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For immediate release: 

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 Summer/Fall 2025 

Louisville, KY (May 15, 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. 

“It is so exciting to share that this is, by far, the largest number of recipients for this award in a single round,” said Fund for the Arts President and CEO Andre Kimo Stone Guess. “We are so grateful for the support from our generous donors, including LG&E, as well as the investment from changemakers and artists in our community who put on these events. Together, we are making it even easier for everyone in our city to access arts programming.”  

“We know that neighbors go beyond people who live on your block,” said Sarah Lindgren, VP, Community Investment & Support at Fund for the Arts. “The Community Event Mini-Grant program is ever-evolving based on the feedback we receive from our grantees, review panelists, stakeholders, and more. Based on that feedback, we are excited to continue expanding the meaning of ‘community’ to be more inclusive of the many ways people come together.”  

A grant review panel of nine external community members provided written qualitative and quantitative feedback on each application and made recommendations on funding. Twenty-three events in nine Louisville Metro Council districts (1,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15) and one in Clermont, KY have been awarded support for a total investment of $59,950.  

Interested in participating in a Grant Review Panel with Fund for the Arts? Click here to learn more.  

“Louisville UnFair is a tradition that’s become a staple of the fall calendar—something locals look forward to year after year,” said Louisville UnFair Board President Nick Knight. “This grant from Fund for the Arts helps us grow in ways we’ve only dreamed of, while staying true to our roots. It allows us to remove barriers for underrepresented artists and keep bold, accessible art at the heart of Louisville’s creative scene.” 

This round of the Mini-Grant application closed April 17, 2025. The Community Event Mini-Grant application is available on a rolling basis, with funds awarded 4 times throughout a calendar year. 

“Joyride! is a homecoming, an installation of the joy that once was in the Shawnee neighborhood,” said Harvey & Hurston owner and Leader Maya White. “It is a day to reclaim our community, build new memories, and share the old ones from Fontaine “Fountain” Ferry Roller Rink. This grant elevates West End residents’ desire and need of recreational third spaces for our leisure and joy.” 

Details on the grant recipients and their events:   

