$ City of Lansing Mini Pocket Grants 

$ Round-2 MCACA Minigrants

$ MCACA Bus Trek plus Arts Equipment & Supplies Grants

$ Kars4Kids Small Educational Grants

$ Arts Midwest Shakespeare in American Communities

$ NEA Creative Forces Community Engagement Grants

$ Barbara Deming Memorial Fund: Money for Women

$ Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant Program

$ Black Artist Fund (ongoing)

$ iStock Creative Inclusion Grants

$ Anna Rabinowitz Award for Poetry

$ Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant

$ Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund

Arts Council Greater Lansing announces its 2022 dates for Arts Night Out Old Town! Want to share your talent with the community? Find your perfect match with one of our participating Old Town businesses and collaborate with them for the perfect pop-up experience. Arts Night Out takes place on the first Friday (with the exception of holidays) every other month, beginning in January. The 2022 dates are as follows: Jan. 7, March 4, May 6, July 8, Sept. 9 and Nov. 4. Learn more.

The City of Lansing and the Arts Council Greater Lansing announce the 2022 Arts Impact Project Pitch. The Arts Impact Project is a "pitch-style" event, in which interested parties can share their creative impact idea with the Arts Impact panel. The creative impact idea can be any project to elevate and showcase the artistic excellence in the City of Lansing, such as a mural festival, a community tile project, or an iconic sculpture (all previous Impact projects). One award of $75,000 will be made to an individual, group of creatives, arts organization or non-profit organization for a large scale, high impact permanent arts project to be completed within the City of Lansing. The event will be held at MICA Gallery in Old Town Lansing on Dec. 8, 2021, from 5 - 7 p.m. Learn more.

Starlight Dinner Theatre will hold auditions for two young female roles in the upcoming comedy “Harvey,” which will be performed April 29 - 30; May 1; and May 6 -7, 2022. Auditions will be held at the Zussman home at 1918 Tecumseh River Road, Lansing, Michigan, 48906, on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, from 7 - 8 p.m. David L. Oswald, is the guest director. Auditions are for the following characters: Ruth Kelly (21 - 30) a very pretty, young woman. She is sweet, kind and looks for the best in people; and Myrtle Mae Simmons (21 - 35) a plain, but not unattractive, young woman who is a slightly self-centered young woman, looking for a husband. Please email Linda at starlightdinnertheatre@yahoo.com for a perusal copy of the script. 

Drury University announces a call to artists for its juried art exhibition, "Unmasking Ourselves: Celebrating our Differences and Challenging Misconceptions," to be held Feb. 4 - 25, 2022, at the Pool Art Center Gallery in Springfield, Missouri. This national juried exhibition is an opportunity for artists to reflect on their identities and their communities. The theme is intended to both celebrate differences as well as confront misconceptions. They will be accepting artwork from artists of all different backgrounds. There is no identity requirement to submit work; however, they are looking to display work about all different kinds of identity. All types of work and styles accepted. No entry fee is required. Application deadline is Dec. 6, 2021. Learn more.

Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, Illinois, seeks artworks for their exhibition, "Uncommon Prints x Common Matrices," to be held at Woman Made Gallery from February - March, 2022. For this exhibition, the juror seeks artwork in any medium that explores the concept or technique of a transfer in new or unique ways or in combination with traditional printmaking methods. The submission fee is $30. WMG offers fee waivers to those that request the need and upon approved application. Application deadline is Dec. 12, 2021. Learn more.

Artless Bastard Inc. in De Pere, Wisconsin, seeks entries for its juried art exhibition, "Home" being held Jan. 20 - Feb. 19, 2022. What does "home" mean to you? Is it a place, a thing, a person or a feeling? Let your work tell the story. Award of $100 will be given for Best in Show. Open to both 3-D and 2-D artwork in all mediums. If it can fit it thru the door you can enter it! Excludes performance artwork. Artwork must be original, yours and completed within the last two years. A fee of $20 for the first piece and $10 for each additional piece is required. Application deadline is Dec. 30, 2021. Learn more.

The Town of Castle Rock Public Art Commission in Colorado seeks proposals for a sculptural art piece to enhance and beautify Town Hall Plaza, the Town's newest civic gathering space located in the heart of Downtown Castle Rock, Colorado. Up to $50,000 is budgeted for this commission. Artists are invited to submit proposals for this exciting opportunity to celebrate and represent the Castle Rock community through a large-scale work of art (a minimum of 15 feet tall, with an ideal height of approximately 25 feet tall). The ideal piece could evoke feelings of inspiration or joy, strengthen community pride, encourage fun and play, cultivate community dialogue, foster reflection, promote unity and connectedness or instill a sense of home and place. There is no fee to enter. Application deadline is Dec. 6, 2021. Learn more.

J. Mane Gallery invites submissions for its online juried art exhibition, "Elements of Nature," opening Jan. 1, 2022. The elements of nature are fourfold, wind/air, water, earth & fire. Artists are invited to submit work that best represents one or all of these elements. Mediums include painting, drawing, pastels, inks, pencil, encaustic, photography, mixed media and digital art. Both 2-D and 3-D art is accepted. Cash awards may be given to the top three winners. The First Place winner will be the featured artist on the website for the duration of the exhibition. An entry fee of $20 for up to five images is required. Application deadline is Dec. 23, 2021. Learn more.

