2026 Creative Exchange Cohort/Capacity Building Grant Program Application
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2026 Creative Exchange Cohort / Capacity Building Grant Program
Individual artists are essential to a vibrant arts and culture ecosystem, but building a sustainable creative career comes with unique challenges. The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod is proud to offer the 2026 Creative Exchange Capacity Building Grant Program, a four-month cohort experience designed to provide artists on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket with the entrepreneurial tools, mentorship, and resources they need to grow and thrive.
The goal of this program is to strengthen the long-term financial resiliency and business success of artists across the region.
Information Sessions
Want to learn more before applying? Join us for a one-hour virtual information session:
Program Benefits
Through the Capacity Building Grant Program, participating artists will receive:
- $1,000 working capital grant (released upon completion of the artist’s written plan)
- Support in creating a required written plan outlining business and career goals with the help of mentors
- Two small-group business coaching sessions with a mentor
- Priority registration for Arts Foundation webinars available to Cape and Islands artists
- Access to a peer cohort of creative professionals
- An opportunity to showcase their work in a public setting organized by the AFCC (optional)
Workshops including:
- Making a DIY Marketing Plan
- Taxes for Artists, Freelancers, and Creative Businesses with Hannah Cole
- Press Releases and Marketing with Chris Kazarian
- Business Planning for Creatives with Raydene Salinas Hansen
*Additional workshops tailored to the needs of the cohort / subject to change
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are:
- Artists of all disciplines (visual arts, writing, film, dance, music/sound, theater, performance, social practice, etc.)
- Residents of Cape Cod (Barnstable County), Nantucket (Nantucket County), or Martha’s Vineyard (Dukes County)
- Artists with reliable transportation and stable housing
Not eligible:
- Full-time students enrolled in a degree program
- Artists living outside of Cape Cod, Nantucket, or Martha’s Vineyard
- Artists who have already participated in the Capacity Building Grant Program
The program encourages equal opportunity and values diversity in its applicants. Artists who have never received a grant are especially encouraged to apply.
Selection Criteria
Fifteen artists will be selected for the 2026 cohort. Applications will be evaluated based on:
- History of creative work (emerging or established)
- Community impact (how your work engages with or is informed by community, place, or geography)
- Access to resources (priority is given to artists with limited financial or artistic opportunities, those from under-resourced communities, or those holding identities historically undervalued or marginalized)
Timeline
- September 8, 2025: Application opens
- November 12, 2025: Application closes (deadline to apply)
- November – December 2025: Applications reviewed and cohort selected
- January 2026: Cohort onboarding
- January – April 2026: Cohort workshops and peer meetups
- End of April 2026: Program completion and release of $1,000 working capital grant
Each participant will complete a written plan outlining their creative business goals for the next one to two years. Once the plan is submitted and the program is completed, the working capital grant will be distributed.
Questions to Consider Before Applying
- How will this opportunity support the growth of your creative practice?
- What stabilization and/or growth opportunities are you currently pursuing, and what types of investments will help you achieve them?
- Why is this the right time in your career for business and financial training?
- How has your creative practice engaged (or how do you plan to engage) with communities on Cape Cod, Nantucket, or Martha’s Vineyard? How does your work contribute to and strengthen these communities?