CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY ARTS GRANT PROGRAM
This program is funded and made possible by the City of Birmingham and administered by Create Birmingham.
2025 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY ARTS GRANT PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The third year of the Community Arts Grant Program will once again support four community arts collaborations that benefit the City of Birmingham with grants of $10,000 each. Key dates and deadlines for this summer and fall are listed below. Funded projects will take place between January 1 and December 1, 2025. Each community collaboration supported will be a partnership between an artist or arts organization and a community organization from a non-arts sector.
Priority consideration will be given to projects involving small to mid-sized arts organizations and/or individual artists. Applications will be reviewed by a nine-person panel appointed by the Birmingham City Council. The funding criteria and scoring rubric will be available for reference throughout the application process.
The primary partner must have nonprofit status and be located within the municipality of the City of Birmingham. Organizations may not serve as one of the two lead partners on more than one application. Individual artists also may not serve as one of the two lead partners on more than one application. Recipients of 2024 City of Birmingham Community Arts Grants are not eligible to apply for 2025 funding.
Funded projects will use the arts to address an issue impacting the City of Birmingham, will take place in one or more of the City of Birmingham communities and neighborhoods listed here, and will be accessible to the public. Examples of issues addressed include but are not limited to civic advocacy and engagement, public health or safety, racial justice, restorative justice, and social or legal services.
Collaborations eligible for funding include but are not limited to workshops, performances, concerts, festivals, demonstrations, screenings, and readings. Arts education projects that serve students attending a specific school or schools, either during or after school hours, are not eligible for funding. Activities must be broadly accessible to City of Birmingham residents, regardless of the age group being served by the project. Projects may be first-time collaborations or continuations of existing work.
Projects must provide 1:2 matching funds, meaning that 50 cents in project funds must be provided by the applicant team for every $1 in grant funds awarded. The total budget must be at least $15,000: $10,000 to be covered by this grant if awarded and $5,000 in matching funds from other sources. Matching funds may be in-kind, cash, or a combination of both.
Questions regarding this year’s grant cycle may be emailed to communityarts@createbirmingham.org. Staff will also be available for 30-minute meetings in person and via Zoom, which can be requested by sending an email to the same address.
Key Dates and Eligibility Check and Application Requirements can be found below.
KEY DATES
July 1, 2024: Eligibility Check portal opens
July 18, 2024 at 5:30 pm: Information Session at the Birmingham Public Library Central branch
August 14, 2024 by 5:00 pm: Last day to submit questions regarding the Eligibility Check
August 16, 2024 by 11:59 pm: Eligibility Check materials due
August 23, 2024: Notification of eligibility to apply and application link provided
September 18, 2024 by 5:00 pm: Last day to submit questions regarding the application
September 20, 2024 by 11:59 pm: Application due
October 2024: Panel review of applications
November 8, 2024: Notification of funding decisions
November 15, 2024: Grant agreements completed
December 13, 2024: Grant funds disbursed
January 1-December 1, 2025: Project period for funded activities
December 8, 2025: Project reports due
FIRST ROUND: ELIGIBILITY CHECK
Open July 1, 2024 through August 16, 2024 at 11:59 pm
All Eligibility Check submissions must provide the following documentation to advance to the second round of consideration.
- 2024 City of Birmingham business license,
- IRS 501c3 letter of exemption,
- Documentation of City of Birmingham business address,
- IRS Form-990 for the most recently completed fiscal year,
- Audit or financial statement for the most recently completed fiscal year, and
- List of current board of directors.
SECOND ROUND: APPLICATION
Open August 23, 2024 through September 20, 2024 at 11:59 pm
All eligible applicants must submit an application that will include:
- A description of the project including timeline and location,
- A description of both partners and their roles in the project,
- A description of how the project serves City of Birmingham citizens,
- A project budget form detailing expenses and sources of matching funds,
- A current organization budget for the primary partner;
- A partnership agreement form signed by both partners, and
- An IRS Form W-9 signed by the primary partner.
PANEL REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS
An initial application review will be conducted by Create Birmingham staff to confirm that all applications are complete.
Applications will then be evaluated by a panel consisting of one representative from each of the City of Birmingham’s nine districts, selected by their respective City Council members.
The 2025 scoring rubric used by the community panel to evaluate applications can be found here.
NOTIFICATION
Applicants will be notified of the status of their proposal by November 8, 2024, with grant agreements to be completed by November 15, 2024.
Funds will be disbursed by December 13, 2024 for project activities taking place between January 1 and December 1, 2025.
REPORTING
A brief narrative and financial update will be required 60 days before key project activities, on a date to be determined as part of the grant agreement.
A brief final narrative and financial report will be due by December 8, 2025, or 60 days after the completion of the project, whichever comes first.
Under the terms of the grant agreement, grantees must agree to an audit of project expenses if requested by Create Birmingham or the City of Birmingham.
2025 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY ARTS GRANT RECIPIENTS
ALABAMA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL
MARC STEEL SCULPTURE GARDEN
Marc Steel Sculpture Garden is a collaboration between the Alabama Environmental Council and artist Jurgen Tarrasch. This grant will support The Marc Steel EcoScape, transforming an industrial landscape in Titusville into a botanical garden for residents, visiting school children and university audiences. This project will replicate and expand the former Hugh Kaul EcoScape at Birmingham-Southern College, an outdoor classroom that featured animal sculptures, flower mosaics, and huge music chimes made from discarded materials. Marc Steel EcoScape will serve as a STEAM field trip destination for K-12 schools, a climate change research lab for college classes, and a community greenspace for local residents.
