Thursday, May 29, 2025 | View in browser
EVANSTON, IL - The Evanston Arts Council is proud to announce the recipients of its annual Cultural Fund Grants, awarding a total of $75,000 to 32 nonprofit arts organizations that enrich the cultural life of our community. Thanks to continued support from the City’s General Fund and the Illinois Arts Council, the Arts Council was able to sustain the grant levels provided over the past two years.
While a planned expansion of the program was not possible due to the complete loss of National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding for local arts councils, funding that previously matched city and state contributions on a 1:1 basis, the Council remains committed to supporting Evanston’s vibrant arts ecosystem.
This year’s awardees represent a wide range of the vibrant cultural activities available to Evanston residents in literary arts, music, dance, theater, visual arts, and arts education. The applications were reviewed by a panel of six jurors with backgrounds in the visual arts, music, film and video, theater, arts education, art therapy, and community-based art. Proposals were evaluated using three criteria: artistic excellence and merit, community impact, organizational capacity, and intended use of funds.
2025 Cultural Fund By The Numbers
- 40 applications received
- 32 grants awarded
- $75,000 in total funding distributed
- $2,500 average grant award
- 3,500 artists expected to participate
- 60,000 total projected audience reach
Cultural Fund Grant Awardees
Art Encounter: Funds will support the expansion of Art For All: Creativity and Visibility for Adults of All Abilities, which serves local adults with disabilities. www.artencounter.org
ARTSiE: Funds will help ARTSiE expand programming at no cost to participating families for children who are falling behind in state standards and would benefit most from extracurricular support. www.artsined.org
Arts of Life: Funds will support artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) participating in programs at Arts of Life studios and the Evanston Art Center. www.artsoflife.org
Bridge Art NFP: Funds will support David Sundry: Choreographic Place, a retrospective exhibition and related programming at the Evanston Art Center in Spring 2026. Curated by Bridge Director Michael Workman, the project spans over two decades of sculptural work by architect/designer David Sundry, developed in close collaboration with experimental dance company Zephyr. www.bridge-chicago.org
CJE SeniorLife: Funds will support CJE’s Culture Club programming, which provides participants with visits to museums, galleries, nature centers, theaters, and music venues. The program fosters creative expression, cultural enrichment, and community engagement through activities that stimulate conversation, promote peer support, and inspire creativity. www.cje.net
Crossing Borders Music: Funds will support three concert programs: We Walk: A Celebration of Black Community, Voices of the Proud: Music by LGBT Composers, and Songs of Peru. www.crossingbordersmusic.org
Curt’s Café: Funds will support a partnership between Curt’s Café and Art Encounter, empowering young adults to explore art and connect with BIPOC mentors who are passionate about creative expression and entrepreneurship. www.curtscafe.org
EDE/ede2 (Evanston Dance Ensemble & junior company ede2): Funds will support the production of The Little Dancer: A Reimagining of Le Petit Prince. www.evanstondanceensemble.org/ede2
Evanston Art Center: Funds will support a Black Curatorial Fellowship and a BIPOC exhibition in the Lobby Gallery. www.evanstonartcenter.org
Evanston ASPA: Funds will provide general operating support for year-round arts programming, free cultural festivals, and community-wide events. www.evanstonaspa.org
Evanston Grows: Funds will support the creation of a mural at Ward Farm, a collaborative project between Evanston Grows and Ward Manufacturing. www.evanstongrows.org
Evanston History Center: Funds will support two exhibitions and accompanying programs: Building a Theater Community in Evanston and reFashioning History: Public Family Day Programs. www.evanstonhistorycenter.org
Evanston In-School Music Association (EISMA): Funds will support community concerts and the Concerts for Kids series, held in fall and spring at all District 65 schools. www.eismaconcerts.org
Evanston Symphony Orchestra: Funds will help launch a new concert in December 2025 designed for individuals with special needs who are typically excluded from traditional orchestral and choral performances. www.evanstonsymphony.org
Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum: Funds will support the exhibit Living Stories: Contemporary Woodland Native American Art, along with a yearlong series of artist talks and workshops exploring Great Lakes Indigenous art and identity. www.gichigamiin-museum.org
Haitian Community Organization: Funds will support emerging artists working in diverse media at the July 4th Festival. www.haitiancommunity.org
Hive Center for the Book Arts: Funds will support community programming in writing, reading, papermaking, printmaking, and bookbinding. Hive also provides space for poets and writers to organize readings and workshops. www.hivebookarts.org
Likhaya NFP: Funds will support Likhaya Labs, a monthly series of participatory art activities. www.likhaya.org
Mudlark Theater: Funds will support the fifth year of Story Quest, a hybrid book and theater club for Black-identified youth, hosted at District 65’s Washington Elementary School in partnership with the Evanston Public Library. www.mudlarktheater.org
The Music Institute of Chicago: Funds will support Third Coast Suzuki Strings, which offers tuition-free Suzuki education and subsidized instruments to 45 Evanston public school students. www.musicinst.org
The Musical Offering: Funds will support the 2025 Women Composers Series, featuring three concerts celebrating women composers from the 12th century to today. www.themusicaloffering.org
Northshore Choral Society: Funds will support a collaboration with the EcoVoice Project for the Chicago premiere of Gwyneth Walker’s The Great Lakes, inviting reflection on Evanston’s natural landscape and environmental stewardship. www.northshorechoral.website
Open Studio Project: Funds will support the 5th Ward Studio, including visual art materials, staffing for instructional and therapeutic programming, and community partnerships through Family Focus. www.openstudioproject.org
Piven Theatre Workshop: Funds will support theater classes and outreach programming in partnership with Rice Child + Family Center, the Cook County Jail, the Moran Center, Curt’s Café, and programming for neurodiverse adults. www.piventheatre.org
Ridgeville Foundation: Funds will support On the Ridge, a summer performing arts festival in South Evanston presenting free music, theater, and dance performances in Ridgeville Park. www.ridgevillefoundation.org
Search Inc.: Funds will support four free community art classes led by Visibility Artists—adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. www.search-inc.org
Self-Reclaimed: Funds will support the Survivor Reclamation Expressive Arts Abolitionist Certification Program, an 8-week in-person training course in expressive arts healing facilitation. www.selfreclaimed.org
Shorefront Legacy Center: Funds will support a collaborative quilt project honoring Black family legacies in Evanston and the North Shore. Inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt, participants will stitch fabric squares representing their family histories. www.shorefrontlegacy.org
Asian Pop-Up Cinema: Funds will support film screenings, master classes, and panel discussions held in Evanston. www.asianpopupcinema.org
Tiz Media Foundation: Funds will support a yearlong community visioning process, featuring 12 gatherings with drumming, storytelling, and design sessions to co-create a participatory, sound-based public art installation. www.tizmedia.org
Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre: Funds will support the Midwest premiere of TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix, a new queer-centric musical by Ella Rose Chary and Brandon James Gwinn. www.theo-u.com
The WasteShed Evanston: Funds will support teacher resources, art-making workshops, and the Glass Case Gallery—WasteShed’s mini-gallery highlighting artwork created from reclaimed and surplus materials. www.thewasteshed.org
Stay up-to-date on this project and other cultural initiatives
For more information, please call/text 847-448-4311. For convenience, community members may simply dial 3-1-1 in Evanston.
-END-
Media Contacts:
Cynthia Vargas
cvargas@cityofevanston.org
Phone: 847-448-8234
Jessie Mayo
jmayo@cityofevanston.org
Phone: 847-448-8041
|
