Grants + Residencies + Festivals Calendar

MASSCreative Creative Sector Day Performance Opportunity

MASSCreative seeks artists, cultural organizations, and creative businesses across disciplines to join us as featured exhibitors and performers during the 2026 Creative Sector Day at the State House on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.

Creative Sector Day at the State House is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions that artists, creatives, sector leaders, and cultural organizations make in Massachusetts. Throughout the day, we will stage performances, displays, and demonstrations by members of the creative sector in the Great Hall and the Grand Staircase areas of the State House. Performances and displays will be open to the public from 1 – 3 PM and all selected participants will receive a $300 stipend for their work.

Only Massachusetts-based artists, cultural organizations, and creative businesses are eligible to apply to perform or exhibit at Creative Sector Day.

Applications will be reviewed and selected by an advisory group consisting of artists residing in Massachusetts.

Application deadline: Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 5 PM.

BoSoma Dance Company Seeking Guest Performer

BoSoma Dance Company is seeking a Guest Performer to present original work in our upcoming performance IN THE BALANCE, taking place on Saturday, March 21st at 7:30 PM and Sunday, March 22nd at 2:00 PM at Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. Selected artists must be available for a required tech/dress rehearsal on Saturday, March 21st at approximately 5:00 PM. We welcome submissions of finished or in-progress works that are no longer than 8 minutes in length and include a clear written description of the concept behind the piece. Works may be in any dance style and should be a group piece. If selected, artists must provide a final video of their piece by February 15th. This is a non-compensated performance opportunity intended to support visibility for artists in our industry. To apply, please read the show description below and complete the form that follows. Thank you for your interest in sharing your work with BoSoma Dance Company!

Application deadline: Thursday, January 15, 2026.

Cambridge Community Fund Grant

The Cambridge Community Foundation supports community-based nonprofit organizations that address local challenges and foster opportunities across the community. Community Fund grants make investments in many areas, including arts and culture, child and youth development, community building and engagement, economic security, education, environment, food, health and wellbeing, and housing.

Applications deadline: Thursday, January 15, 2026.

Better Beaches Grant

Since 2008, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay has partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to award small grants to local organizations and artists to activate the region’s public beaches through free events and programs on DCR beaches in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy, and Hull.

The goal of the Better Beaches Grant Program is to give decision-making power directly to community members over community spaces. We do this by allocating state funds to organizations and individuals to host free events and programs on public beaches. It creates opportunities for people who may not already be visiting the beach, or who face barriers to accessing the beach, to enjoy these shared waterfront spaces.

Whether you are part of an organization, collective, or are a creative individual with a vision for a more diverse and activated waterfront, the Better Beaches Grant Program may be for you! Grant applicants can come from any community, so long as their proposed event takes place on one of our region’s public DCR beaches from Nahant down to Hull.

For the 2026 beach season, we will be allocating over $300,000 in small grants ranging from $2,500 – $8,500 per grantee.

Applications deadline: Saturday, January 31, 2026 at 11:59PM.

Urbanity X Residency Program

Urbanity’s annual residency program, Urbanity X, aims to elevate promising movement artists to the next level in their careers by providing multi-layered support, including dedicated rehearsal space, a substantial stipend, a performance opportunity, technical support, administrative support, and mentorship.

New in 2026! Urbanity will host five artists from two different tracks, selecting three applicants from the Urbanity X Dancemaker track and two from the Urbanity X Community track. About the tracks:

Urbanity X Dancemaker: Designed for dancemakers who could use a boost to propel their choreographic career forward, with free access to studio space and upfront cash. Artists need not propose to include a community event, and may use the funds for whatever they need most… process, documentation, an in-house performance, etc. Applicants will be selected for their unique movement qualities and innovation, as well as their technical prowess in their own dance lineages, ranging from street to studio to social styles. Events for the community may be included and support the Dancemaker’s application, but need not be the primary focus of the proposal.

Urbanity X Community: Designed for artists who have a proposal to use the space and stipend to directly benefit the community, as defined by the Boston dance community, the local South End/Lower Roxbury community, or another defined segment. Examples could include free/sliding scale movement workshops, offerings to support shared challenges through the art of dance, teaching/educational sessions, connect and share shops; the sky is the limit! Note that both individual artists and collectives may apply. Grantees will not be selected based on a past repertory of produced work or technical abilities in any style, but rather on the contribution of the proposed offering for the community.

Application deadline: Sunday, February 1, 2026

Artist Residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery

In 2014, Mount Auburn became the first cemetery in the United States to establish an artist residency program. Each year, the chosen artists are offered grants (ranging from $500-$4,000) and are charged with creating an original, site-specific work inspired by an in-depth experience at the Cemetery. The grant must result in a deliverable product, program, or event that is unique to Mount Auburn Cemetery.

Application Deadline: Sunday, February 1, 2026.

MIDDAY Rough Drafts Program

Rough Drafts is a choreographic development lab and teaching residency in support of the development of new and reimagined work for Massachusetts based movement artists. Produced by Midday Movement Series (“MIDDAY”), Rough Drafts values iterative creative processes, with a focus on bolstering potential for success and career longevity, especially for BIPOC, low-income, and other marginalized artists. With local funding often prioritizing new and/or finalized work, and with rising costs of living and artistic resources, dance artists are often pushed to focus on product, letting incubation fall by the wayside. Long-term, this pattern shrinks and homogenizes our local field, depriving us of cultural and creative diversity, not to mention equity.

This program includes a teaching residency of 7 classes, an in-studio informal showing with a moderated post-show discussion, a production vision meeting, and will culminates in a final showcase, where each artist will present up to 30 minutes of material in a semi-produced split-bill show.

Application deadline: Thursday, February 5, 2026.

National Dance Project Production Grant

NDP Production Grants annually support the creation/development and U.S. touring/sharing of new dance projects.

In recognition of NDP’s 30 years of dedicated service to the field of dance, this year’s Production Grant cycle will award 30 NDP Production Grantees and 30 NDP Finalists. Artists/choreographers and/or companies/collectives apply to receive a framework of support that includes: $45,000 for the creation of a new dance project; $10,000 in general operating support for the artist/company; and $20,000 to support a U.S. tour of the project

Creation funds and general operating funds are paid directly to the artist/company or their fiscal sponsor to cover expenses related to making the new dance project during the creation period (defined as the period from the receipt of funds to the premiere of the performative work).

Application deadline: Monday, March 16, 2026 at 11:59PM.