$ City of Lansing Mini Pocket Grants 

$ MCACA Minigrants Round 2

$ Kars4Kids Small Educational Grants

$ Arts Midwest Shakespeare in American Communities

$ NEA Creative Forces Community Engagement Grants

$ Barbara Deming Memorial Fund: Money for Women

$ Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant Program

$ Black Artist Fund (ongoing)

The Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP), the Lansing Poetry Club and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) Center for Poetry at Michigan State University are seeking applicants for the 2022-2024 Lansing Poet Laureate position. The Lansing Poet Laureate engages the tri-county community in the literary arts to promote poetry as an art form, expand access to the literary arts, connect the community to poetry, and showcase poetry as a literary voice that contributes to a greater sense of place. As an ambassador for poetry throughout the tri-county region, the Lansing Poet Laureate serves a 2-year term and receives a $2,000 yearly stipend from LEAP. The appointed Poet Laureate will help shape the scope of work to reflect personal interests, skills and abilities through projects that leave a tangible impression, product, program or placemaking initiative of the work accomplished. Application deadline is Feb. 7, 2022, at 5 p.m. Learn more.

The City of Lansing and the Arts Council Greater Lansing announce the 2022 Arts Impact Project Pitch. The Arts Impact Project is a "pitch-style" event, in which interested parties can share their creative impact idea with the Arts Impact panel. The creative impact idea can be any project to elevate and showcase the artistic excellence in the City of Lansing, such as a mural festival, a community tile project, or an iconic sculpture (all previous Impact projects). One award of $75,000 will be made to an individual, group of creatives, arts organization or non-profit organization for a large scale, high impact permanent arts project to be completed within the City of Lansing. The event will be held at MICA Gallery in Old Town Lansing on Dec. 8, 2021, from 5 - 7 p.m. Learn more.

Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey, Michigan, seeks entries for its upcoming art exhibitions, "This is Home" and "Open Doors," to be held Jan. 15 - March 5, 2022. A total amount of $1,000 will be awarded for each exhibit. All media are welcome. A $35 entry fee is required. Discounts available for members. Application deadline is Nov. 29, 2021. Learn more.

The City of Cape Girardeau Public Art Committee, in collaboration with the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, is currently searching for applicants for the 9th Annual Cape Girardeau Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition! The exhibition spans the Broadway Corridor, a nine-block span in historic downtown Cape Girardeau, Missouri. This area is home to locally-owned businesses that bring flavor and matchless experiences. Places such as City Hall, The Federal Courthouse, Southeast Missouri State University, the Marquette Tech District and Media Row are also found in Cape Girardeau’s downtown. Application deadline is Dec. 8, 2021. Learn more.

Drury University announces a call to artists for its juried art exhibition, "Unmasking Ourselves: Celebrating our Differences and Challenging Misconceptions," to be held Feb. 4 - 25, 2022, at the Pool Art Center Gallery in Springfield, Missouri. This national juried exhibition is an opportunity for artists to reflect on their identities and their communities. The theme is intended to both celebrate differences as well as confront misconceptions. They will be accepting artwork from artists of all different backgrounds. There is no identity requirement to submit work; however, they are looking to display work about all different kinds of identity. All types of work and styles accepted. No entry fee. Application deadline is Dec. 6, 2021. Learn more.

J. Mane Gallery invites submissions for its online juried art exhibition, "Elements of Nature," to open beginning Jan. 1 2022. The elements of nature are fourfold, wind/air, water, earth & fire. Artists are invited to submit work that best represents one or all of these elements. Mediums include painting, drawing, pastels, inks, pencil, encaustic, photography, mixed media and digital art. Both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art is accepted. Cash awards may be given to the top three winners. The First Place winner will be the featured artist on the website for the duration of the exhibition. An entry fee of $20 for up to five images is required. Application deadline is Dec. 23, 2021. Learn more.

The Chateau Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky, announces a call to artists for its upcoming art exhibition, "The Uncanny," to be held Dec. 17, 2021 - Feb. 1, 2022. Open to artists age 18 and older. Original 2-D artworks created through the media of painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, assemblage, collage and mixed media will be considered. All submissions require a $20 entry fee. Application deadline is Dec. 1, 2021. Learn more.

