Bloomington Arts Commission announces recipients for 2025 Arts Project grants

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Officials with the Bloomington Arts Commission, an entity through the city of Bloomington, recently announced the recipients of its 2025 Arts Project grants, including live music, art exhibition and the production of a play.

According to a news release from the city, the Bloomington Arts Commission (BAC) awarded more than $60,000 for the Arts Project grant program. Award amounts range up to $4,000 and most recipients received partial funding for the projects.

The release said that of the amount awarded, $27,983 was provided by the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association and the remaining funds came from the city’s 2025 general fund.

Officials said that the recipients of the grants will use the funding to “produce public arts programming that enriches Bloomington’s vibrant cultural scene.”

“Projects awarded as part of the 2025 Arts Project grant cycle embody the dynamic, artistic spirit of Bloomington, celebrate and support its local artists and provide accessible opportunities for Bloomington residents and visitors to experience the arts,” the release said.

According to the release, some of the projects that received funding include:

• Cicada Cinema’s screening of “The Bloody Lady” with live musical accompaniment by Claire Rousay
• The production of the play “Rabbit Hole” by Eclipse Productions Company
• “The Invisible: Art in All Forms,” an exhibition featuring work from students at Indiana University Bloomington and curated by students and alumni from IUB’s Arts Management and Art History programs
• Preschool music classes facilitated by Kevin MacDowell, aka Kiz Kazooey.
• The production of “Ordinary Pilgrimage, When We Remember,” an interactive performance featuring local spaces, musicians, dancers and a poet.
• The completion of a mural on the exterior wall of Bloomington Fine Art Supply.
• WFHB Past and Present: 50 Years of the Bloomington Community Radio Project, featuring Indianapolis band Wishy, at the Bluebird Nightclub.

A full list of BAC Arts Project grant recipients include:

• Annalise Cain
• Bloomington Bach Cantata Project
• Brett Volpp
• Buffy Prom Bloomington
• Buskirk-Chumley Theater Management, Inc.
• Cancer Support Community Indiana
• Cicada Cinema
• Early Music Associates, Inc.
• Eclipse Productions Company
• Emily Wilson Gillespie
• Friendly Beasts Cider LLC
• Hoosier Original Music Association
• Janan Alexandra
• Jessica MacLean
• Kevin MacDowell (Kid Kazooey)
• Matthew Rice
• Nick Romy
• Off Night Productions
• Paint Bloomington LLC
• Park Ridge East Neighborhood Association
• Peilin (Judy) Qiao
• Ron Kadish
• Shannon Moses
• Urban Deer Record Co.
• WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
• WonderLab Museum of Science, Health & Technology
• Writers Guild at Bloomington, Inc.

The release said all proposed projects were evaluated based on their respective levels of artistic quality, community impact and organizational capacity.

“This grant cycle continues to highlight the many ways in which the arts can benefit the city and enrich our community,” BAC Chair Gerard Pannekoek said in the release. “The BAC is excited to support new and continuing projects alike and believes that support for the arts, now more than ever, is critical to maintaining Bloomington’s vitality.”

The BAC will host two more grant cycles in 2025, including one focused on artistic advancement and the other focused on operational costs for 501(c)3 organizations with arts-centered missions. For more information, click here.