Emergency Grants - Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Emergency Grants support experimental artists and poets with urgent funding for unexpected presentation costs or sudden opportunities, helping bring completed work to public audiences.
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Funder: Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Due Dates: Rolling (Applications) | February 24, 2026, 5–6 p.m. ET (Information session)
Funding Amounts: $500–$3,000 per grant; average award $2,200
Summary: Urgent project-based support helps experimental artists meet unexpected costs or sudden opportunities to present their work publicly.
Key Information: Applicants must live in the United States or U.S. territories and have a U.S. Tax ID Number.
Description
The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA) established Emergency Grants in 1993 to support contemporary, experimental work by visual and performing artists and poets. This year-round, multidisciplinary program supports dance, music/sound, performance art/theater, poetry, and visual arts. It provides urgent, project-based assistance for public presentations in the United States and abroad, rather than general project funding or support for life emergencies.
The program addresses sudden presentation opportunities that leave insufficient time to seek other funding, or unexpected and unbudgeted expenses threatening projects close to completion with committed presentation dates. Eligible presentations include performances, exhibitions, screenings, poetry readings, and installations of completed experimental work. Projects at artist-run and non-commercial spaces are generally eligible.
