Arts Council announces $220K batch of arts and culture grants

The Springfield Regional Arts Council Inc. announced $220,000 in arts and culture grants today. They are to be awarded to 23 nonprofits, in partnership with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation, at a June 5 event. 

These grant programs are funded through a portion of the city of Springfield’s hotel/motel tax allocated to the SRAC, officials said in a news release. Additional funding comes from the CFO and the Musgrave Foundation.  

“Arts and culture grants provide critical financial support to the creative community. By leveraging public and private funding together, the collective impact is felt far and wide,” said Leslie Forrester, SRAC’s executive director, in the release. “We should never take the depth and breadth of our creative community for granted. Instead, we should do everything we can to grow public funding for arts and culture, because our community expects that of us.” 

The money funds programs, operating support and collaborative partnership opportunities, officials said in the release. 

Five local nonprofits were selected to receive $20,000 per year for three years beginning in 2024. They are now receiving the final year of funding from that grant and comprise the following: 

• KSMU
• Moxie Cinema
• Ozarks Lyric Opera
• Sculpture Walk Springfield
• Springfield Art Museum

This year’s Arts & Culture Program Support grant recipients comprise the following:  

• 417 Bridge Builders: $5,000 to support the 2026 Black History Summer Academy
• American Indian Center ofSpringfield Missouri: $9,000 to support the Native American Heritage Celebration Powwow, the Next Generation Powwow, a reading program and a variety of cultural classes 
• TheArc of the Ozarks: $3,332 to expand adaptive dance classes and dance performance opportunities for its SOAR program participants 
• Arrow Art SupplyInc.: $3,912 to support the third annual Midwest Crankie Fest 
• Better Block SGF: $3,913 to expand its moveable mural program to activate vacant properties across Springfield
• Dade CountyArtConnect: $6,500 to purchase a kiln and support the artist-in-residence program and youth theater camp 
• Drew Lewis Foundation Inc.: $7,000 to bring a permanent, rotating public sculpture installation to Fairbanks Community Hub
• Empower: abilities: $9,500 to support Beyond the Canvas, an inclusive, artist-led program that pairs individuals with disabilities and local artists to collaboratively create and publiclyexhibit original works of art 
• GLO Center: $2,194 to create a mobile exhibition program toshowcase work by LGBTQIA+ artists at regional Pride events and in arts spaces across southwest Missouri 
• High Tide Theatrical Inc.: $9,000 to support core production expenses, including licensing fees, productioncosts and American Sign Language interpretation 
• Living Lands Art Collective: $9,000 to support outreach programs that deliver therapeutic arts for seniors and adults with special needs, recovery-based art experiences, and youth mentorship in Douglas County
• Missouri Philharmonic Orchestra: $7,500 to provide five free concerts for the region’s low-income, elderly, neurodivergent and other underserved populations
• Mosaic Arts Collective: $9,720 to launch the Mosaic Audition Program, a multi-tracked intensive training program to prepare aspiring performers to be employable professionals in the local entertainment industry
• Plotline Film & Media Education: $7,603 to support filmmaking programs at Sunshine Elementary School, Boyd ElementarySchool and Reed Academy for the 2026–27 school year 
• Queen City ChoraleInc.: $3,913 to present “Tales, Tunes, and a Dragon,” a concert specifically for children and families 
• Springfield Chamber Chorus: $3,913 to support its expansion and youth choir growth
• Springfield Symphony Orchestra: $9,000 to support and expand current outreach and engagement programs
• Unite of Southwest Missouri Inc.: $10,000 to support the venue and marketing efforts for the Springfield Multicultural Festival