Creative Accelerator Fund
Creative Accelerator Fund supports Illinois artists’ sustained practice and professional growth, helping strengthen the creative workforce, build community connections, and enrich the state’s cultural life.
Funder: Illinois Arts Council
Due Dates: October 14, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CST (Application) | September 30, 2027 (Final report)
Funding Amounts: $10,000 taxable award; grant period begins no sooner than January 1, 2027, and ends August 31, 2027
Summary: Supports Illinois artists’ sustained practice and professional growth to strengthen the creative workforce and community connections.
Key Information: Individual artists must be Illinois residents established before October 14, 2025; FY25 and FY26 CAF recipients are ineligible.
Description
The Illinois Arts Council’s Creative Accelerator Fund (CAF) invests in individual artists’ practice and professional growth. It recognizes artists as community builders and innovators, supporting a creative workforce that contributes to Illinois’ economy. The program aims to enrich artists’ lives, encourage community engagement and investment, and foster a vibrant cultural landscape.
CAF supports arts, crafts, design, dance, digital media, film/video, literature, music, performance, photography, theater, visual arts, folk and traditional arts, and community-based arts. Applicants must demonstrate an active practice sustained since at least 2023, but need not earn significant income from their art, and their art form may have changed. Evaluation is compliance-based rather than a judgment of artistic quality or accomplishments.
