Neighborhood Engagement Artist Residency and Creative Optimism-Uplifting Promises Grants + Extended Application Window for Cultural Grants Program Outdoor Festival/Parade Projects
2025 ARTIST RESIDENCY OVERVIEW
(Scroll to the bottom to find the Extended Application Window for CGP Outdoor Festival/Parade Projects information)
Neighborhood Engagement Artist Residency (NEAR) grants support freelance teaching artists, social-activation artists, and social practice artists in community-based, participatory projects in self-selected non-arts venues within the City of Los Angeles. Competitive NEAR projects will gather, connect, and inspire participants and audiences who have little exposure to the proposed type of cultural opportunity. NEAR projects should be structured as eleven or more free or low-cost sessions culminating in one or more presentations that are open and promoted to the general public (proposing at least eleven workshops is the ideal duration for community engagement; however, applicants are encouraged to propose projects that can be scaled back to five workshops with one public presentation, as DCA staff will notify NEAR applicants next May about whether the City budget is able to provide NEAR grantees with either a $12,000 or a reduced $6,000 service contract)
Creative Optimism–Uplifting Promises (CO-UP) grants support collaborations between a local nonprofit social justice organization and a creative teaching artist (a freelance artist or an artist already working within a non-profit arts organization in the same community as the social justice organization). In some cases, a third partner, acting as a host site for the project may also be named. Eligible collaborative projects should be: 1) new or launched within the past four years, 2) free or low-cost for participants, and 3) culminate in at least one free public presentation that will be accessible to the general community. CO-UP residences should be structured as eleven sessions ending in one public presentation. CO-UP residencies are funded at $15,000 with $12,000 allocated for artist payment and $3,000 allocated for the social justice organization’s administrative expenses (meritorious CO-UP proposals that cannot be fully funded at $15,000, may be converted to a NEAR project consisting of five workshops and one culminating event with a budget of $6,000 — DCA staff will notify CO-UP applicants next May about whether the City budget able to provide grantees with either a $15,000 or a reduced $6,000 service contract)
Depending upon its budget for FY25-26, DCA aims to support approximately 15-22 residences at either $6,000 or $12,000 (ideally one for each of the city’s 15 Council districts) and an additional 10-15 CO-UP residencies at $15,000 each.
DCA defines a social justice organization as any social service nonprofit organization that has a board-approved and publicly printed/repeated mission statement that names a primary cause for equality (which can be: cultural, economic, environmental, immigration, healthcare, or housing-based); as well as a history of both advocacy to rebalance public policies, and community-based programs to address the same historic/current inequity. Religious, political and legal nonprofits are not eligible under this definition. Likewise, nonprofits that are statewide, national, or international in scale are not eligible at this time, because the pilot years of both the NEAR and CO-UP categories are aimed at local neighborhood and community impact. Arts-based nonprofits should apply directly to DCA’s Cultural Grant Program category each August and should not be the primary applicant of a CO-UP proposal (although arts organizations in LA County may partner by lending an employee with expertise to collaborate with an eligible social justice organization on a CO-UP project).
GOALS
- Supply creative arts resources to neighborhood host/partner organizations in each Council District by providing direct and intimate access to contemporary teaching-artists;
- Support projects that will consistently engage no less than 20 participants on some topic of thematic learning, and the group will culminate their workshops by staging a final presentation to be viewed by no less than 40 other individuals.
- Sponsor the implementation of educational-participatory 6 or 12-session residencies by a spectrum of the City’s most qualified teaching-artists; and,
- Provide host organizations offering little or no arts programming with opportunities to test or develop new services, and envision the integration of either an artist-employee, a new branch of programs into its core service, or a new collaboration with a local arts-organization.
ELIGIBILITY
- Applicants for a NEAR residency are individual artists (or collaborative duos/teams/ensembles under the leadership of a single applicant), whose community-based practices have been largely self-developed and remain primarily self-directed;
- Applicants for a CO-UP residency grant are social justice nonprofit organizations headquartered in Los Angeles County with an operating budget of at least $100,000 (as demonstrated by the applicant’s most recently filed IRS Form 990).
- All applicants (whether individual or nonprofit must either reside in or be headquartered in Los Angeles County and all proposed projects must take place and culminate within the City of Los Angeles;
- Teaching artists should demonstrate through their resume(s) at least 2 years of experience instructing participants in the proposed artistic discipline within projects at non-arts venues, public schools, parks, libraries, and/or similar community centers;
- NEAR applicants will propose a residency involving a relationship with one non-arts host organization, to take place at the same host organization’s location.
ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM WEBINARS
Two webinar workshops will be offered in early to mid-October. Space is limited to 30 participants per webinar. Please note that these online webinars fill out quickly. If you are interested in attending an online session live, we recommend registering promptly. Recordings of the webinars will also be available. Workshops/webinars link: www.dcaredesign.org/air/workshops
APPLICATION TIMELINE
- Opens Wednesday, September 24, 2025
- Deadline to apply is Friday, October 31, 2025
- Applicants will receive notification of results in May/June 2026
- Grant activity/projects will take place between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027
GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION:
For full program information, please review the program guidelines available at: dcaredesign.org/air/. After you have reviewed the guidelines, please proceed to prepare and submit an application at: dca-la.smapply.org.
Extended Application Window for CGP Outdoor Festival/Parade Projects
DCA is extending the application window for Outdoor Festival/Parade project proposals within the Cultural Grant Program (CGP).
Outdoor Festival/Parade proposals are framed around an outdoor event that will take place at a single freely accessible public site (e.g. public street, set of adjacent streets, set of sidewalks, public park, public plaza, ….) over one day or over one weekend. Generally festivals projects are annual, seasonal or quarterly. Generally speaking, the purpose of a festival/parade applicant will be cultural expression and/or neighborhood cohesion.
This special category allows arts-friendly but not-arts-specific organizations to apply for a grant with a collaborating producer, or an arts nonprofit to apply for a second grant if the proposed festival will take place in an outdoor public site (not a private outdoor space). Any nonprofit organization such as a chamber of commerce, social service agency, or homeowners association may request support for a community art-walk, festival, or parade (that is non-religious in nature). The ideal primary applicant is a nonprofit arts organization or business association with a minimum operating budget of $20,000 per year. Festival collaborators should determine the primary applicant by deciding which agency or producer is best qualified to fulfill government reporting/invoicing requirements and show a history of artistic accomplishments. If the primary applicant of a festival proposal is not an arts-specific nonprofit organization, which precludes the agency from opening a DataArts profile, then the proposal should include a Form-990 or official audit as an attachment.
DCA’s definition of “festival” in this category is an event where at least four separate acts are presented. If the applicant is the producer of a proposed festival where they are performing or presenting themselves, the applicant needs to present three other, non-affiliated groups, acts, and artists (who are preferably not DCA grantees). A company producing and presenting only themselves would be an outdoor performance within a discipline-category and would not be welcome in DCA’s Outdoor Festivals category; instead, such projects should be submitted in the correct discipline-category as an Artistic Project.
Outdoor Festival/Parade proposals may include educational engagements only if such sessions are taking place during the day of the event. Expenses to produce a workshop series before or after the proposed event should not be included in the same DCA proposal. Workshops series are beyond the entertainment function of a festival and these series might be shaped into a different proposal in a separate category or proposed to funders other than DCA.
Community workshops which build festival elements (sequential learning) may be described as unbudgeted pretext, knowing that DCA reserves this category to primarily pay for professional artist-presentations which beget wide public enjoyment (open mic events and competitions wherein some performers/presenters do not “win” a payment are NOT eligible).
Annual Outdoor Festivals/Parades that include the same artists/acts year after year, may not be funded. Please note that festival events with artistic rosters that change less than 29% in participants are not eligible for DCA support. Outdoor Festival/Parade applicants must designate one of the following choices in our application forms:
- 30-40% new artists (as compared to the past two years)
- 41-50% new artists (as compared to the past two years), or
- 51% or more new artists (as compared to the past two years).
Multi-site events are not eligible in DCA’s festival category but may compete under the discipline of their focus. For example, an outdoor film screening series which takes place in three separate public plazas should compete in media arts in order to be reviewed by film experts; and a concert series which takes in two separate public plazas should be reviewed by music, dance, or multidisciplinary arts experts. In addition, DCA’s Outdoor Festival/Parade category does not support: concert series over multiple weeks, or community events that include simultaneous events at non-contiguous locations. These proposals belong in DCA ‘s Multidisciplinary category.
Special note regarding young artist (unpaid) performers. We ask that youth performers be mentioned as a sidebar in any set of application attachments, since DCA funding is proportioned to support adult jobs, whereas learning-experiences are separate metrics.
APPLICATION TIMELINE
- Deadline to apply is Friday, October 31, 2025
- Applicants will receive notification of results in May/June 2026
- Grant activity/projects will take place between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027
GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION:
Please proceed to prepare and submit an application at: dca-la.smapply.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
What grant opportunities are available for organizations through the DCA Grants Program?
A non-profit arts organization may apply for one artistic project or one operating project grant, and may also apply for an outdoor festival/parade grant.
