Tory Parker
Director of Marketing and Communications | Fund for the Arts
Tparker@fundforthearts.org
502-882-8697
Fund for the Arts Announces Recipients of the Community Event Mini-Grant for Fall/Winter 2025
Louisville, KY (August 21, 2025) – Fund for the Arts is proud to announce the latest recipients of the Community Event Mini-Grant as part of the Fund’s Arts in Neighborhoods initiative.
The Community Event Mini-Grants support arts organizations, businesses, neighborhood associations, individual artists, groups of artists, non-arts nonprofits, and community-based organizations with project expenses associated with presenting multigenerational, free community gatherings incorporating arts components. A community can be tied to a specific geographic location in Louisville and/or can be linked by a common interest or identity.
“All art is good food and good medicine—it nourishes our spirits and strengthens our communities, even in the midst of uncertainty and challenging times,” said Fund for the Arts President and CEO Andre Kimo Stone Guess. “In every brushstroke, beat, and performance, there’s an opportunity to connect, to grow, and to imagine more. These mini-grant recipients are creating moments of joy and meaning across our city, and we’re so grateful to our donors for helping make that possible.”
A grant review panel of ten external community members provided written qualitative and quantitative feedback on the applications and made recommendations on funding. Nine events in four Louisville Metro Council districts (1,4,6, & 14) have been awarded support for a total investment of $18,500.
Interested in participating in a Grant Review Panel with Fund for the Arts? Click here to learn more.
“Since 2016, The Chamber Theatre has produced work that recognizes the place of especially (but not exclusively) women in society, promoting the idea that we have opportunities to make better decisions and choices, so collaborating with the Arthur S. Kling Old Louisville Community Center is a fitting choice for a Free community Preview of The Harlan Women,” said Michelle Lori, artistic co-director, The Chamber Theatre. “The Fund for the Arts Community Event Mini-Grant allows both nonprofits to bring a live theatre experience to a population that may not have the opportunity to experience it otherwise.”
This round of the Mini-Grant application closed July 3, 2025. The Community Event Mini-Grant application is available on a rolling basis, with funds awarded 4 times throughout a calendar year.
“The Food Literacy Project’s Youth Community Agriculture Program crew is planning their 3rd annual Healing Week to take place during the JCPS fall break. This is an opportunity for young folks, families and all members of the community to make connections and explore a variety of healing strategies in a safe and beautiful green space surrounded by the abundance of an urban vegetable farm,” said Grace Mican, Director of Impact and Resource Cultivation at The Food Literacy Project. “Participants will show their inner child some love, get creative, try new foods, and experience the healing power of community.”
Details on the grant recipients and their events:
- The Chamber Theatre presents The Harlan Women, a stage play with music in partnership with the Arthur S. Kling Old Louisville Community Center for local seniors and their care partners. The free performance will include refreshments and a post-performance discussion with the artists at the Kling Center on August 29 at 7 pm.
- Mahogany Mayfield presents the Vibez, Feels & Movement workshops series, intended to be a safe space centering joy, care, and community-building, and featuring different local creatives in every session. The workshops will be at Our Place at Ben Washer Park (533 W Kentucky Street) in the Limerick Neighborhood on September 14, October 12, November 16, and December 14, time TBA.
- The Food Literacy Project presents the Youth Community Agriculture Program’s Annual Healing Week, a 3-day event developed by the young people of YCAP for the entire community, centered around healing your inner child, art therapy, community, and food, at The Food Literacy Project Farm (End of Paradise Lane, Louisville, KY 40258) from September 30 – October 2, 5 – 6:30 pm.
- Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, E&S Gallery, and OKIKE present Artists & Afros 2025, a fine arts exhibition uplifting the work of local, innovative artists, at Norton Healthcare Sports and Center (3029 W Muhammad Ali Blvd) on October 4 & 5, 10 am – 6 pm.
- T for Talking presents T for Talking LIVE: Community Voice Salon, a free, public, multigenerational gathering that merges spoken word, storytelling, print arts, and digital media to celebrate Black feminist voice and build momentum for local cultural organizing, hosted by Taylor Ryan, Cultural Strategist and Founder of Change Today, Change Tomorrow. This event takes place at Presley Post (734 W Main Street, Suite 106) on October 24, 6 – 9 pm.
- Youngblood Harmonizing Arts invites community members to join together to create a supportive environment embracing wellness and connection through shared experiences. Take Care: A Restorative Retreat of Yoga, Mindful Mobility, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Rejuvenating Sound, Visual and Culinary Arts will take place at 1718 Jefferson Building in the Russell Neighborhood on Saturday, November 8, 9 am – 5 pm.
- Boys & Girls Club of Kentuckiana presents the Boys & Girls Club Mental Health Summit, a full-day community event centered on promoting mental wellness for youth and families, featuring Neal Sullivan of Eye Have Hope facilitating sessions on art as a tool for healing, Exploited Children’s Help Organization and others. This event takes place at the Parkland Boys & Girls Club (3200 Greenwood Ave) on November 8, time TBA.
- Megan Massie, Cassie Boblitt, and Deborah Sawyer (of the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs) present the Kentucky premiere of George Brant’s Grounded, a one-woman play that shines a light on the female soldier experience, with a post-show discussion that seeks to amplify female veterans’ voices, destigmatize mental health struggles and provide community resources for veterans and their families, on November 13, 7:30 pm, at the University of Louisville Thrust Theatre.
- We Are Children With a Purpose, Inc. presents We Can Achieve Winter Arts Festival, a culmination of integrated arts workshops and activities from We Can Achieve After School Program that provides a segue-way for personal development, arts scholarship, and skills development. Takes place at Hotel Louisville (126 W Broadway) on December 13 at 4 pm.
For further information on each upcoming event, please visit the websites and/or social media channels for the organizers. For further information about grants and funding opportunities or partnerships with Fund for the Arts, visit fundforthearts.org/funding/ or sign up for Arts Scoop email newsletter at fundforthearts.org/arts-scoop/.
The Community Event Mini-Grant is powered by the support of LG&E and KU Company.
IN THE NEWS: “Applications are open for a new ‘mini grant’ program for cultural events in Greater Louisville neighborhoods” | Stephanie Wolfe for Louisville Public Media; January 5, 2023
“11 neighborhood events in Louisville get cash through mini-grants” | Breya Jones for Louisville Public Media; May 2, 2023
“Free arts events in Louisville get a budget boost from mini-grant program” | Breya Jones for Louisville Public Media; April 5, 2024
ABOUT FUND FOR THE ARTS
Fund for the Arts is a regional nonprofit with the mission to contribute to the overall health and well-being of our community by generating resources for, investing in, and supporting our local arts, artists, and arts organizations. The Fund envisions a healthy and vibrant community where everyone embraces the art that exists in our lives every day, everyone contributes to the well-being of our arts community, and it is understood that everyone belongs to the arts community. The organization facilitates the largest arts grant program in Greater Louisville and it conducts one of the two oldest united arts campaigns in the country. For more information, visit www.fundforthearts.org
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