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NEWS: Jerome Foundation Announces $5.5 Million in Grants

by Amy Donahue -

Minnesota-based Ananya Dance Theatre (2023’s We Are The Procession by Michhil Amra pictured) is one of 79 organizations to receive support from the Jerome Foundation in the coming cycle. ADT’s award will underwrite its NextGen Choreolab program for early career, Minnesota-based choreographers. Photo by Canaan Mattson Photography.

The Jerome Foundation – a St. Paul-based charitable organization and one of Minnesota’s leading arts funders – has announced more than $5.5 million in grant awards. In the coming year, the Jerome Foundation’s Arts Organization Grants program will fund activities by 79 organizational recipients, 22 of whom are first-time recipients of this fund.

In total, $5,543,000 will be disbursed in flexible two-year grants support Minnesota and New York City-based arts organizations that offer ongoing programs, services and/or opportunities for multiple early career generative artists and culture bearers to create, develop, and present new original work.

The Jerome Foundation (f. 1964) is named after its founder James Jerome Hill II, the grandson of railroad tycoon James Jerome Hill – and an Academy Award-winning filmmaker. Originally operating as the Avon Foundation, it was renamed posthumously for its founder, and uniquely funds activities for both Minnesota and New York City artists and arts organizations. Its funded programs serve artists in and across the artistic fields of dance; film, video and digital production; literature; music; technology-centered arts; theater, performance, spoken word; and visual arts.

Funding by Artistic Field and GeographyBar chart comparing artistic disciplines, showing the $ amount for MN and NYC

The 2024–2026 cohort of grantee organizations aligns strongly with Jerome Foundation’s values of equity, defined as intersectional racial equity, diversity, risk, innovation, and humility. All grantees offer artists vital resources and opportunities and are active as part of a larger ecosystem of support for early career artists across the five boroughs of New York City and throughout urban and rural Minnesota. These grants contribute to hundreds of opportunities for artists through residencies, mentorships, fellowships, professional and new work development programs, productions, and commissions, laying the groundwork for current and future creative experiences across multiple artistic fields.

MN awardees include (but are not limited to) luminees such as Ananya Dance Theatre, The Walker Art Center, In Progress (a first-time recipient, for a program funding early career MN filmmaker activities), the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, the Loft Literary Center, the American Composers Forum, and the new music organization Zeitgeist.

Board Chair Kate Barr stated, “The board of directors is proud to support this dynamic roster of nonprofit organizations that play an essential role in nurturing and championing early career artists. Our commitment to ongoing multi-year support is a recognition of the long-term nature of these relationships and the significant impact of these organizations.”

The Minnesota-based new music ensemble Zeitgeist received a $48,000 grant to underwrite 2 years of activities supporting early career Minnesota-based composers in its SOUNDING GROUND program, and to commission and present new works for its concert season.
Photo by Zoe Prinds-Flash.

Applications were accepted through an open call process and evaluated by artists and arts professionals in each artistic field with a deep knowledge and experience of the arts ecosystems in Minnesota and New York City. Reviewers considered 4 criteria:

  • the merit of the organization’s work with early career generative artists;
  • the organizational feasibility and capacity to deliver programs and opportunities;
  • the potential impact for participating artists and the field; and
  • the demonstrated achievement in and alignment with Jerome Foundation’s core values.

The Jerome Foundation’s President & CEO, Eleanor Savage stated, “As Jerome Foundation moves into our 60th year of grantmaking, we remain committed in vision and action to investing in artists and arts organizations, supporting the invaluable roles they play in making meaning, telling untold stories, and shifting worldviews. We are honored to contribute to the vibrant creative communities in Minnesota and New York City, continuing the legacy of our founder, Jerome Hill. As we move into our next decade, we are engaged with one of the essential calls of this time—to address equity and reckon with inequity—in our grantmaking and investments.”

2024–2026 Jerome Foundation Grantee Organizations

(* indicates a new grantee)

DANCE

($688,000 to 11 organizations)

Ananya Dance Theatre, MN, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based choreographers in the NextGen Choreolab program.

* Angela’s Pulse, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based choreographers in the Dancing While Black program.

