The Illinois Arts Council has announced a funding opportunity for artistry, the Creative Projects Grant. The Illinois Arts Council will only accept one institutional proposal submitted from NIU for this grant opportunity. However, individuals are allowed to submit on their own.

The Creative Projects Grant (CPG) supports a single arts project by an artist or organization. Projects must include a public release or presentation, unless the proposal is for professional development by an individual artist. While multiple activities may be part of one project, separate projects cannot be combined into a single proposal.

Eligible disciplines include arts, crafts, design, dance, digital media, film/video, literature, music, performance, photography, theater, visual arts, ethnic/folk/traditional arts and community-based arts.

Full program details, including goals, expectations, eligible projects and out-of-scope activities, are available on the Illinois Arts Council Creative Projects Grant website.

If you want to submit through NIU, The deadline to submit internal proposal to the internal competition is Sept. 10, 2025. Complete information on the internal competition and the Illinois Arts Council Creative Projects Grant is available on the Office of Research Development Limited Submission Funding Opportunities webpage. Faculty who plan to submit a proposal to the Illinois Arts Council Creative Projects Grant competition must submit an internal proposal via NIU’s InfoReady internal competition portal.

For questions pertaining to the internal competition for NIU faculty, please contact ord@niu.edu with questions and use “IAC/ CPG internal competition” as the subject line.