The City Council and Arts Commission recognizes and supports artists who push the boundaries of creative expression, anchor our Laguna Beach community, and advance the creative field. The Artistic Innovation Grants for Artists encourages the spirit of experimentation and exploration, exclusively engaging artists in Laguna Beach.

Deadline: January 10, 2025

This grant program offers grants between $5,000 and $30,000 to support the art-making process and premiere of these endeavors. This program has been made possible through the generous support of the lodging establishments and City of Laguna Beach.

Eligibility:  pen to Emerging, Mid-Career and Established Artist who reside, work, or exhibit in Laguna Beach. Applicants must be 18 years and older by the application due date. Proof of eligibility will be required. Demonstrate through a professional resume detail of engagement in a creative practice prior to the application due date.

Artists may apply in one career tier only.
The judging panel may alter the applicants tier during the review process if believed based on submitted applications a reclassification is applicable.

Honorariums:
Emerging Artists – $5,000 – $10,000 Emerging artists are those in the beginning stages of making their work public and engaging the larger community in their practice. Individuals in this tier may have had a few public showings of their work but have demonstrated potential and vision with a strong commitment to artistic growth.

Mid-Career Artists – $10,000 – $20,000 Artists in this tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice. Artists will have had several years of experience, demonstrated public engagement and have a clear impact of the proposed project on career development.

Established Artists – $20,000 – $30,000 Artists in this tier can identify a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period, that has engaged their communities and that has made a significant social impact. Artists must demonstrate artistic excellence, and their project make wide-reaching cultural and community impact.

The 2025 Innovation Grant for Artists project is one that has in-person experiences of art, art making, or artists at the heart of the initiative and introduces a new or original idea or product to the applicant’s audience. Engagement through feature presentation and outreach included but is not limited to performance, publication, lecture/demonstration, exhibition, masterclass and/or workshop.

Applications will be accepted through January 10, 2025, for project occurring between April 1, 2025, and April 30, 2027. Awards will be reviewed by the Arts Commission on March 10, 2025, and awards announced March 17, 2025 (these dates are subject to change.) Each applicant may submit one application. At the conclusion of the program grant recipients will be required to provide an overview of expenditures and brief description of the project undertaken and present to the Arts Commission at its regularly held meeting.

These grants aim to support artists holistically to build a more equitable Laguna Beach Arts ecosystem. By pushing the boundaries of creativity and expression Artists contribute to the evolution of culture and human understanding.