BIB & TUCKER SEW-OP
THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND AGRICULTURE
The Intersection of Art and Agriculture is a collaboration between Bib & Tucker Sew-Op and Jones Valley Teaching Farm. This grant will support The Intersection of Art and Agriculture, a series of four workshops that will teach the public how to dye and embellish textiles using food, leaves, and flowers grown at Jones Valley Teaching Farm. The goal of this programming is to educate the public that attractive textile-based creations can be made sustainably with materials that can be readily found growing around us in our yard. This collaboration will demonstrate that the intersection of art and agriculture can be very fruitful and good for the planet.
GIRL SPRING
BE EMPOWERED POETRY CONTEST
Be Empowered Poetry Contest is a collaboration between Girl Spring and See Jane Write, LLC. This grant will support the Be Empowered Poetry Contest, which aims to empower teen girls in the Birmingham area through creativity and self-expression. The contest will be open to girls aged 13-18, and participants will learn about the different types of poetry, how to use poetry as a tool for creative expression, and how poetry can be a catalyst for social change. Contest winners will receive cash prizes, framed prints of their poems, and be highlighted on GirlSpring's website and social media. The advisor for the Be Empowered Poetry Contest is Javacia Harris Bowser. Javacia is a writer, journalist, and poet, and the founder and CEO of See Jane Write, LLC. She is a frequent contributor to local and national publications, including Style Blueprint, Birmingham Times, Good Grit, and more.
INTOTO CREATIVE ARTS
UNSHELTERED EXPRESSIONS: BINDING HOPE
Unsheltered Expressions: Binding Hope is a collaboration between InToto Creative Arts and Firehouse Ministries. This grant will support InToto Creative Arts’ collaboration with Firehouse Shelter to produce "Unsheltered Expressions: Binding Hope," a book that will feature artwork and writings by Firehouse guests. Content for the book will be developed in weekly sessions that will take place at Firehouse Ministries from January through May 2025. The book will be released in June 2025 during a community event at East Village Arts, which will feature live poetry readings from book contributors. Attendees will be given raw pages and together, will bind the books by hand. The book will include six pages that will be perforated by hand that the reader may remove to be sent as postcards, dispersing these works even further into the community. Unsheltered Expressions: Binding Hope will use the arts to address the community needs of connection and hope. By facilitating collective art-making, this program will build community bonds among participants and encourage mutual support and understanding.
2024 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY ARTS GRANT RECIPIENTS
FOUNDATION FOR ARTS AND CULTURAL CONNECTIONS, INC.
IMAGINATION FESTIVAL
This grant supported artist-led workshops for Birmingham area students at the Magic City Art Connection’s Imagination Festival. The goal of the festival is to implement arts-centered projects aimed at providing children with a new set of creative skills that are both artistic and practical.
DESERT ISLAND SUPPLY CO
POETRY IN THE PARK
This grant supported Poetry in the Park, a collaboration between Railroad Park and the Desert Island Supply Co. (DISCO). Poetry in the Park featured poems written by Birmingham City Schools students in a series of installations around Railroad Park. This program amplified the voices of young writers by exposing their words and ideas to the more than 500K people who visit Railroad Park every year.
FRIENDS FOUNDATION OF THE BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY
MAGIC CITY ART MART
This grant supported Magic City Art Mart, a dedicated space within the Birmingham Public Libraries that collects and distributes free art supplies to community members. In addition to supplying art materials, Magic City Art Mart strives to create a supportive and inclusive artistic community, through workshops and events to foster learning, skill development, and the sharing of diverse perspectives.
Greater Birmingham Ministries
BRANCHES OF RECONCILIATION: ART, HISTORY, AND HEALING IN BIRMINGHAM
This grant supported The Black Cherry Tree Project, a collaboration with the Jefferson County Memorial Project, that seeks to illuminate Birmingham's haunting history of racial violence and propel racial reconciliation. This joint effort focused on memorializing 33 African Americans lynched in Jefferson County.The collaboration emphasized an arts-centered approach to meet community needs through workshops, exhibitions, and living memorials.
2023 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY ARTS GRANT RECIPIENTS
Bare Hands + Dewon Moton + Woodlawn Neighborhood Association
Day of the Dead Altar Workshops and Mural Creation
This grant supported altar-making workshops that gave Birmingham residents the opportunity to learn about the traditions of the Day of the Dead and create personal altars to honor and remember loved ones. Muralist Dewon Moton worked with students to create a mural at Day of the Dead inspired by the altars created.
Magic City Poetry Festival + Yogi Dada + St. John AME Church
GRAFFICA LIVE! 2023
This grant supported an evening of poetry performances, African drumming, dance, sign language to music, yoga, a screening of Yogi Dada’s film GRAFFICA, and a panel discussion. The collaboration exposed a diverse audience to the beauty and power of Black creativity in the communal historical setting of a Black church.
Metropolitan Youth Orchestras of Central AL + St. Paul United Methodist Church
A Place in the Choir Gospel Festival
This grant supported a two-day gospel festival that will include free workshops, a recital by Metropolitan Youth Orchestra students and local artists, and an all-day exhibition of the St. Paul Choir, MYOCA ensembles, and local gospel groups.
Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema + Birmingham Public Library Association
Beyond the Screen
This grant supported a film education program for Birmingham residents at local libraries that introduced the terminology and techniques of making a movie. Participants met professionals in the field to learn about filmmaking as a career and explore the role of media in our society and the importance of creating it responsibly.