Artists and Culture Bearers in the Schools Grants

Artists and Culture Bearers in the Schools is a residency grant opportunity serving K-12 students in non-religious schools in the SEMAC region. The program is designed to give students opportunities to work directly with artists and culture bearers during the school day. Residencies may involve a wide range of artistic disciplines, including painting, photography, printmaking, textiles, music, dance, theater, performance, storytelling, literary arts, intermedia arts, and traditional arts. The funded activity must supplement the school's existing arts curriculum rather than replace or fulfill the school's basic arts curriculum requirements. Awards range from $2,000 to $4,000. Funding may support eligible residency activities consistent with the proposed grant activity, but several restrictions apply. Non-expendable equipment purchases are prohibited, including items such as band instruments and kilns. School applicants also may not seek funding for student transportation or field trips or for programs designed to fulfill K-12 Minnesota Academic Standards in the Arts. Disallowed expenses include out-of-state travel or activities, expenses incurred before the grant Start Date including publicity, legal fees except copyrights or royalties, alcoholic beverages, and grant writing expenses. Funding may not replace or supplant a school's normal funding for curriculum or activities. An applicant may be either an individual artist or culture bearer living in the 11-county SEMAC region or the non-religious school where the residency will take place. Every K-12 school applicant must be located in the SEMAC region, be a non-religious K-12 school, have a clearly defined Mission Statement, and have no overdue final reports. Any final report due before a new grant deadline must be approved before the school applies in the new round. A K-12 school may receive one Artists and Culture Bearers in the Schools Grant per year, either as the lead applicant or as the co-applicant when an artist or culture bearer serves as lead applicant. Schools may separately receive one Programming and Project Support Grant for an activity occurring outside the school day. The application requires collaboration between the participating artist or culture bearer and school. Written acknowledgement from the partner applicant, whether the school or artist, is required to confirm the partner's commitment and role in the proposed activities. Applicants are directed to review SEMAC's General Application Instructions, which contain application guidance and tips intended to increase applicants' chances of receiving funding. No public event is required as part of the residency. However, the participating school must agree to share information about the residency through its district communications to families, with the School Board, and/or with local press contacts in order to raise awareness of the importance of the arts. School grantees must maintain the funded activity's consistency with the original application, and changes require pre-approval. They must include the specified credit line and Legacy Logo on publicity, may not use grant funding for travel or activities outside Minnesota, and may not limit participation based on disability, ethnicity, gender identity, marital status, race, religion, sexual orientation, or political or sectarian differences. Grantees must also send letters of thanks to Minnesota legislative representatives and comply with all grant terms to avoid potential loss of funding. A final report is required within 30 days after the grant End Date. Applications open August 1, 2026. The stated application deadlines are September 30, 2026 and November 30, 2026, until available funds run out. The corresponding earliest start dates are stated as December 29 and February 28. As of August 26, 2026, the opportunity is accepting applications, with September 30, 2026 serving as the next upcoming application deadline. The provided materials do not identify a required letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, matching contribution, number of awards, total program funding, individual grant contact, email address, phone number, award notification date, or explicit recurring schedule.

Design the residency to supplement rather than replace the school's arts curriculum; obtain written acknowledgement from the school or artist partner confirming commitment and role; exclude equipment, student transportation or field trips, and other prohibited expenses from the budget; ensure any final report due before the new deadline is approved before applying; plan for the school to communicate the residency to families, the School Board, and/or local press.