Groove Art Space offered a variety of art classes to family members of service personnel from Kirtland Air Force Base. Photo by Sanchez Arts Services
NMDCA News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico Arts, the state’s art agency, actively supports access to arts and culture programs for diverse communities across the state, including military and veteran audiences. The New Mexico Arts & The Military Initiative opens its call for proposals for the 2026 Mini Grant program beginning this August.
New Mexico Arts (NMA) offers $2,500 mini grants to organizations in support of learning-based programs, capacity building projects, and other services that expand access to art opportunities for military audiences. Proposed projects must create opportunities for active-duty service members, reservists, National Guard members, veterans, and their families and caregivers, to meaningfully engage with the arts. The application and guidelines, including information about online informational sessions can be found at nmarts.org/all-programs/arts-the-military/.
“The Arts and the Military mini grants highlight NMA’s significant work in fostering arts and culture opportunities for diverse communities across New Mexico,” Michelle Laflamme-Childs said, executive director of NMA. “It is well documented that engagement in the arts fosters social connectedness and belonging, which are essential in supporting the health, well-being, and quality of life of New Mexico’s active-duty military and veteran populations, their families, and caregivers.”
During the 2025 grant period, a variety of unique programs were funded by the initiative. The grant recipient, SouthWest Writers, released a new publication of prose and poetry, “Unbreaking the Circle: Stories of Service.” The anthology was written by members, past and present, of the US Armed Forces and their families or caretakers, all currently living in New Mexico. Other programs included art classes provided by the Groove Art Space in Albuquerque to family members of service personnel from Kirtland Air Force Base and a musical performance at Otero Arts in Alamogordo as part of the organization’s Veterans Showcase multi-arts programing.
To apply for the 2026 Mini Grant, organizations must be from, or registered to do business in, New Mexico. The grant does not require matching funds. New applicants must submit their application for advanced review by September 22, 2025, and the final application deadline is November 7, 2025.
In addition, NMA coordinates and promotes New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs’ participation in the national Blue Star Museums program offering free admission to its eight state museums and eight historic sites to active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve. The program runs through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025.
About New Mexico Arts
New Mexico Arts, the state’s federally recognized arts agency and a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, administers the One Percent for Public Art program, awards grants to nonprofit organizations for arts and cultural programs in their communities, and provides technical assistance and educational opportunities for organizations, artists, and arts educators throughout the state. Learn more at www.nmarts.org.
Otero Arts hosts a Veterans Showcase multi-arts program that included a musical performance by J Ohara. Photo by Sanchez Arts Services