The ART (A Road Together) program is a significant collaborative initiative between the Field Foundation of Illinois and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, designed to strengthen the arts and culture ecosystem in Chicago. This initiative is rooted in a commitment to advancing equity and sustainability within the city’s creative community, particularly by supporting small to mid-sized arts and culture organizations.
The ART 2025 program stems from over a decade of evaluation and feedback from Field Foundation's arts grantmaking, supplemented by consultation with partners, a landscape survey, and direct feedback from creative sector leaders. The program operates under the umbrella of MacArthur's Culture, Equity, and the Arts (CEA) initiative. In this partnership, the Field Foundation is entrusted with regranting MacArthur's funding specifically to organizations with annual operating budgets under $1 million, while larger organizations are directed to apply directly to MacArthur.
Eligible applicants must be Chicago-based arts and culture organizations with annual budgets between $25,000 and $1 million. These organizations must either have 501(c)(3) status or be fiscally sponsored. The grant awards range from $10,000 to $100,000 and are reviewed through a participatory panel process that reflects the foundation’s commitment to equity and shared decision-making. Grants are awarded through a three-year funding lane, with a growing number of grantees each year, starting with 25 in Year 1 and increasing to 75 by Year 3 and 4.
The application portal for the ART 2025 cycle opens on April 15 and closes on May 16. After submissions, the panel review process occurs between June and August, and selected recipients are announced in November. Additional support materials such as a webinar recording, application portal link, and slide deck will be shared with attendees of the informational session.
This program represents a $15 million investment in Chicago’s arts and culture sector and continues to build on decades of MacArthur’s support for the local arts scene. The program is managed by Richard Tran, Director of ART and Leadership Initiatives at the Field Foundation. For direct inquiries regarding the MacArthur CEA program, applicants may also reach out via cea@macfound.org.
