Emergency Grants

Emergency Grants: Cancellation Funds

Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA) is expanding the scope of its Emergency Grants program in July 2025. With the generous support of Jerome Foundation, Emergency Grants: Cancellation Funds begin to address the financial impact of cancelled engagements stemming from sudden, and continuing, losses of federal funding. Cancellation funds are available to early-career, NYC-based experimental artists with previously confirmed public presentations including exhibitions, readings, and performances. Recognizing that artists and venues need to rethink budgets, redirect resources, and limit or eliminate programming, cancellation funds aim to mitigate the loss of financial commitments and outlays made prior to the cancellation. The grants are accepted on a rolling basis and distributed monthly in amounts up to $3000.

FCA is actively fundraising to expand the reach of these grants. Please visit this page frequently for updates.

Note: Funding remains available through FCA’s Emergency Grants program for artists continuing with their public presentations despite experiencing urgent need due to a loss of federal funds.

Eligibility

Please spend time with the eligibility guidelines as you contemplate whether to apply. The questions reflect our requirements and they are intended to help you decide if your application is appropriate. We hope they will save you time by making it clear who and what is eligible for funding.

Who Should Apply

Currently, funding is available for experimental artists who:

work within the disciplines of dance, music/sound, performance art/theater, poetry, and/or visual arts;
have a history of 2-10 years of making their own work as an artist;
live in one of New York City’s five boroughs and have a U.S. Tax ID Number (SSN, EIN, ITIN, or other)

Additionally:

Applicants must be individual artists, or an artist representing a collective, ensemble, or group.
If multiple artists are working collaboratively on a project, the artist who received the invitation to present work and/or who organized the presentation opportunity should submit the application.
The three-year waiting period between Emergency Grants does not apply to this program. An artist can apply for a cancellation grant at any time and remain eligible for other FCA grants.
The financial losses incurred by the artist should stem from federal government funding cuts, freezes, or reallocations.

Who is not eligible?

Curators, producers, workshop organizers, organizations, or presenting venues
Artists enrolled in any degree-granting program. This includes high school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs.

If you have any questions about the kind of experimental work FCA supports, please refer to our Instagram and website to see examples of grantees and funded projects. FCA considers all elements of an application in context to determine if an artist’s work aligns with our mission to support experimental practices.

When determining whether you’ve been creating your own work for 2-10 years, please note the years do not have to be consecutive and the timeframe is intended to be expansive, taking into account diverse life experiences and breaks for education, caregiving, and other priorities—particularly if you were not creating projects during those times.

Eligible Cancellations

Cancellation funds are available to address urgent financial needs resulting from the sudden loss of federal funding (for example, budget cuts, freezes, and redirected resources) that directly or indirectly led to the cancellation and left a negative financial impact on the artist. Either the artist lost funding directly or the presenting institution lost existing resources or expected funding.

Cancelled public presentations

can include exhibitions, readings, performances, or other significant opportunities to present an artist’s work publicly
must have a confirmation date, a cancellation date, and an intended presentation (or opening) date with a letter confirming the cancellation

Funds are not intended to address cancellations stemming from conflict with the venue, scheduling issues, personnel losses or changes, or other reasons unrelated to federal funding cuts and freezes.

If you or the venue lost funds due to government cuts but you did not cancel the public presentation, you may be eligible for an Emergency Grant.

Supported Expenses

Emergency Grants: Cancellation Funds are intended to mitigate the financial impact of a cancellation, not to substantially replace lost funding.

Grants may be applied toward direct project expenses incurred between the time of confirmation and the time of cancellation including:

materials, equipment, production costs, rehearsal fees, collaborator fees, or other expenses that were necessary for the public presentation; and
artist fees, honoraria, and commission fees that were promised and won’t be paid.

Artists can request up to $3000 to alleviate some of the financial burden of a cancellation.

When To Apply

We recommend applying for cancellation funds as soon as you learn your public presentation has been cancelled and up to three months before the planned start date.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and panels to award cancellation grants will take place once per month.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please join our virtual information session on Tuesday, June 24, at 6:00pm ET or contact grants@contemporary-arts.org. The recording of the information session will be posted here in late June.

If you think your cancelled public presentation falls within this grant’s criteria, please fill out an eligibility form and application.

Apply Now