Danspace Project, NYC, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career New York City-based choreographers and movement-based artists in the Commissioning Initiative program.

Henry Street Settlement/Abrons Arts Center, NYC, received a $78,000 2-year grant ($39,000 per year) for early career New York City-based performing artists in the Performance AIRspace Residency program.

Movement Research, NYC, received a $102,000 2-year grant ($51,000 per year) for early career New York City-based choreographers, performing artists, interdisciplinary artists, and movement artists in the Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program.

MOVO Space, MN, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based choreographers and movement-based performing artists in the Major Maintenance, Company-in-Residence, Alt/Pedagogies, and MOVO Show programs.

* New York Live Arts, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based performing artists in the Fresh Tracks program.

PEPATIÁN, NYC, received a $78,000 2-year grant ($39,000 per year) for early career New York City-based generative dance artists in the Dancing Futures Residency program.

Rosy Simas Danse, MN, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based Native and BIPOC generative dance, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary artists in the Artist in Residence program.

Threads Dance Project, MN, received a $55,000 2-year grant ($27,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based choreographers with a special emphasis on BIPOC and female-identifying choreographers in the Tapestries program.

Walker Art Center, MN, received a $25,000 2-year grant ($12,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based choreographers in the Choreographers’ Evening program.

FILM, VIDEO AND DIGITAL PRODUCTION

($547,000 to 10 organizations)

* APIA MN Film Collective/Springboard for the Arts, MN, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based film directors in the Directors Lab program.

* AXS Lab, Inc., NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City and Minnesota-based filmmakers in the AXS Film Fund program.

* Black Public Media, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City and Minnesota-based filmmakers and creative technologists in the BPM Emerging Media Artist Fellowship program.

Bronx Documentary Center, NYC, received an $80,000 2-year grant ($40,000 per year) for early career New York City-based filmmakers in the BDC Films Program.

Firelight Media, NYC, received an $87,000 2-year grant ($43,500 per year) for early career New York City-based nonfiction filmmakers in the Documentary Lab program.

* In Progress, MN, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based filmmakers in the Convergence program.

SPNN/St. Paul Neighborhood Network, MN, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based documentary filmmakers in the New Angle Fellows program.

* Sundance Institute, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City and/or Minnesota-based filmmakers in the Trans Possibilities Intensive program.

* Third World Newsreel, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based filmmakers from traditionally marginalized communities, prioritizing past workshop graduates, in the TWN Advanced Production Workshop program.

Women Make Movies, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City and Minnesota-based filmmakers in the Next Steps Fellowship program.

​​​​​​​LITERATURE

($677,000 to 8 organizations)

Asian American Writers’ Workshop, NYC, received a $90,000 2-year grant ($45,000 per year) for early career New York City-based Asian American writers working on a book-length project in any genre in the Margins Fellowship program.

Cave Canem Foundation, Inc., NYC, received a $90,000 2-year grant ($45,000 per year) for early career New York City and Minnesota-based Black poets in the Cave Canem Regional Workshops and Regional Workshop Readings programs.

Feminist Press, Inc., NYC, received a $60,000 2-year grant ($30,000 per year) for early career New York City and Minnesota-based writers who identify as BIPOC, women and femmes, queer and trans people, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities or neurodiverse identities in the Emerging Feminist Writers Program.

Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, MN, received a $50,000 2-year grant ($25,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based incarcerated writers in the Mentor Program.

* More Than a Single Story, MN, received a $80,000 2-year grant ($40,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based literary artists in the genres of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and spoken word in the Black Writers Mentorship Program.

Native American Community Development Institute/All My Relations Arts, MN, received a $72,000 2-year grant ($36,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based writers in the Native Authors Program.

The Loft Literary Center, MN, received a $175,000 2-year grant ($87,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based literary artists in the Mentor Series program.

The Poetry Project, NYC, received a $60,000 2-year grant ($30,000 per year) for early career New York City-based poets, writers, and performing artists in the Emerge-Surface-Be Fellowship program.

MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES

($921,000 to 16 organizations)

Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, MN, received a $54,000 2-year grant ($27,000 per year) for early career Minnesota and New York City-based writers, visual artists, choreographers, performing artists, filmmakers, and interdisciplinary artists in the Early Career Residency Program.

