Fall 2020 Creation Fund Deadline


August 18, 2020  •  2 minute read

The Fall 2020 Creation Fund guidelines are now available! Applications are due October 11, 2020 for projects premiering between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2023.

The NPN Creation Fund supports new work in its earliest stages, centering relationship building between artists, presenters, and communities. The Creation Fund is Phase I of a three-part program that supports the creation, development, and mobility of new artistic work that advances racial and cultural justice and results in live experiential exchange between artists and communities. 

Advancing Racial and Cultural Justice

Building on NPN’s mission and impact areas, NPN will support projects that advance racial and/or cultural justice. NPN recognizes that there are many strategies to advancing racial and cultural justice and will support a variety of approaches that benefit artists, organizations, and communities marginalized by current and historic systems of oppression. We welcome applications from projects that share these aims in ways that are explicit, transparent, and authentic. Before applying, please carefully review the guidelines and consider if and how your project fits these goals.

Creation Fund Structure

Relationships are central to the Creation Fund, which supports new work through the following structure: 

  • Artists apply for the Creation Fund with an NPN National Partner, who will serve as the lead commissioner.
  • At least one additional organization must agree to serve as a co-commissioner. This co-commissioner must be in a different community from the lead commissioner (at least 100 miles apart). 
  • Each co-commissioner contributes a $2,000–$3,000 cash match and agrees to present the work once it has been created. Presentation may take many different forms. 
  • NPN contributes $8,000 per project so that every Creation Fund artist receives a minimum of $12,000 in project funding.

Prioritization Criteria

NPN will fund 8–12 projects, prioritizing projects using the following criteria: artists and co-commissioners who represent communities that are historically underinvested in, including but not limited to communities of color, First Nations, disability, trans, and rural communities; projects that advance racial and/or cultural justice; projects that honor long-term relationship building and/or cultivate new authentic, reciprocal collaborations between artists, communities, and/or commissioners; and projects in the creation phase of development (as opposed to near completion). 

Online Application

NPN is between grant-management systems and will release the link to the online application by September 14, 2020. In the meantime, we encourage you to start planning using the guidelines, which include a copy of the application questions. 

Contact our National Programs staff to discuss eligibility or project fit. Please note that the NPN staff does not match artists with co-commissioners.

Spring 2021 Creation Fund Deadline

The Spring 2021 Creation Fund Deadline will be May 14, 2021 for projects premiering between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024.

Guidelines and Template Project Timeline & Budget

Fall 2020 Creation Fund Guidelines (PDF)

Fall 2020 Creation Fund Timeline and Budget Template (PDF) 

The Creation and Development Fund is made possible with support from the Mellon Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the generosity of co-commissioners.