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The Creative Accelerator deadline is today, November 20, at 11:59pm. IAC staff are available until 5:00pm to answer questions. If you need assistance accessing the Salesforce grant portal, please email John Gawlik. 

Supporting the Illinois Arts Sector for 60 Years

Now Available

Creative Accelerator Fund (CAF)

Opens: September 25, 2024
Deadline: November 20, 2024

The Illinois Arts Council’s (IAC) Creative Accelerator Fund (CAF) provides crucial support to artists with a goal of strengthening the creative workforce that composes a significant portion of Illinois’ economic activity.

Folk Arts Mentorship Program (FAM)

Opens: October 30, 2024
Deadline: December 18, 2024

Award Size: $4,000 to the Mentor and $1,000 to the Apprentice

Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Folk Arts Mentorship (FAM) grant supports the mentoring relationship that develops between exemplary practitioners working with dedicated apprentices in ethnic, folk, and traditional arts.

Poetry Out Loud

Opens: September 16, 2024
Closes: January 17, 2025

Illinois Statewide POL Contest: March 17, 2025

A partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and the state arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. 

We Listened.

We Learned.

Arts Impact in Illinois

$36.1B

of our state's gross domestic product was contributed by arts and culture in 2022 - Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Dept of Commerce
 

216,227

Illinois jobs were in arts and culture (2022)
Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce

22

grants totaling $862,855 were directed to Illinois school districts in developing arts and foreign language curricula in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education (FY2024)

$29.1B

in revenues to state and local government are delivered by Illinois arts nonprofits in 2022 - Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6)

29

local arts councils partnered with IAC through its Local Arts Network to support statewide arts programming (FY2024)
 

100%

of all legislative districts throughout Illinois receive free access to local and regional news, public affairs and arts programming through IAC support for Illinois Public Radio and Television (FY2024)

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