University of North Carolina Asheville announces a call to artists for its 13th annual contemporary drawing juried art exhibition. "Drawing Discourse" will be held Jan. 14 - Feb. 11, 2022, at S. Tucker Cooke Gallery. A total of $2000 in cash awards and a purchase prize will be given. Additionally, a full-color catalogue will be produced. In an effort to support the breadth in contemporary drawing, media is open to any traditional or experimental drawing media welcoming both two or three-dimensional works, video and/or installation as long as it can fit through a doorway opening that measures 67" width x 117" height. A submission fee of $30 for one image, $5 for each additional image is required. Application deadline is Dec. 12, 2021. Learn more.

Arts Council Greater Lansing announces a free grant workshop for the Round-2 Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) Minigrants. Join membership and program manager Taylor Haslett at the Brew Cafe, 610 N. Cretys Rd., Lansing, Michigan, 48917, on Dec. 16, 2021, at noon. A Zoom option will also be available. Please contact Taylor at taylor@lansingarts.org for more information and to register.

Nonprofit Tech for Good presents its "Website & Email Marketing Best Practices for Nonprofits" webinar. This is the first of three webinars in a blog and webinar series called "101 Digital Marketing Best Practices for Nonprofits." Those who register for all three webinars will earn a Certificate in Digital Marketing & Fundraising from Nonprofit Tech for Good. This webinar will be held Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, at 1 p.m. EST and will be presented by Heather Mansfield, Nonprofit Tech for Good founder.

Cost is $30. Learn more.

Springboard for the Arts presents: "Work of Art: Engaging Customers & Selling Your Work." In this Unit 12 of the Work of Art series, you will learn tools and techniques to communicate the value of your work to potential customers. The "Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists" series is a professional development curriculum designed to teach business skills to artists in all disciplines. Meetings are designed to be a collaborative event with all participants being able to turn on their video and audio, and see who else is in attendance. This event will be held on Dec. 2, 2021, from 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. EST. It can be attended for free using a cell phone or landline number and does not require videoconferencing equipment or an internet connection. Learn more.

Forbes Nonprofit blog: "Eight Ways To Improve Productivity In Day-To-Day Nonprofit Operations," by Forbes Nonprofit Council. Excerpt: "Time waste can become a substantial drain of resources, which can be a big problem for nonprofit organizations. However, small changes offer respite for nonprofit professionals with limited time. There are plenty of simple ways to improve productivity in the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit organization. Below, eight members of Forbes Nonprofit Council share their best tips on how to do just that." Read more.

Host Robin Miner-Swartz and local artist Brian Whitfield talk about Brian's foray into painting murals, his contributions to the Greater Lansing landscape and how public art, especially colorful murals, help to connect people to their communities and build a sense of pride.

Brian also shares how participating in the mural festival in Jackson, Michigan, allowed him to make his own important connections with other artists. Listen here!

Is the 517 Living Calendar on your radar? It is a great place to not only find out what is happening in arts and culture in our region, it is also where you should be posting all of your events, sales, exhibitions, studio tours and anything else related to your organization or arts business.

Get the word out about what you are doing, and find out what all of your fellow artists and arts and culture organizations have going on so you can support local and make connections. The Arts Council is a proud sponsor and partner with 517 Living and love having their calendar represented on our events page of our website. Have a look!

Arts Midwest is seeking a diverse mix of art professionals and knowledgeable laypersons from across the United States for three panels: NEA Big Read; Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools; and Shakespeare in American Communities: Juvenile Justice. 

If you’re interested in providing input and guiding our grant selection process for these community and education-focused programs, this opportunity could be perfect for you! Details at-a-glance: One year term, 24-hour (cumulative) commitment; $500 honorarium; Networking opportunities; Submit the application form by December 31, 2021. Learn more.

City Pulse, Lansing’s weekly alternative newspaper, is looking for a new arts & entertainment editor. if you can write well, accurately and in depth, uncover what's new in town, assign stories to contributors, edit stories and meet deadlines, City Pulse wants to talk to you! A journalism background is preferred, but they will train the right person. This is an equal opportunity job search. Email a cover letter, resume and writing samples (no more than five) to publisher@lansingcitypulse.com Email any questions there as well. Learn more.

If you have a call to artists, a position or internship opening or are looking for volunteers, please let us know. Email the Arts Council at dawn@lansingarts.org to list your opportunity in our next Creative Connection. And please SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with us! We are always looking for photos of creative connections to add to this newsletter. Tell us what you are up to, and we will let everyone know. (Photo by Jena Hovey of McShane Photography)

This is just a little friendly reminder that the Arts Council team will be taking some time off in honor of the upcoming holiday season. Therefore we will not be available on the following dates:

We hope you all enjoy some creative, restful and restorative time during the upcoming holidays. Feel free to contact us, and we will get back to you when we are holding regular office hours. Drop us a line!