  1. Change Today, Change Tomorrow presents the Youth Advisory Council Event Series, featuring a vibrant fusion of live performances, visual arts, and interactive creative stations, in California Park, 1600 St. Catherine Street, on June 1 from 3 – 7 pm and August 10 from 3 – 7 pm.  
  2. Cathy Batscha and The Monarch present the Community Jazz Jam and Potluck, promoting appreciation for improvisational music and providing networking and performance opportunities to Louisville musicians, at The Monarch Music & Arts Community on June 8 & 22, July 13 & 27, August 10 & 24.  
  3. NouLou Chamber Players presents “Helen and Nora: A Musical Journey and Hands-On Adventure,” showcasing two women who lived at Oxmoor Farm and what life on Oxmoor Farm was like for them as women during these two different time periods, at Oxmoor Farm on June 16 at 3 pm and July 7 at 10 am. 
  4. Bernheim Forest and Arboretum, in partnership with Kentucky Refugee Ministries, presents a Solstice L+A+N+D Public Activation Day, celebrating Bernheim’s new arts experience showcasing large-scale, immersive, outdoor installations addressing the connection of Landscape + Art + Nature + Design. Join us for an afternoon of engaging activities, music, and bike riding on Saturday, June 21, from 1 – 4 pm. 
  5. Vashti Proctor presents Hip Hop In The Park, a free outdoor music series, at Alberta O. Jones Park on June 21, July 26, and August 30 from 3 – 7 pm.  
  6. Glenn MacRae presents “The Biz” – Music Business Workshop Series for Louisville Music Creators at The Monarch Music & Arts Community on Saturdays, 1 – 4 pm, from mid-June through mid-October.  
  7. OneWest and The Healing Walls Project present “Taste the Future: A Celebration of Culture, Business, and Progress,” a dynamic, one-day community event highlighting the innovation, small business development, and community engagement that the neighborhood represents, along the corridor between Broadway and Muhammad Ali Blvd on June 28 from 1 – 4 pm.
  8. Mary Jefferson and See A Need, Fill A Need Corporation (SANFAN) present “It’s a Family Affair: Dance Movement,” a 2-hour children and families arts excursion that explores hip hop, contemporary dance movement and storytelling. A group Flash Mob choreographed routine will close out the immersive dance experience. All ages are welcome at the Louisville Free Public Library Main Branch on July 19, 2 – 4 pm.  
  9. ChoZen Inc and Side by Side Studios present “Unbroken: Women Rising Through Resistance & Healing,” a series of workshops for women and their families, on July 20 from 2:30 – 4:30 pm at 252b Frankfort Avenue, September 21 from 2:30 – 4:30 pm at 1800 Algonquin Parkway, and December 7 from 2:30 – 4:30 pm at 5008 E. Indiana Trail. 
  10. She Dreams Entertainment presents a series of Louisville TV/Film/Script Table Reads open to local actors and filmmakers this July or August, time and locations TBA via www.kentuckyfilmandtv.com.   
  11. Shively Farmers & Artisans Market and Luminary Comity present the Shively Farmers & Artisans Market Community Fun Days at 2627 Crums Lane from 10 am – 2 pm on August 2 and October 25.  
  12. West End Women’s Collaborative and the Chickasaw Neighborhood Federation present the 8th of August Emancipation Day Celebration, a celebration of Kentucky’s Emancipation Day in the style of a family reunion, at the New Covenant Baptist Church (1109 S 40th Street) on August 7 from 5 – 8 pm and ELAhouse (3835 Hale Avenue) on August 8 from 5 – 8 pm. 
  13. Dasia Woods presents Soul of the Renaissance: A Celebration of Black Art, a showcase and celebration of local Black artists, on either August 16 or 23 from 7 – 10 pm, location TBA.  
  14. Breath of the Wild and Mindful Moments present Sacred Flow: An Immersive Art and Healing Experience on August 23rd from 2 – 5 pm.  
  15. Waterfront Botanical Gardens presents the 3rd Annual Kaleidoscope Family Festival, encouraging guests to see the world Through the Lens of Plants, on August 23, 10 am – 4 pm. 
  16. Louisville Central Community Centers Inc. Present LCCC Kids Education and Arts Academy 2025 Summer Showcase, featuring visual arts, drama, dance, music and science presentations, at the Grand Lyric Theatre in August or September (date and time TBA).  
  17. Harvey & Hurston and Partners presents Joyride!: an intergenerational joyful experience of an outdoor skating rink at Shawnee Park in remembrance of Fontaine “Fountain” Ferry Roller Rink in the Shawnee Neighborhood on September 6 from 4 – 8 pm. 
  18. Frazier History Museum and La Casita Center present Free Family Day at the Frazier, featuring an art exhibition of local Latiné/Latinx artists curated by La Casita Center, on September 13 from 10 am – 2 pm. 
  19. México Lindo and Kentucky Performing Arts present “México, A Resilient Nation Built on Dances and Traditions,” showcasing the rich traditions of Mexican heritage through traditional dance, authentic attires, music, and storytelling, in the Bomhard Theatre at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts on October 4 at 7 pm.
  20. Louisville UnFair Inc and Magnolia Bar present the 2025 Louisville UnFair, a three-day, grassroots arts festival of local and underrepresented artists, at Magnolia Bar on October 3 – 5, 10 am – 6 pm daily. 
  21. Janan Sarwar of Salaam Storytime Inc. and Latasha Brown of Global Lofts present Louisville International Table, an immersive celebration of global cultures through food, storytelling, and visual art, at the Ntaba Coffee House, coming in October. 
  22. Louisville Makes Games and RunJumpDev present Game Harvest, an exhibition of locally made video games, board games, interactive art installations, and visual art, at the Baird Urban Sports Park downtown this fall (late October/early November, TBA).  
  23. Sonya Hensley will present Sonya Hensley One Woman Show (title subject to change) on November 20 and 21, location TBA.  

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/. 

Images available upon request.

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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