Catalyze
Catalyze supports individual Arkansas artists with flexible funding, mentoring, and peer learning to advance their creative practices, develop career plans, and share work within a regional network.
This grant was recently updated
The Work Sample Summary requirement changed from a 1,000-word minimum to a 1,000-word maximum. The November 10, 2026 Catalyze information session is now marked as having passed.
Funder: Mid-America Arts Alliance
Due Dates: November 13, 2026 (Verbal application support requests) | December 1, 2026, 5:00 p.m. CT (Application)
Funding Amounts: $10,000 per artist; 25 fellowships annually, with a year-long professional development program
Summary: Catalyze supports individual artists in 52 Arkansas counties through flexible practice-based funding, mentoring, and strategic planning.
Key Information: Fellows must remain in the eligible Arkansas region throughout the grant period and attend the required Little Rock retreat.
Description
Catalyze is a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, supported by the Windgate Foundation, for individual artists of all disciplines in central, eastern Arkansas and the Arkansas Delta. It combines practice-based funding with coaching and peer learning to help artists advance their creative practices and careers. Unlike a project-specific grant, the fellowship lets artists decide how best to use funding toward their own creative goals.
Professional development centers on a retreat where fellows work with Artist Peer Facilitators to define success and develop strategic plans. Two individual mentoring sessions and two virtual small-group sessions extend this support through the following year. The program emphasizes active creative practice, career development, and sharing work and processes within a regional artist network.
