Deadline: 15-May-25
The Native Arts + Cultures Foundation (NACF) is pleased to announce its 2025 SHIFT – Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts program.
The Native Arts + Cultures Foundation’s (NACF) SHIFT – Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts program empowers artists, curators, and community collaborators to address social change issues through a Native lens. The program supports innovative community-driven projects created in partnership with an organization that uplift Native communities, promote self-determination, and drive transformative change, paving the way for a resilient and thriving Indigenous future.
Now in its fourth iteration, SHIFT provides multi-year support, professional development, project evaluation, documentation, and marketing support. This comprehensive framework enables artists, collectives, and curators to develop impactful projects that engage broader audiences, while deepening their practice, fostering collboration, and inspiring transformative dialogue on both national and global issues.
Funding Information
- A two-year award totaling $100,000, with $50,000 earmarked for the lead artist’s or curator’s compensation and the remaining funds for project production.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible for the SHIFT program, applicants must:
- Lead Artist or Curator Applicant:
- Must be at least 18 years of age.
- Must be a US-based resident.
- Must be an enrolled member or citizen of a US federally-recognized or state-recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native corporation, or of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Applicants will be asked to provide documentation of their Native citizenship or ancestry in the application.
- Must be a Native artist (individual or part of a collective) or curator working in dance/choreography, fiction/poetry writing, film/video, multi-disciplinary arts, music, performance art, theater and screenplay writing, traditional arts, or 2D + 3D visual arts.
- Cannot be a student or enrolled in a university or higher education institution during the award period (October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027).
- Partner Organization/Co-Applicant:
- U.S.-based non-profit organizations, for-profit businesses, or tribal agencies may apply with the lead applicant as a partner organization. These do not need to be arts-related (e.g., social service organizations, for-profit galleries, or academic institutions).
- The partner organization cannot be the fiscal sponsor alone—it must be actively engaged in the project.
- Additional Eligibility Information:
- Lead artist or curator must select an eligible organization to partner with on their project, or the organization must select an eligible artist or curator to partner with on their project.
- Lead artist or curator cannot be a board member, paid consultant, employee, owner, or founder of their chosen partner organization.
- Lead artist or curator cannot partner with an organization of which their immediate family member is a founder, owner, paid consultant, or employee.
- Previous NACF awardees who received support before 2023 are eligible and encouraged to apply. However, former SHIFT awardees are not eligible to receive the SHIFT award again.
- Project Requirements:
- Projects must address social change issues through a Native lens.
- For curator-led projects, eligible projects may include group exhibitions, solo artist retrospectives, or community-engaged installations and performances that feature Indigenous artists and explore social change themes.
- Proposals must be for new projects. NACF does not accept proposals for annual, ongoing, or already established projects.
- Projects must include clear strategies to engage the community and publicly present the work.
- Projects must be completed and publicly presented within two years of the award or before September 30, 2027.
- Please note that NACF recognizes that project plans may evolve and will work with awardees to accommodate necessary adjustments.
- Lead Artist or Curator Applicant:
For more information, visit Native Arts and Cultures Foundation.