The Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice grant, offered by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), aims to support Massachusetts-based teams of creatives and community members. This grant is designed to foster public artmaking that contributes to more just futures for public spaces and culture. NEFA's mission aligns with this program by emphasizing public art values and a commitment to dismantling legacies of racism, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy culture through creative exploration and expression in public spaces.
The target beneficiaries of this grant are teams of at least three members, including an artist/creative and a community member, based in Massachusetts. The program specifically prioritizes teams led or co-led by Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) artists and creatives. The impact goals are to encourage imagination and exploration in public art, address power dynamics within teams and communities, and foster projects rooted in community or deeply connected to place, especially rural areas or places experiencing displacement.
The program's priorities and focuses include clarity of intentions regarding the non-neutrality of public spaces and art, a commitment to participating in virtual cohort gatherings from January to June 2025, and an active engagement with the intersectionality of spatial justice and racial justice. NEFA seeks teams that demonstrate trust and accountability, and are actively working to address imbalances in power dynamics within their teams and broader communities.
Expected outcomes include the development of new approaches to public artmaking that champion social and racial justice. Each selected team will participate in a six-month "imagination journey" from January through June 2025, receiving a $6,000 grant. Measurable results will likely involve the participation in virtual cohort gatherings and the tangible work produced by the teams, showcasing their creative exploration and expression in public spaces, particularly those centered on BIPOC leadership and community engagement. This grant embodies NEFA's strategic priority to uplift diverse voices and use art as a catalyst for social change, operating on the theory that by empowering BIPOC-led creative exploration, the legacies of racism and white supremacy culture in public spaces can be effectively challenged and dismantled.
