The Maine Arts Commission is a state agency that receives funding appropriated by the Maine State Legislature. In addition, the Agency partners with the National Endowment for the Arts for additional annual funding. The Maine Arts Commission shall encourage and stimulate public interest and participation in the cultural heritage and cultural programs of our state; shall expand the state's cultural resources; and shall encourage and assist freedom of artistic expression for the wellbeing of the arts, to meet the needs and aspirations of persons in all parts of the state.
The Maine Arts Commission offers grant funding to Maine organizations, individuals, schools, and municipalities. The grant cycle opens January fifteenth each year with the majority of deadlines before the end of March, with some offerings that have additional autumn deadlines. Funding support must be used for projects between July 1 of the current year and June 30 of the following year. If a project has components that fall outside of the timeframe, those components cannot be funded, although components within the timeframe are eligible for funding. All applications must be made through the agency online Grants Management System.
July 2020 report for the FY21 awards.
The FY21 Grant cycle had a total of 224 applicants seeking funding from 9 grants offered by the Maine Arts Commission. The total ask was $977,986.00. Out of these applicants 150 received funding.
The FY21 grant cycle saw a 9% increase of overall applicants compared to the FY20 cycle. The year had a considerable disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The discovery of the disease in late December 2019 and the nationwide activity restrictions that began to be put in place in March of 2020 created significant issues for artists and arts organizations. These issues persisted through the remainder of the FY20 fiscal cycle which concluded June 30, 2020.
For a PDF of the FY21 awardees can be found here or at the link below.
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FY 2021 Arts & Humanities (spring) - The Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Humanities Council collaborate to provide Arts & Humanities grants that assist organizations in Maine to investigate and present stories and cultural expressions of the state, its communities and its people. |
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| Applicant | Community | Project Title | |
| Center Theatre, Inc. | Dover Foxcroft | Born in a Small Town, stageplay | |
| Hewnoaks Artist Colony | Center Lovell | Hewnoaks History Project | |
| Maine Jewish Film Festival | Portland | Maine Jewish Film Festival On-Line Films | |
| Midcoast Actors' Studio | Belfast | She Kills Monsters | |
| Palaver Strings Inc. | Portland | Witnessing Change | |
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FY 2021 CCED 1: Cultural Plan Grant - The Creative Communities = Economic Development: Planning Grant (CCED Phase 1) provides communities or regions funds to assess their cultural assets (and needs) and create a Cultural Plan. |
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| Applicant | Community | Project Title | |
| City of Biddeford | Biddeford | CCED 1 cultural planning | |
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FY 2021 ARTS LEARNING—This program provides funding to support high-quality visual or performing arts education for PK-12 students and/or educators of this population. |
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| Applicant | Community | Project Title | |
| 317 Main Community Music Center | Yarmouth | Digital Music Partnership with Portland Teen Library | |
| Eastport Arts Center | Eastport | Wildlife Haiku for Middle School | |
| Jazz Residency Initiative | Denmark | Jazz Residency Initiative 2020-21 Programming | |
| LEAPS of IMAGINATION | Rockport | Wildlife Connections: | |
| Midcoast Actors Studio | Belfast | She Kills Monsters | |
| Palaver Strings | Portland | Palaver Music Center Strings Programs | |
| Penobscot Theatre Company | Bangor | Dramatic Academy Summer 2020 | |
| Portland Ovations | Portland | Cultivating Curiosity Through Arts Learning Opportunities | |
| Portland Stage Company, Inc. | Portland | Directors Lab Shakespeare School Tour | |
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FY 2021 Organization Partnership - This program provides much-needed unrestricted operating funds to arts organizations and establishes a process for partnering with the Maine Arts Commission to advance the role of the arts in strengthening communities and enhancing local economies. |
