Have a Tacoma Arts Idea? The City Has $4,000 or $6,000 to Help

What might Tacoma’s next memorable arts event look like? It could be a dance performance in a park, a neighborhood festival or a workshop that invites residents to make something together. The City is accepting proposals to help bring projects like those to life in 2027.

Through its Community Arts Projects program, applicants can request either $4,000 or $6,000. The money is intended to help Tacoma-based organizations and groups produce arts programming accessible to the public. Projects must take place within Tacoma and be completed between January 1 and December 31, 2027.

The possibilities span artistic disciplines. The City lists performances, festivals, workshops, presentations and other public experiences among the kinds of projects the program can support. A proposal can cover one event or a closely related series.

Past recipients offer a clearer picture. The City’s 2026 list includes Hilltop Artists’ glass art for the Monkeyshines treasure hunt, Barefoot Collective’s Dancing in the Park and Black Night Market’s poetry, markets and art events. Those are examples of earlier awards, not a prescribed format for new applicants.

Applicants need not be large nonprofits. Organized groups can apply without 501(c) status or a fiscal sponsor. Eligible applicants can also include businesses or educational institutions producing a project that is nonprofit in nature, as well as tribes and Native nonprofit organizations. The applicant must have a Tacoma place of business or, without one, conduct most of its activities within city limits.

The award is seed money, so the City encourages applicants to build a realistic budget and consider other funding. Admission can be charged if the proposal demonstrates a public benefit. The artistic or cultural work itself must be created, made or performed by people.

This is a competitive process, and funding depends on City Council approval of the budget. Among the priorities for 2027 is a new emphasis on applicants that are not currently funded through Tacoma Creates. That may matter to smaller groups looking for a way to put a public project on the calendar.

Prospective applicants can get help before submitting. A free virtual workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The City says it will record the session and post it on its arts opportunities page.

Applications are due Monday, October 26, at 11:59 p.m. Groups should read the 2027 guidelines on the City’s funding page before applying through the online portal. Questions can go to funding manager Naomi Strom-Avila at [email protected] or (253) 591-5191.