* Art of the Rural, MN, received a $50,000 2-year grant ($25,000 per year) for early career Minnesota and New York City-based artists, culture bearers, and artisans in the Spillway Winona Fellowship program.

* Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based Black trans femme artists in the BTFA Productions and Artist Residency program.

BAX / Brooklyn Arts Exchange, NYC, received a $96,000 2-year grant ($48,000 per year) for early career New York City-based choreographers, playwrights, performance artists, and multidisciplinary artists in the Artist in Residence (AIR), Space Grants, EmergeNYC, and Drag Performance: Between & Beyond Gender programs.

* Culture Push, Inc., NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based multidisciplinary artists in the Fellowship for Utopian Practice program.

* Department of Public Transformation, MN, received a $50,000 2-year grant ($25,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based rural artists and culture bearers in the Ignite Rural Artists program.

Open Channels New York, Inc./dba Dixon Place, NYC, received a $60,000 2-year grant ($30,000 per year) for early career New York City-based playwrights, choreographers, and performing artists in the Commissioning and Co-Production Program.

Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc., NYC, received a $78,000 2-year grant ($39,000 per year) for early career New York City-based performance artists in the Franklin Furnace FUND for Performance Art program.

* Haiti Cultural Exchange, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based Haitian Diaspora multidisciplinary artists in the Lakou NOU (Our Yard) Artist Residency program.

Harlem Stage, Inc., NYC, received a $60,000 2-year grant ($30,000 per year) for early career New York City-based multidisciplinary artists of color in the WaterWorks commissioning program.

Indigenous Roots, MN, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary artists and culture bearers in the Early Career Artist Programs.

* Jack Arts, Inc., NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based choreographers, composers, playwrights, performing artists, and interdisciplinary artists in the JACK LABS and JACK Residencies programs.

* La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, NYC, received a $70,000 2-year grant ($35,000 per year) for early career New York City-based multidisciplinary performing artists and playwrights in the Residency Artist Program and Playwrighting Fellowship program.

Lanesboro Arts Center, MN, received a $48,000 2-year grant ($24,000 per year) for early career New York City and Minnesota-based artists in the Artist Residency program.

* Pioneers Go East Collective, Inc., NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based choreographers, performing artists, and interdisciplinary media artists in the NEXT! MENTORSHIP program.

Red Eye Collaboration, MN, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based choreographers, theater artists, performance artists, and inter-/multi-/anti-disciplinary artists in the New Works 4 Weeks, Omnivers, Tiger Balm, and Curated Rentals programs.

MUSIC

($651,000 to 8 organizations)

American Composers Forum, MN, received a $175,000 2-year grant ($87,500 per year) for early career New York City and Minnesota-based composers in the ACF | Create program.

American Composers Orchestra, NYC, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career New York City and/or Minnesota-based composers in the EarShot Readings & CoLABoratory Residency program.

International Contemporary Ensemble, NYC, received a $48,000 2-year grant ($24,000 per year) for early career New York City-based composers in the Call for ___ Commissioning program.

* Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³), NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based composers in the M³ Cohort program.

Roulette Intermedium, NYC, received a $130,000 2-year grant ($65,000 per year) for early career New York City-based composers in the Commissions and Residencies Program.

The Cedar Cultural Center, MN, received an $80,000 2-year grant ($40,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based performing artists and composers in the Cedar Commissions program.

The Jazz Gallery, NYC, received a $60,000 2-year grant ($30,000 per year) for early career New York City-based jazz composers in the Residency Commissions program.

Zeitgeist, MN, received a $48,000 2-year grant ($24,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based composers in the SOUNDING GROUND program, and commissioning and presenting for Zeitgeist’s concert season.

TECHNOLOGY-CENTERED ARTS

($72,000 to one organization)

Eyebeam Atelier, Inc., NYC, received a $72,000 2-year grant ($36,000 per year) for early career New York City-based artists working with technology in The Democracy Machine fellowship program.

