New Mexico Arts News:
In an effort to create more opportunities for military and veteran audiences to engage with the arts, New Mexico Arts & The Military Initiative offers a call for proposals for the 2025 Mini Grant program.
New Mexico Arts (NMA) is offering $2,500 mini grants that organizations can apply for to support learning-based projects such as classes, workshops or virtual art programs, or capacity building projects such as professional development and contracted consultant services.
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 grants can also be used to build organizational capacity towards the goal of creating and expanding opportunities for these audiences.
“The Arts and the Military mini grants are an outstanding example of the many ways that NMA works to support access to arts and culture programs for diverse communities across the state,” NMA Executive Director Michelle Laflamme-Childs said. “We understand the power the arts can have in supporting health, well-being, and quality of life, which is why we specifically support arts and culture programs serving New Mexico’s active-duty military and veteran populations as well as their families and caregivers.”
NMA offers a streamlined granting process, and organizations can receive advance review of their application prior to final submission. To apply for the 2025 Mini Grant, organizations must be from, or registered to do business in, New Mexico. The grant does not require matching funds and applicants can request up to $2,500. Applications must be submitted by Sept. 23, 2024 for advance review. The final application deadline is Nov. 8, 2024. Guidelines and the application can be found online at https://nmarts.org/all-programs/arts-the-military/.
The Arts & The Military Initiative is rooted in NMA’s mission to ensure the arts are central to the lives of New Mexicans. New Mexico has 141,558 veterans residing in the state with military retirees in all 33 counties. More than 22,106 Active-Duty service members, including National Guard, are stationed at one of five military bases in New Mexico, with 7,921 adult spouses and 13,132 children of these active-duty service members living in the state.
In addition to the Arts and The Military mini grant program, NMA coordinates and promotes New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs’ (NMDCA) participation in the national Blue Star Museums program offering free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve. The Blue Star Museums program offers free admission to any of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs’ eight museums and seven historic sites throughout the state through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024.
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.