Arts News
Minnesota State Arts Board Offers Opportunities to Apply for Accessible Arts Grant Programs
The Minnesota State Arts Board announces two opportunities to apply for the Accessible Arts grant program and serve as a grant advisor
Opportunities from the Minnesota State Arts Board
FY 2026 Accessible Arts grant application materials available
Help them invest public funds
for the arts
FY 2026 Accessible Arts grant program application materials available
Application materials are now available for the Accessible Arts grant program. This program is open to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt arts organizations, and arts affiliates of a nonprofit organization or public entity.
Accessible Arts offers project grants to increase the capacity of the arts sector to make arts experiences more accessible for people with disabilities.
In this program, funds will be used for investments that will have a longer-term impact on the applicant, such as professional development related to accessibility (i.e., staff or volunteer training, etc.), hiring accessibility consultants to conduct accessibility audits and/or develop accessibility plans, etc. Funds may also be used for small equipment investments (costing less than $5,000) that will make programming more accessible over time (i.e. assisted listening or captioning equipment, handrails, grab bars, etc.).
Applicants may request between $10,000 - $20,000.
The Arts Board will host a virtual Information Session for potential applicants to learn more about the program purpose and application process. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions with program officers at the end of the session. See below for more information.
Details, including full program guidelines, eligibility, and resources for applicants can be found on the Accessible Arts program page.
Important dates
February 26, 2025: Virtual Information Session and Q & A. This will be a real-time virtual session. It will be recorded and available for later viewing.
April 4, 2025: Application deadline; all application materials must be submitted before 4:30 p.m.
October 2025: Arts Board approves grant awards.
December 2025 - November 2026: All funded activities must take place within these dates.
See the full FY 2026 grant program calendar on the Arts Board website.
Accessible Arts Grant Program
Minnesota State Arts Board
Grant Opportunities: Accessible Arts and Arts Education
Accessible Arts grant program
Application materials are now available for the FY 2025 Accessible Arts grant program. Arts organizations and arts affiliates are welcome to apply.
Accessible Arts is a pilot program, offering project grants that support long-term investments focused on increasing arts organizations' accessibility for people with disabilities.
New for FY 2025: An arts organization or arts affiliate that received an Accessible Arts grant in FY 2024 is not eligible to apply for an Accessible Arts grant in FY 2025.
In this program, funds will be used for investments that will have a longer-term impact on the applicant and impact organizational change. Example investments include, but are not limited to:
Professional development related to accessibility;
Hiring accessibility consultants to conduct audits or develop accessibility plans;
Improvements to digital accessibility; and/or
Small physical or equipment investments (less than $5,000) that will make programming more accessible.
Applicants may request between $10,000 - $20,000.
The Arts Board will host a virtual Information Session for potential applicants to learn more about the program purpose, application process, and key accessibility resources for arts organizations.
Details, including full program guidelines, eligibility, and resources for applicants can be found on the Accessible Arts program page.
Accessibility 101 for Arts and Culture Organizations
Accessibility 101 for Arts and Culture Organizations
Wednesday February 7, 2024
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Mark your calendars for this informative and interactive webinar, cohosted by the Minnesota State Arts Board and the National Endowment for the Arts Office of Accessibility.
This one-hour webinar is designed to help Minnesotan arts and cultural workers answer the question, "where do I start?" when creating inclusive, accessible spaces and programs for people with disabilities.
Attendees can expect to leave with a foundational understanding of
Requirements for accessibility when your organization receives a grant from the Arts Board or National Endowment for the Arts.
The importance of completing a self-evaluation or ADA checklist, and how to do it.
The many ways of providing inclusive and equitable access, beyond just physical / architectural.
The importance of appointing an access coordinator in your organization, and what they do.
This webinar is free, but registration is required.
Find Accessible Arts Activities and/or Promote Your Accessible Arts Activities
Minnesota arts & cultural organizations offering accessible programs and services are welcome to list events on the Minnesota Accessible Activities Calendar. An account is required; register today or log in to submit events. New accounts need to be approved by the Minnesota Access Alliance board before you’ll be able to submit events. Please allow 48 hours for your registration to be approved.
The Minnesota Access Alliance (MNAA) provides this Accessible Arts & Culture Calendar for patrons who use accessibility accommodations. At the their website you’ll find listings of (in order):
* Captioning,
* ASL interpreting,
* Audio Description,
* Sensory-friendly accommodations, and
* Disability-related events.
Each listing links to more details on MNAA’s online calendar (https://calendar.mnaccess.org). Be sure to check the listing or venue to find out its COVID-19 protocol and if you need to make an advance reservation for the accessibility service.
Minnesota Accessible Activities Calendar is here: https://calendar.mnaccess.org
If you previously had an account to submit events to VSA Minnesota’s Accessible Art Activities Calendar, your credentials for that calendar are still valid here.
All submitted events are reviewed by the MNAA board before being published to the calendar. Please allow 48 hours for your submission to be approved.
This calendar only lists events that provide explicit accommodations for people with disabilities. Information about the accessibility of the event location and provided accommodations is a requirement in order to be listed.
To submit events and register start at this page: https://calendar.mnaccess.org/calendar/submit/
If you know of other accessible events, please ask those venues to submit their events to the MNAA Calendar (and to MinnesotaPlaylist.com).
Anyone can get this monthly calendar: email mactfactor@icloud.com and/or info@mnaccess.org and indicate which list you want: the entire list or specifically ASL Interpreting, Captioning, Audio Description, Sensory Friendly accommodations or Disability-related topics.