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| Applicant | Community | Project Title | |
| A Company of Girls (ACOG) | Portland | Partnership Grant | |
| Aroostook Arts and Education Center | Presque Isle | Partnership Grant | |
| Bangor Symphony Orchestra | Bangor | Partnership Grant | |
| Bowdoin International Music Festival | Brunswick | Partnership Grant | |
| Brick Store Museum | Kennebunk | Brick Store Museum Partnership | |
| Celebration Barn Theater | South Paris | Partnership Grant Application for Celebration Barn Theater | |
| Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine | Portland | Partnership with Maine Arts Commission | |
| Eastport Arts Center | Eastport | Eastport Arts Center: Where Creativity and Community Meet | |
| Engine, Inc. | Biddeford | Organization Partnership Grant | |
| Haystack Mountain School of Crafts | Deer Isle | Organization Partnership | |
| Kennebec Valley Art Association | Hallowell | Year Three of The Harlow's Expanded Space and Programming | |
| Maine Academy of Modern Music | Portland | Amplifying Inclusive Music Education and Performance in Maine | |
| Maine Crafts Association | Gardiner | Maine Crafts Association General Operating Funds 2020-2021 | |
| Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance | Portland | Partnership Grant | |
| Mayo Street Arts | Portland | Organizational Partnership | |
| Ogunquit Playhouse Foundation | Ogunquit | Looking Towards the Future | |
| Opera Maine | Portland | To support a Partnership Grant for Opera Maine | |
| Penobscot Theatre Company | Bangor | Partnership Grant | |
| Pierre Monteux Memorial Foundation | Hancock | Monteux School and Music Festival | |
| Portland Chamber Music Festival | Portland | Support for the 2020-2021 season | |
| Portland Museum of Art | Portland | Partnership Grant | |
| Portland Ovations | Portland | Partnership Grant | |
| Portland Stage Company, Inc. | Portland | Support for Portland Stage's 2020-21 Season | |
| Portland Symphony Orchestra | Portland | Partnership Grant | |
| President & Trustees of Bates College | Lewiston | Operating Support for a Restructured Bates Dance Festival | |
| Schoodic Arts for All | Winter Harbor | Schoodic Arts for All Partnership Grant | |
| Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Inc. | Madison | Operating Support Urgent Needs | |
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FY 2021 Project Grant for Artists - The Project Grant for Artists supports creative projects throughout Maine, assisting artists with the creation of new work and the continuation of existing arts programs. Projects can be in any artistic discipline and on any scale. |
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| Applicant | Community | Project Title | |
| Alexandrou, Rachel | Alna | Foraged Feast | |
| Allen, Judith | Portland | Mapping the Walk: a Fine Art Book | |
| AtkinsonStephanie | Hollis Center | "Promise Street" Album | |
| Bailin, Janoah | Peaks Island | rong: a juggling video | |
| Bannon, Ian | Portland | Development at the TimeSlips Creative Care Institute | |
| Bechstein, Christina | Portland | Love is an art material | |
| Boardman, Michael | North Yarmouth | Website upgrade | |
| Booher, Jennifer | Bar Harbor | Stained Glass Windows of Mount Desert Island | |
| Caswell, Cole | Peaks Island | Survival Lines | |
| Cordes, Hannah | Portland | Frantic Assembly International Summer School | |
| Corral, Jennifer Coco | Biddeford | ARIA | |
| Crossman, Stephanie | Vinalhave | Technology | |
| Cullen, Lynne | Portland | Walk Among the Shadows: Vices, Voices, & the Vote | |
| Cylinder, Lisa | Brunswick | New Directions | |
| Cylinder, Scott | Brunswick | Oufitting a Workshop for Teaching Jewelry and Metalworking | |
| Daugherty, Michael | Stonington | Upwest & Downeast: Meandering the Maine Coast by Sea Kayak | |
| droge, michel | Portland | Native and Endangered | |
| Dunaway, Missy | Cape Elizabeth | Postal Art For All | |
| Fein, Randy | Lincolnville | Artist In Residence Randy Fein iin Vallauris, France | |
| florance, kathleen | South Thomaston | developing mural sized work | |
| Gardiner, John | Bath | Afterhumans | |
| Goodale, Abraham | Camden | ACRE | 2020 | |
| Goulette, Jared | Portland | 2020 Electrical Box Beautification Project | |
| Greenhalgh, Fred | Alfred | The Collective - The Audio Drama | |
| Grumbling, Megan | PORTLAND | "Persephone" Performative Book Launch | |
| HARVEY, HEATHER | PORTLAND | Ceramic & Plant Sculpture Installation: The Residential Public | |
| Jackson, Derek | Portland | Hi Tiger | |
| Juli, Sara | Falmouth | Burnt-Out Wife at Bates College | |
