GIG Fund: Interstate Touring
GIG Fund: Interstate Touring supports smaller Midwestern nonprofits presenting out-of-state professional artists in performances, exhibitions, and workshops to expand arts access for underserved communities.
Funder: Arts Midwest
Due Dates: November 4, 2026, noon CT (Eligibility Review) | November 17, 2026, noon CT (Full Proposal)
Funding Amounts: $2,000–$10,000 with a 1:1 non-federal match; projects March 1, 2027–February 29, 2028
Summary: Supports smaller Midwestern nonprofits presenting out-of-state professional artists to expand arts access for underserved communities.
Key Information: Featured artists must be outside both the applicant’s state and its own organization.
Description
GIG Fund: Interstate Touring is an Arts Midwest program supporting creative exchange through performances, exhibitions, and workshops featuring professional visiting artists. It helps smaller nonprofits bring artists across state lines and offer programming relevant to local audiences, especially communities with limited access to arts and culture because of geography, income, disability, or other barriers. Projects may take place in person or virtually.
The program addresses a gap in support for interstate touring and prioritizes organizations based in and serving rural communities, as well as projects featuring artists from the Arts Midwest region. Rural location and Midwest-based artists are priorities, not requirements. Funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the region’s nine state arts agencies.