What is the timeline for the organizational grant program? When can proposals be submitted and what is the submission deadline?
The guidelines and forms for the organizational grants and outdoor festival/parade grants program are posted onto the DCA website in the first week of July each year. The deadline for submitting a proposal for either grants program is the third Friday in August of each year.
What is the typical grant award amount?
Historically, the average grant amount has been approximately $7,000.
What organizations are eligible to apply for a DCA grant?
Eligible organizations must:
- be a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, or a charitable organization [such as a 501(c)6] that will partner with one or more arts partners to present an outdoor festival or parade
- have an emphasis on arts/culture in its mission statement (unless it is a 501(c)6 that partners with arts organizations for an outdoor festival or parade
- be headquartered in Los Angeles County
- have a minimum of one year of prior arts programming within the City of L.A.
- have a prior annual revenue of at least $10,000
What if my organization's annual budget is currently less than $20,000 per year?
Newly formed or very small nonprofit arts organizations with annual operating budgets of less than $20,000 per year are eligible for the Emerging Arts Organization (EMG) grant program. EMG grants generally range from $500 to $3,000 each. Interested applicants should submit a letter of intent to DCA’s Grant Director, who will in turn call for additional information. Eligible organizations will be scheduled for appointment so that DCA staff can guide the applicant toward making the most competitive written proposal. EMG is not open to organizations that have applied unsuccessfully in other DCA grant categories.
Can my organization apply for a grant if it does not have 501(c)3 status, but has a fiscal receiver that does?
Generally speaking, DCA is unable to provide grant contracts with an organization that uses another organization as a 501(c)3 fiscal receiver. There is one exception to this rule, and that is if the fiscal receiver organization is Community Partners. Information about Community Partners can be found at www.communitypartners.org.
What grant opportunities are available for individual artists through the DCA Grants Program?
Individual artists can apply to either the NEAR (Neighborhood Engagement Artist Residency) grant program or the City of LA master artist fellowship program (COLA). NEAR provides grants of up to $12,000 for an artist to provide a series of arts workshops to an underserved population within the City of LA, along with a culminating event open for the public to attend. The COLA program provides grants of $10,000 to individual artists (or duos) to create new work at an exhibition or performance that will be curated by DCA.
What is the timeline for the individual artist grant programs? When can proposals be submitted and what is the submission deadline?
The guidelines and forms for the NEAR and COLA grants programs are posted on the DCA website in September each year. The deadline for submitting a proposal for either grant program is detailed in the guidelines for each grant and generally occurs on the last Friday of October of each year.
Are there any limitations for an individual to apply for an Artist in Residence grant, if that person runs or works with a non-profit arts organization?
An individual artist who applies for a Neighborhood Engagement Artist Residency (NEAR) grant should be unaffiliated with non-profit organizations that provide the same or similar services; as the mission of this grant program is to support independent artists and ensembles whose community-based practices have been largely self-developed and remain primarily self-directed.
Are the submission deadlines for all DCA grants programs postmark deadlines?
Yes.
Why are surveys part of the applications for both organizations and individuals? Isn't a proposal judged on the quality of work, not on the demographics of the applicant?
The estimated metrics survey form and the DCA grant process evaluation form are used by DCA as a tool in evaluating the efficacy of its grants programs. These survey forms are not given to the Peer Panelists who review and score the proposals.
Who reviews the grant proposals? That is, who decides which proposals get funded?
DCA convenes discipline-specific Peer Panels of artists, arts administrators, educators, art enthusiasts and other experts. Consideration is given to creating teams with demographics appropriate for each category and reflective of the City including such factors as: artistic expertise, gender, geographic knowledge and cultural understanding. Peer panels are charged with reviewing all eligible proposals, discussing project worthiness, making comments and assigning numerical scores. Individually, each panelist considers the applications in relation to Cultural Affairs’ goals and criteria and in comparison to other proposals. Panelists use DCA’s score-sheets for consistency and score each application up to 100 points. After individual review and consideration, the panelists gather for collegial discussion at one or more group meetings, wherein average scores are computed and final rankings determined.
How can someone become a Peer Panelist?
Peer Panelists are selected from a pool of submitted questionnaires and resumes. If you would like be considered as a potential peer panelist, send an email with yoru resume to dca.grants@lacity.org requesting the Potential Peer Panelist Form.
Can I get feedback on my grant proposal after it has been reviewed by a Peer Panel?
Yes. DCA staff sets aside time each year to provide Peer Panel feedback to grant applicants. Panel feedback is provided through phone meetings, which are generally scheduled to take place in July of each year for organizations and September for individuals. DCA staff will notify all applicants by email when it is ready to schedule such phone meetings.
