in the Artist Project Grant category.
- For Permanent and Temporary Public Art Projects: The applicant must be the owner of the public art project (a nonprofit organization, governmental entity or a tribal council). Individuals are not eligible to apply.
- For Public Art Master Planning Grants: The applicant must be the organization for which the master plan is being created (a nonprofit organization, governmental entity or a tribal council).
Request limit: You may request up to $10,000 for a Major Grant, but no more than 50 percent of the total expenses of the project.
Artist Major Grants
Types of Eligible Projects
- Creating Art – The primary focus and goal of the project is to create significant new artistic work or complete a significant work in-progress (i.e., a visual artist creating a temporary or permanent public art project that is accessible to the public).
- Presenting Art – The primary focus and goal of the project is to present and/or distribute the applicant’s artistic work to the public (i.e., performances, exhibitions, literary readings, publishing and distribution of literary work, production and distribution of CDs and DVDs, etc.).
- Professional Development – The primary focus and goal of the project is arts learning experiences to further the applicant’s artistic work and career (i.e., professional development to enhance the applicant’s artistic work, research & development for a new work of art, etc.) Note: Applicants who propose to conduct an art workshop or class, present a residency, or create curriculum for an arts-related class, workshop or residency should apply in the Arts Education Major Grant category.
Eligible Applicants: Individual Applicants: Iowa resident artists and educators 18 years of age or older.
Note: Do not submit an individual artist application for a project/exhibition/event that will be managed by, or was initiated by, an organization. Organizations should be the applicants for these projects; not individuals.
Mini Grants
Eligible to apply:
- Individual Applicants: Iowa residents 18 years of age or older.
- Organizations:
- Nonprofit organizations incorporated in Iowa that have federal tax-exempt status (see FAQs for more information)
- Schools
- Area education agencies
- Local, county, state and federal governmental agencies
- Tribal councils
Request limit: You may request up to $1,000 for a Mini Grant, but no more than 50 percent of the total expenses of the project.
- This Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs page lists links to organizations that support various arts-, culture- and history-based projects and initiatives.