| Kapinga, Grace | Westbrook | Traditional Congolese dance and clothing stylist teacher | |
| Kuvaja, Maya | Bridgton | Your Gaze | |
| Lawrence, Margaret | Yarmouth | One More Dream | |
| Lee, Lee | Blue Hill | Mobilities in Maine | |
| Lewis, Michelle | West Bath | Black Box Hotel | |
| Losneck, Caroline | Portland | Aa documentary film about record producer Ethel Gabriel | |
| McAndrews, Dawn | Harpswell | Creating Space for Female Writers and Directors | |
| McCulloch, Brian | Portland | When The Spoiled Prince Became The King(tentative title) | |
| Mills, Dan | Lewiston | Human Topographies Print Project | |
| Morlet, Madeleine | Rockport | I Need You To Need Me (Working Title) | |
| Moulton, Pamela | South Portland | Engage Art Coach | |
| Ng, Elaine | Rockland | Unweavings | |
| Osborn, Alice | Saco | Gently Down the "Live" Stream | |
| Parker, Brittany | Rockport | "We Can Do This," a Bee Parks and the Hornets Album | |
| Perea-Kane, Sarah | Cape Elizabeth | Inflorescence | |
| Platt, Lucky | Burnham | Website Creation and Marketing Support | |
| Poitras Santos, Julia (Julie) | Portland | The Stories Between Us | |
| Reid, Brian | Rockland | Website Redesign and Development | |
| Shaw, Matthew | Blue Hill | Working Title: Morning View | |
| Smiley , Nisa | Franklin | Website and Imaging | |
| Sonenberg, Daniel | Portland | New Work for Violin and Piano | |
| Spaien, Gail | South Portland | "Bonsai Cottage", a series of seven large-scale paintings | |
| Stacey Curtis, Amy | Lyman | Op Hand | |
| Sulzer, Andrea | Woolwich | From Paper to Glass | |
| Sylvain, Robert | Portland | Mémère's Notebook Recording | |
| thwaites, christina | orono | 'Subjective Failure' | |
| Tipton, Mark | Hancock | Recording of Mark Tipton's "Joan of Arc" Film Score | |
| Trautman, Michael | Portland | Death of a Clown | |
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FY 2021 Project Grant for Organizations - The Project Grant for Organizations is designed to support creative projects throughout Maine. Grant funds assist arts organizations with the production of high-quality creative activities, the creation of new work, and the continuation of successful arts programs. Projects can be in any artistic discipline and on any scale. |
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| Applicant | Community | Project Title | |
| 317 Main Community Music Center | Yarmouth | Deep Roots Music and Dance Program | |
| Alice James Poetry Cooperative, INC | Farmington | Electronic publication, promotion, and distribution of poetry | |
| Bangor Celtic Crossroads Festival | Bangor | Bangor Celtic Crossroads Festival October 1-3, 2020 | |
| Blue Hill Bach | Blue Hill | Production of "The Beggar's Opera" | |
| Cobscook Community Learning Center | Trescott Twp. | Making in Place | |
| Denmark Arts Center | Denmark | Music in Schools | |
| Everyman Repertory Theatre | ROCKPORT | Malaga Island | |
| Friends of the Strand Theatre | Rockland | "Curious: Think Outside the Pipeline!" Musical | |
| Hewnoaks Artist Colony | Center Lovell | 2020 Artist Residency Project | |
| Ikirenga cy'intore | Portland | Rwandan Dance Workshops | |
| Jazz Residency Initiative | Denmark | Jazz Residency Initiative 2020-21 Programming | |
| Maine Celtic Celebration | Belfast | Maine Celtic Celebration | |
| Maine Jewish Film Festival | Portland | 2020 Maine Jewish Film Festival (rescheduled) | |
| Musique du Jour | Bath | 2020 Kennebec Early Music Festival | |
| River Company | Damariscotta | The Witch of Harpswell | |
| Searsmont Town Library | Searsmont | Live at the Library | |
| Somali Bantu Community Association | Lewiston | Somali Bantu Harvest Festival | |
| TEMPOart Portland | Portland | Gathering Stones | |
| United Youth Empowerment Services | Lewiston | Film to Inspire New Mainers to Be Proud of their Heritage | |
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FY 2021 Jane Morrison Film Fund - The Jane Morrison Memorial Film Fund supports educational opportunities for filmmakers. Funds from this program are designed to help filmmakers take advantage of opportunities that develop their skills and keep them current with film technology and standards. |
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| Applicant | Community | Project Title | |
| Shaw, Matthew | Blue Hill | Workshop for filmmaking | |
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FY 2021 Organization Development - The Organizational Development grant is designed to support capacity-building projects for arts organizations. Grant funds can help address issues that include positioning of the organization, board and staff development, planning, financial management, and marketing. Projects can be in any artistic discipline and on any scale. |