University of North Carolina Asheville announces a call to artists for its 13th annual contemporary drawing juried art exhibition. "Drawing Discourse" will be held Jan. 14 - Feb. 11, 2022, at S. Tucker Cooke Gallery. A total of $2000 in cash awards and a purchase prize will be given. Additionally, a full-color catalogue will be produced. In an effort to support the breadth in contemporary drawing, media is open to any traditional or experimental drawing media welcoming both 2-D or 3-D works, video and/or installation, as long as it can fit through a doorway opening that measures 67" width x 117" height. A submission fee of $30 for one image, $5 for each additional image is required. Application deadline is Dec. 12, 2021. Learn more.

Arts Council Greater Lansing announces a free grant workshop for the Round-2 Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) Minigrants. Join membership and program manager Taylor Haslett at the Brew Cafe, 610 N. Creyts Rd., Lansing, Michigan, 48917, on Dec. 16, 2021, at noon. A Zoom option will also be available. Please contact Taylor at taylor@lansingarts.org for more information and to register.

Nonprofit Tech for Good presents its "Website & Email Marketing Best Practices for Nonprofits" webinar. This is the first of three webinars in a blog and webinar series called "101 Digital Marketing Best Practices for Nonprofits." Those who register for all three webinars will earn a Certificate in Digital Marketing & Fundraising from Nonprofit Tech for Good. This webinar will be held Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, at 1 p.m. EST and will be presented by Heather Mansfield, Nonprofit Tech for Good founder.

Cost is $30. Learn more.

Artwork Archive "How to Make Money as an Artist on Instagram" featured blog. Excerpt: “'I can post a painting and it will sell before the paint is dry,' explains Ashley Longshore, who sells her eccentric pop art for upwards of $30,000 straight off of Instagram.

And, she’s not the only one. Artist Chris Austin enjoys “flash sales” of his latest work, getting emails from eager buyers within minutes of posting on Instagram. With these examples and more in mind, it’s safe to say Instagram has become the social media platform for artists." Read more.

Big Duck's annual "Words to Avoid—2021 Edition," by Ryan Gerhardt is here! Excerpt: "Finding the right words is rarely easy. Each word carries within it different weight and connotations in addition to its generally agreed upon definition.

Everyone may read the same sentence slightly differently, but the goal is that they all leave with a shared understanding or connection. With this in mind, we’ve collected a handful of words and phrases below that we think merit extra reflection before use. Some have been severely overused in the past year or two, some reinforce harmful ideas—whether intentional or not—and others are routinely used incorrectly." Read more.

Collaboration and exploration happens when we are all working together. So please, renew your membership and bring along a friend (or 2, or 5--you get where we're going here). Strength in numbers--a creative explosion for our region. We will rock 2022! Renew now!

Arts council membership is for YOU! But we need your help in reshaping it, so it meets all your needs. That is why it is super important that you take the membership survey. It won't take you long, and your responses will tell us exactly what you want from your membership. We want to provide you with everything you need to be happy! Go here!

You absolutely have to be using the amazing 517 Living calendar! It's a great place to not only find out what's going in the arts and culture scene, but also a place where you should be posting all of your events, sales, exhibitions, studio tours and anything else related to your organization or arts business.

Get the word out about what you're doing, and find out what all of your fellow artists and arts and culture organizations have going on so you can support local and make connections. The Arts Council is a proud sponsor and partner with 517 Living and love having their calendar represented on our events page of our website. Have a look!

Woldumar Nature Center is seeking a development director. Under the supervision of the executive director, the development director is responsible for developing and implementing the Woldumar Nature Association’s annual and long-term fund development strategies. With particular emphasis on grants and corporate giving, the development director will work to grow membership, individual gifts, special events, annual campaigns, capital campaigns and develop a planned giving program. Submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample and three professional references to Kevin Wernet at director@woldumar.org. Pre-application inquiries are welcomed. Application deadline is Jan 1, 2022. Learn more.

City Pulse, Lansing’s weekly alternative newspaper, is looking for a new arts and entertainment editor. If you can write well, accurately and in depth, uncover what's new in town, assign stories to contributors, edit stories and meet deadlines, City Pulse wants to talk to you! A journalism background is preferred, but they will train the right person. This is an equal opportunity job search. Email a cover letter, resume and writing samples (no more than five) to publisher@lansingcitypulse.com. (Email any questions there as well.) Learn more.

If you have a call to artists, a position or internship opening or are looking for volunteers, please let us know. Email the Arts Council at dawn@lansingarts.org to list your opportunity in our next Creative Connection. And please SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with us! We are always looking for photos of creative connections to add to this newsletter. Tell us what you are up to, and we will let everyone know. (Photo by Jena Hovey of McShane Photography)

Tis the season...this is our friendly little reminder that the Arts Council team will be taking some time off in honor of the upcoming holiday season. Therefore we will not be available on the following dates:

We hope you all enjoy some creative, restful and restorative time during the holidays. Feel free to contact us, and we will get back to you when we are holding regular hours. Drop us a line!