Carla B. Hughes Memorial Dance Grant
Forecasted
Carla B. Hughes Memorial Dance Grant supports Erie County dancers, instructors, and choreographers with unrestricted funding for creative practice and livelihood costs to advance their creative careers.
Funder: Erie Arts and Culture
Due Dates (Anticipated): July 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: $1,000 to one choreographer/educator and $500 to one dancer; September–August activity period
Summary: Merit-based, unrestricted grants support Erie County dancers, instructors, and choreographers in advancing their creative careers.
Key Information: Applicants must be at least 18 and current Erie County, PA residents creating original dance/movement work.
Description
The Carla B. Hughes Memorial Dance Grant is administered by Erie Arts and Culture and funded through the Erie Arts Endowment. It recognizes Carla B. Hughes’s impact on the Erie dance community through merit-based support for dancers, instructors, and choreographers. The program supports practicing dance and movement artists who create original work and demonstrate a commitment to advancing their professional creative careers.
Awards are unrestricted, allowing recipients to address both creative-practice expenses and personal expenses that contribute to their livelihood, including childcare and travel. The program prioritizes professional momentum, artistic originality, and meaningful engagement with audiences and communities. Professional trajectory carries the greatest weight in evaluation, followed by artistic merit and audience or community impact.