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| Applicant | Community | Project Title | |
| 240 Strings | Portland | 240 Strings at Home: Enhanced virtual instruction | |
| Belfast Maskers | Belfast | Relief Funding during COVID19 | |
| Beloit Poetry Journal Foundation Inc | Windham | Strategic Alignment and Capacity Building Project | |
| Bickford Education Center | Yarmouth | Organizational Development of Board | |
| Center Theatre, Inc. | Dover Foxcroft | Reconnecting the Community | |
| Chocolate Church Arts Center (Bath) | Bath | Maintenance of CCAC Organizational during COVID-19 | |
| Creative Norway | Norway | Creative Norway Marketing Project | |
| Fiddlehead Center - Scarborough | Scarborough | Fiddlehead responds to COVID 19 | |
| Figures of Speech Theatre | Freeport | Preparation of Materials for Touring Puppetry Exhibit | |
| Friends of DaPonte String Quartet | Damariscotta | New Season 2020 | |
| Greater Franklin Development Council | Farmington | Cultural Coalition Development, Website & Calendar | |
| Hancock County Auditorium Assoc. | Ellsworth | Community Driven Theater Program | |
| LA Arts | Lewiston | Organizational Support for COVID-19 Impact | |
| Maine Fiberarts | Topsham | Redefining Maine Fiberarts | |
| Maine Film Association | PORTLAND | MFA 2021-2023 Strategic Plan Development | |
| Maine State Music Theatre | Brunswick | Enhanced Marketing and Donor Relations due to COVID-19 | |
| Midcoast Actors Studio | Belfast | Midcoast Actors Studio Rebranding | |
| Museum L-A | Lewiston | Museum L-A: An Organizational Assessment Process | |
| New England Music Camp Association | Sidney | Snow Pond Marketing and Positioning Campaign | |
| Palaver Strings | Portland | Palaver Strings Marketing | |
| Points North Institute | Camden | Expansion to Bring Nonfiction Content to Online Audiences | |
| Portland Bach Experience | Portland | Oktoberfest: Marketing Plan & Implementation | |
| Portland School of Ballet | Portland | QuickBooks Upgrade | |
| River Tree Arts | Kennebunk | Summer Arts Learning | |
| Saco River Grange Hall | Bar Mills | Organizational Assessment and Community Interviews | |
| Salt Bay Chamberfest | Damariscotta | Video Recording to Increase Impact: Salt Bay Chamberfest | |
| Salt Pond Community Broadcasting Co. | East Orland | Video Engagement with Millennials and Gen Zers | |
| Schoolhouse Arts Center | Standish | Schoolhouse Arts Center COVID19 Recovery Project | |
| The Art Loft | Rockland | Saving a Community Art Center in Rockland | |
| The Museum of African Culture | Newfield | Digitalization of Distance Learning Web Development | |
| The Telling Room | Portland | Empower Youth Through (Remote) Writing and Sharing | |
| The Theater At Monmouth | Monmouth | Theater at Monmouth Preparing for Future Crises | |
| Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts | Newcastle | Outreach Through Expanded Digital Content | |
| Waterville Creates! | Waterville | Waterville Creates! unified website | |
| Western Maine Play Museum | Wilton | Association Of Children's Museum's InterActivity Conference | |
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FY 2021 Maine Artist Fellowship - Maine Artist Fellowships are awarded annually to recognize artistic excellence and advance the careers of Maine artists. Fellowships are not grants, they are merit-based awards that are informed by an applicant’s work as documented through materials included in the application. |
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| Applicant | Community | Fellowship | |
| Marzano-Lesnevich, Alex | Portland | Literary | |
| Ballon, Dianne | Portland | Media | |
| Frey, Gabriel | Orono | Traditional | |
| Lee, Jocelyn | Cape Elizabeth | Visual | |
| Odokara, Michael | Portland | Performing | |
| Haskell, Sarah | York | Craft | |
| Whitten, Tim | Deer Isle | Belvedere Craft | |
Full List of Grant Recipients - FY 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Fellowships - FY 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020
Get Started in our Grants Management System (GMS)
Apply for a Grant
Need More Help?
For General Questions:
Director of Grants & Accessibility
Kerstin Gilg: 287-6719
Help by Discipline:
Interim Media & Performing Arts Director
Meg Fournier: 287-2713
Visual Arts Director
Julie Horn: 287-2790
Arts Education Director
Martha Piscuskas: 287-2750
Traditional Arts Specialist
Kathleen Mundell: 236-6741