Amplifying Midwestern Creativity
Arts Midwest supports, informs, and celebrates arts organizations and creative communities in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, the Native Nations that share this geography, and beyond.

Joyful, loud, and Midwest proud
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February 5, 2025
Blush, Blend, and Break Barriers One Makeup Course at a Time
By Amy Felegy
Staff at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance created a free online course inclusive of all ages, hair textures, and skin tones.
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Meet Rubén Pachas, The Dancer Spreading Indigenous Peruvian Traditions
February 4, 2025
Pachas’s traditional dances pass down indigenous values through stories about bridge building, Mother Earth, and even Lake Michigan.
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Arts Midwest “Accelerates” Thanks to Two Capacity Building Programs
January 30, 2025
Arts Midwest has been selected to join the Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator Program and Report for America Accelerator Program.
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How To Become an Arts Grant Panelist in the Midwest
January 29, 2025
Gain insight into the grantmaking process, get inspired, and help support the arts ecosystem by becoming a grant panelist.
Grant Opportunities and Programs
We support efforts that connect people, ideas, and solutions through creativity. Learn more about our grantmaking initiatives and our community programming.

Walking Together: Investing in Folklife in Communities of Color
Walking Together is a national program that offers grants of $15,000–$50,000 to support folklife and traditional arts rooted in communities of color.
Learn More and Apply
Takeaways From the Most Comprehensive Survey of Minneapolis’s Music Scene to Date
In early December 2024, the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs department released the findings from a music census – including key takeaways about the needs of the city’s music ecosystem. It is the most extensive music survey of Minneapolis to date.
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A Reflection on 2024
In 2024, Arts Midwest launched new programs while continuing to support our long-standing initiatives. All told, we offered 12 grant opportunities, awards, and programs that supported creative individuals and communities across the Midwest.
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An Introduction into Program Evaluation
Evaluation can be more than a compliance exercise for funding, it can be an embedded approach, allowing organizations to be intentional about what they want to know and how it can strengthen their programming.
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