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Issue 75 / December 19, 2025
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In this issue:
• IAC Announces FY2027 Creative Learning Grants for Schools Guidelines & Webinar
• I Got an FY26 IAC Grant!
• NEA FY27 Grants for Arts Projects Now Available
• IAC will be Closed on December 25-26 in Observance of Christmas
• Illinois Artist Spotlight
• Additional Opportunities
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Illinois Arts Council Announces
Fiscal Year 2027 Creative Learning Grants for Schools Guidelines and Webinar
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The Illinois Arts Council(IAC) is pleased to announce the release of the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Creative Learning Grants for Schools(CLGS) guidelines and webinar. The goal of this grant is to enable schools to acquire supplies, materials, equipment, or services from Illinois artists or arts organizations that are needed to address student needs for arts learning opportunities in Illinois schools.
K-12 School districts, public schools, and charter schools are eligible to apply for up to $20,000 to support arts learning opportunities in dance, media arts, music, theatre, or visual arts.
The application will be available on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, and the deadline is Wednesday, February 18, 2206, at 11:59pm. The application must be submitted via IAC's Salesforce grant portal. Each IAC regionhas its own allocation and will select recipients from the applications submitted in that region.
A prerecorded webinar is available on IAC's website. The IAC will also host four "Drop-In'' sessions to answer any questions you may have. Drop-in sessions are one-hour sessions that have no agenda. Participants may ask questions of the participating program staff and get answers in real time. Drop-ins do not require pre-registration. Simply click the link at the time of the meeting to join the call via WebEx. Visit the Creative Learning Grants for Schoolswebpage for details.
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Attention IAC grantees! Consider showcasing your achievements this past year on social media with IAC's customizable "I/We got an FY26 IAC grant" graphic. Simply download the PNG or JPG files from our website. You may use the JPG as a standalone graphic or superimpose the PNG file on a photo of yourself or your organization. This is a fantastic opportunity to highlight your hard work and the vital support from the IAC. Let's amplify the arts in Illinois together! Visit our webpage for full instructions and to access the graphics.
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Guidelines and application materials for the National Endowment for the Arts' principal grants category, Grants for Arts Projects, are now available. These grants support projects taking place in any part of the nation's 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. jurisdictions. Application deadlines are February 12, 2026, and July 9, 2026, for projects taking place beginning in 2027.
Activities funded through Grants for Arts Projects enable Americans throughout the nation to experience the arts, foster and celebrate America's artistic heritage and cultural legacy, and benefit from arts education at all stages of life. The program also supports arts and health programs, including creative arts therapies, that advance the well-being of people and communities.
The NEA welcomes applications from first-time and returning applicants, from organizations serving rural, urban, suburban, and tribal communities of all sizes, and from organizations with a range of operating budgets.
To simplify the application intake and review process, Our Town and Challenge America applicants will apply within the Grants for Arts Projects program and choose the "Design & Our Town" or "Challenge America" discipline. Other disciplines include arts education, dance, folk & traditional arts, literary arts, local arts agencies, museums, music, opera, presenting & multidisciplinary works, theater & musical theater, and visual & media arts.
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Illinois Artist Spotlight
Georgette Verdin, FY26 Creative Accelerator Fund
Grant Recipient
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Georgette Verdinis a queer, Cuban-American freelance director, the Associate Artistic Director of Northlight Theatre, and a member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. From 2015 until 2023, she served as artistic director of Interrobang Theatre Project, an award-winning storefront theater known for gutsy productions that tackled socially relevant and, often, morally ambiguous subject matter. Georgette is passionate about creating visceral theatrical experiences that elicit radical empathy and help marginalized women gain visibility. Her work often explores identity, grief, unprocessed trauma, and the intimate lives of women. She has received numerous accolades, including five Jeff nominations, a 3Arts Make-A-Wave grant, and a nomination for the 2024 3Arts Award.
Georgette's recent Creative Accelerator Fund Grant from the Illinois Arts Council provided pivotal support. Expressing her gratitude, she shares, "Unrestricted support is such a gift. The Accelerator Grant let me handle the practical pressures that so often stifle creative thinking, and that freedom opened real space for my artistry to grow." The funds have allowed Georgette to pursue full membership with the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and manage childcare expenses, which have been essential in maintaining her directing career while fulfilling her responsibilities as a mother.
Currently, Georgette is preparing to start rehearsals for Amy Herzog's play, Mary Jane, at Northlight Theatre, running January 22nd through February 22nd. Mary Janeis a resilient single mother caring for her chronically ill child. Despite the mundane and sometimes unthinkable reality of his illness, she finds herself building a community of women from all walks of life. Georgette shared her thoughts on the production, saying, "Amy Herzog's play Mary Jane is a masterclass in quiet heroism. Preparing to direct it has been a profound reminder of theatre's power to illuminate ordinary lives with extraordinary tenderness."
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Other Opportunities You May Have Missed
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The Muse, the Illinois Arts Council Newsletter, is published weekly. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the IAC is strictly prohibited. The Muse is distributed free of charge.
Do you have an arts story you think Illinois needs to hear about? We want to hear from you! Submissions should focus on artist/organizational opportunities or on the impact of the arts on communities, the people creating art, or those experiencing art. Share your story with our Director of Communications at [email protected]. The IAC reserves the right to edit or reject any material.
This week's banner features Music Director and Conductor Stephen Alltop and the Champaign Urbana Symphony Orchestra in their "Season of Glory" 2024 holiday concert.
arts.illinois.gov
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