THEATER, PERFORMANCE, SPOKEN WORD

($961,000 to 12 organizations)

* Exposed Brick Theatre, MN, received a $50,000 2-year grant ($25,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based playwrights of the global majority in the Through Our Eyes Cohort program.

Monkeybear’s Harmolodic Workshop, MN, received a $48,000 2-year grant ($24,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based puppeteers and artists from other disciplines in the Puppet Performance Intensive, New Puppet Works, Monkeybear Workshops, Puppet Cinema, and Iron Puppeteer programs.

Musical Theatre Factory, NYC, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career New York City-based musical theatre makers and creators in the MTF Makers program.

National Black Theatre, NYC, received a $80,000 2-year grant ($40,000 per year) for early career New York City-based playwrights in the I am Soul Playwright Residency program.

Open Eye Theatre, MN, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based generative puppetry and mask artists in the Puppet Lab program.

Pangea World Theater, MN, received a $60,000 2-year grant ($30,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based generative performing artists and interdisciplinary artists in the Seeding Change Institute program.

Pillsbury House + Theatre, MN, received a $175,000 2-year grant ($87,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based generative performance artists, playwrights, and multidisciplinary artists in the Naked Stages, New Works, and Maker Series programs.

Playwrights’ Center, MN, received a $175,000 2-year grant ($87,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based playwrights in the Jerome Fellowship, Many Voices Fellowship, and Many Voices Mentorship programs.

Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based performing artists working in theater, music, dance, and multidisciplinary practices in the Step Up: Artist In Residence program.

Rattlestick Theater, NYC, received a $78,000 2-year grant ($39,000 per year) for early career New York City-based playwrights of color under 30 in the Van Lier New Voices Fellowship program.

Soho Repertory Theatre, Inc., NYC, received a $65,000 2-year grant ($32,500 per year) for early career New York City-based playwrights in the productions, Studio commissions and workshops, Project Number One, and the Writer Director Lab programs.

Theater Mu, MN, received a $75,000 2-year grant ($37,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based playwrights in the Mu Tang Clan and new play development programs.

VISUAL ARTS

($1,026,000 to 13 organizations)

Forecast Public Art, MN, received a $60,000 2-year grant ($30,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based visual artists, performance artists, composers, muralists, sculptors, interdisciplinary artists, social/community engaged artists, and projection/digital artists in the Project Grant program and Research and Development Grant program.

Highpoint Center for Printmaking, MN, received a $48,000 2-year grant ($24,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based visual artists in the Jerome Early Career Printmakers Residency program.

* Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, NYC, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career New York City-based visual artists in the ARTWorks program.

Minneapolis College of Art and Design, MN, received a $200,000 2-year grant ($100,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based visual artists in the MCAD-Jerome Foundation Fellowships for Early Career Artists program.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts, MN, received a $58,000 2-year grant ($29,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based visual artists and interdisciplinary artists in the Book Arts Residency Program and Book Arts Mentorship Program.

* Minnesota Museum of American Art, MN, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based visual artists in the Queering Indigeneity exhibition and the Here Now program.

Public Functionary, MN, received a $70,000 2-year grant ($35,000 per year) for early career Minnesota-based visual artists in the PF Studios Incubator Residency program.

Queens Museum, NYC, received a $174,000 2-year grant ($87,000 per year) for early career New York City-based visual artists in the QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists program.

Smack Mellon, NYC, received a $55,000 2-year grant ($27,500 per year) for early career New York City-based visual artists in the Artist Studio Program.

* Soomaal House of Art, MN, received a $45,000 2-year grant ($22,500 per year) for early career Minnesota-based Somali-American visual artists in the Aragti Wadaag Residency program.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts, NYC, received a $70,000 2-year grant ($35,000 per year) for early career New York City-based visual artists and interdisciplinary artists in the AIM Fellowship program.

The Laundromat Project, NYC, received a $90,000 2-year grant ($45,000 per year) for early career New York City-based artists of color working within their communities on the development of participatory and community-attuned creative projects in the Create Change Residency Program.

The Studio Museum in Harlem, NYC, received a $66,000 2-year grant ($33,000 per year) for early career New York City-based visual artists of African and Afro-Latinx descent in the Artist in Residence Program.

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