Creation Fund — Phase I of the Creation & Development Fund
Forecasted
Creation Fund, Phase I of the Creation & Development Fund, supports artists and artist companies in making early-stage work that advances racial and cultural justice and connects artists with communities.
Funder: National Performance Network
Due Dates (Anticipated): May 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Minimum $15,000 per project, including $11,000 from NPN and commissioner cash contributions
Summary: Supports early-stage artistic work that advances racial and cultural justice and creates live exchange between artists and communities.
Key Information: Applications require at least two confirmed commissioners, with an NPN National Partner serving as lead.
Description
The Creation Fund is Phase I of National Performance Network’s three-part Creation & Development Fund. It supports the process and labor of creating new artistic work in its earliest stages, while advancing racial and cultural justice and centering exchange between artists and communities. Funding supports artists through a collaborative commissioning structure involving NPN, a lead National Partner, and additional presenting or exhibiting organizations.
Relationships are central to the program. It encourages long-term, authentic collaborations among artists, commissioners, and communities, strengthens organizations’ capacity to commission work, and helps leverage other funding and presentation opportunities. Projects can bring commissioners together across different communities or concentrate partnerships within one community. Public engagement may take the form of performances, exhibitions, workshops, or community residencies, including in-person, virtual, or hybrid exchanges.
