Southern
Regional
Programs


We Don't Bow Down, Yellow Pocahontas, Mardi Gras Indian Collective, photo: Zack Smith

Photo: We Don't Bow Down, Yellow Pocahontas, Mardi Gras Indian Collective, credit: Zack Smith

NPN is committed to building power, opportunities, and resources for artists and communities of color in New Orleans and the South.

As a community service organization, we provide direct support to artists and culture bearers in our region, including funding, professional development, and capacity building. As a movement builder, we provide leadership in emergency preparedness and response initiatives, engage in local and regional efforts that address racial and economic injustice, and advocate within the national philanthropic sector for greater resources for Southern artists and communities of color.

New Orleans

Through our New Orleans-based programs, NPN has shared our mission, values, and vision with our local community and home since 2001.

NPN’s local program supports a diverse group of New Orleans–based artists, arts organizations, and initiatives to work toward a more just and equitable community in which artists can create and thrive.

NPN provides peer-to-peer exchanges, technical assistance, and financial-planning resources to arts organizations. We offer fiscal sponsorship for artists and art collectives, giving access to grant funds and financial support that would otherwise be unavailable to individuals or emerging groups.

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and the National Performance Network envision a world in which artists living and working in Louisiana have the power, resources, and opportunities to thrive. The Get Ready program—in partnership with CERF+—provides $500 grants to individual artists and culture bearers in Louisiana who authentically reflect the many communities in our state. These grants will support activities that will help them prepare for emergencies, safeguard their property and artwork, and protect their creative careers.

ACGBR and NPN are jointly administering the 2023 Get Ready grants, in order to provide more support to artists across Louisiana and share our learning and resources. NPN funds will specifically support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color) artists and culture bearers.

There is no deadline to apply for Get Ready. Applications will be reviewed for eligibility and grants will be made on a rolling basis. Visit ACGBR’s website for full guidelines and application. Note: BIPOC artist collectives planning to undertake emergency readiness activities as a group, please contact NPN’s Director of Southern Programs Stephanie Atkins at to discuss directly.

Get Ready Grants are administered by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and the National Performance Network on behalf of CERF+, with funding provided by the Mellon Foundation.

Logo for cerf+ The Artists Safety Net
Logo for Mellon Foundation
Logo for Arts Council Greater Baton Rouge

Provides $5,000 project grants to artists of color living and working in Louisiana.

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Provides $25,000 project grants to artists and culture bearers of color living, working, and engaging in social change in urban, rural, and tribal communities of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

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Fiscal Sponsorship provides nonprofit umbrella status and financial and administrative services to artists and artist collectives. By managing fiscally sponsored projects, NPN offers artists the opportunity to gain experience with and support through formal granting systems and private philanthropy, so that artists can continue to practice their art. NPN supports artistic practice across the US and sponsors artists and projects operating beyond New Orleans.

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or contact Brittany Dudley (she/they) at .

With seed funding from the Ford Foundation, in April 2020 NPN awarded $150,000 to independent artists of color in Louisiana who had experienced significant financial losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, $50,000 was awarded to 11 Louisiana arts organizations led by people of color. Recipients represent the range of artistic practices that shape our home region, including the significant culture-bearing work of Black Masking Indians.

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