Illinois Arts Council Creative Accelerator Fund

The Illinois Arts Council Creative Accelerator Fund provides support to individual artists in Illinois as part of the agency's effort to strengthen the creative workforce. The fund recognizes artists as builders and innovators in their communities and seeks to invest in their artistic practice and professional growth. According to the Illinois Arts Council, this investment is intended not only to enrich artists' lives but also to encourage community engagement and investment, contribute to a vibrant cultural landscape, and foster connections among Illinois residents. The Creative Accelerator Fund provides a taxable award of $10,000 to selected individual artists. Eligible applicants are individual artists who have an active and sustained artistic practice. The Illinois Arts Council defines an individual artist as someone working in arts, crafts, design, dance, digital media, film/video, literature, music, performance, photography, theater, visual arts, folk and traditional arts, or community-based arts. An active and sustained practice means that the applicant is currently committing time to practicing an art form that the individual has practiced since at least 2023. Applicants do not need to derive significant income from their artistic work, and their art form may have changed over that period. At the time of application, an artist must be at least 21 years old and must have been established as an Illinois resident prior to October 14, 2025. Applicants must be able to provide two work samples demonstrating their artistic practice. One submitted work sample must have been completed by the applicant during 2024, 2025, or 2026, while the second must have been completed in 2023 or earlier. Individuals enrolled in a degree-obtaining program are not eligible. This includes individuals enrolled in high school, bachelor's, master's, or other degree programs at the time of application or during the award period. Ph.D. candidates may be eligible if they have completed their coursework by the application deadline. Organizations and schools cannot apply because the award is restricted to individuals. Prior Creative Accelerator Fund award recipients from FY25 or FY26 are also ineligible. Applications must be submitted through the applicant's Illinois Arts Council Salesforce account. Applicants are advised to use Chrome when working in Salesforce and, after logging in, to complete updates to the Applicant Information tab first. The Illinois Arts Council also directs applicants to read the Creative Accelerator Fund Guidelines and provides a pre-recorded webinar, workshops, and drop-in sessions for application assistance. Reasonable accommodations for application procedures may be provided when requested at least three business days before the deadline. The agency cannot accept late applications, and Illinois Arts Council staff are available only until 5:00 p.m. on deadline dates for assistance, including technical support. Evaluation is compliance based rather than an assessment of artistic quality or artistic accomplishments. Review considers whether the application demonstrates that the individual artist has an active and sustained practice, whether the application is complete, and whether the artist is eligible to receive funds from the State of Illinois. Each Illinois Arts Council region has its own allocation, and recipients are selected from applications submitted within that region. The final applicant selection process is randomized and conducted in partnership with the Illinois State Lottery. No matching or cost-share requirement is stated in the provided information, and no specific restrictions or allowable spending categories for the $10,000 award are provided in the source. Guidelines are released August 20, 2026, and the grant portal opens for applications September 2, 2026. Applications are due October 14, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Review and notifications are scheduled for October through December 2026. The grant period begins no sooner than January 1, 2027, and continues through August 31, 2027, with the final report due September 30, 2027. Questions about the grant should be directed to the applicant's Program Director through the Illinois Arts Council's Program Director finding tool. Salesforce assistance is available from Jasmine Roberson at jasmine.roberson@illinois.gov. The Illinois Arts Council can also be reached at iac.info@illinois.gov, at 312-814-6750, or toll-free at 800-237-6994. The supplied information does not explicitly establish that this funding opportunity recurs on a fixed annual or other recurring schedule.

Use Chrome when working in Salesforce; complete updates to the Applicant Information tab first; read the Creative Accelerator Fund Guidelines; ensure the application is complete and demonstrates an active and sustained practice; start early because late applications cannot be accepted and deadline-day staff support ends at 5:00 p.m.