MRAC is pleased to announce our Flexible Support grantees for 2026 Round 1. From all seven metro counties, the following groups and organizations will bring art, music, dance, and much more to our region all year long!
Round 2 opens January 5, 2026! Head to the Flexible Support page to find out more.
Anoka
Rise, Incorporated
Increasing community access, self-expression, and exposure to the therapeutic benefits of clay arts with an accessible program for 32 adults with disabilities in Anoka County.
Carver
Chaska Valley Family Theatre
Supporting facility fees to bring high-quality, affordable, family friendly performing arts opportunities to the people of Carver County.
Dakota
Ethnic Dance Theatre
Telling the story of the multitude of ethnic communities that have made Minnesota home through performance of traditional dance, music, and song in Land of 10,000 Ethnicities, Vol. 2.
International Festival of Burnsville
Celebrating the cultural diversity of Burnsville and surrounding communities with live music, dance, curated art gallery, cultural exhibits, and kids’ art activities.
Larkspur Reed Trio
Bringing a touring chamber program of live music and stories of trailblazing women to nursing homes and assisted living facilities across Minnesota, enriching access, wellbeing, and connection.
Hennepin
Art Buddies
Creating free, meaningful in-person art education and creative mentorship programs for Twin Cities scholars who attend schools in communities experiencing poverty.
Body Prayers
Activating the Public Functionary gallery space with the artworks and installations, including dance, movement, and music, from eight visual artists.
Bollywood Dance Scene
Strengthening existing programming and creating expanded programming, including weekly dance classes, acting, play writing, improv workshops, rehearsals, and kids’ theater.
Burn Something Collective
Developing internal operations including a branding and marketing strategy, outreach to target audience, and facilitation of a writing workshop series.
Confluence: An East Lake Studio for Community Design
Supporting the Democracy Lab through rent, print upgrades, a BIPOC writers/print space at Lily Spring Farm, and a paid internship with training and print access.
Flamenco X LLC
Preparing dancers through residencies and training for 2026 festival performances and a Southern Theater premiere, expanding access to authentic flamenco in Minnesota.
The Great Northern Winter Festival
Launching an artist-in-residency program for Minnesota artists with stipends, mentorship, and public presentations during the Great Northern Winter Festival.
Jazz Access
Organizing, promoting, and presenting a series of free outdoor jazz concerts with local artists that reach underserved communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Jones-Harrison Residence
Delivering inclusive, professionally led arts programming to promote connection, creativity, and wellbeing for older adults in partnership with COMPAS.
Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue
Funding an administrative assistant position to communicate with arts organizations, keep the schedule of events, organize logistics for community celebrations, and other duties.
Korean Cultural Association
Offering traditional Korean arts instruction and performances, led by expert artists and tradition bearers, to reconnect Korean Americans—especially adoptees—to heritage and community.
Lake Street Council
Facilitating artist-led programming at two new pop-up parks, which will serve as vibrant community hubs offering free, accessible arts and cultural activities.
Little Earth Residents Association
Giving space and resources in consistent programming after school for Native youth in the Native Youth Arts Collective to create multimedia artworks for display at a local Native-led art gallery.
Lost Kite Editions
Supporting the publishing cooperative that connects creative work of currently- and formerly-incarcerated writers with wide audiences across the state and beyond.
Make a Scene Scenario Festival
Supporting a three-day curated festival and other stand-alone events featuring of new scenario LARPs written by diverse larpwrights and performed by festival attendees.
Mayday Coalition
Celebrating community connection and artistic expression with a community-built art parade and Tree of Life ceremony that have been a spring ritual in South Minneapolis for more than 50 years.
Metropolitan Symphony Orchestral Association
Presenting concerts with works by diverse composers, inclusive and family friendly programming, and performances in accessible venues that serve a broad section of Twin Cities residents.
Midtown Greenway Coalition
Engaging youth from underserved neighborhoods in Greater Phillips and Powderhorn with BIPOC Greenway mural artists to explore public art, bike culture, and community identity.
Minneapolis Choir Co-Op
Creating opportunities for queer musicians and partnering with community organizations to bring meaningful musical experiences to Minnesota audiences in six performances.
Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra
Performing concerts with music by underrepresented composers as well as presenting a free children’s concert and a Pride weekend celebration concert.
Naadharasa
Celebrating thirty years of bringing India’s national instrument and South Indian classical music to Minnesota with nine events including concerts and workshops.
Northside School of Music
Providing accessible, culturally responsive music education in North Minneapolis through sliding-scale lessons, recitals, and community engagement.
Off-Leash Area
Creating Water World, a dance and theater performance with an all abilities cast.
Picture Book on Parade
Bringing stories and diverse artists into non-traditional spaces through story times, artist meet-and-greets, book giveaways, and story stroll displays.
Poetry for People
Hosting the 13th annual Poetry and Pie event in Powderhorn Park, where community members gather to enjoy new poems by local poetic luminaries and eat homemade pies by neighborhood bakers.
QUEERSPACE collective
Creating art-focused workshops for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth to increase pride in intersectional cultural identities.
Reasons for Moving
Producing Symphony Dream featuring Latine artists that utilizes poetic language, actors, puppetry, and digital media to increase awareness about the impact of gun violence on children.
Red Thread
Presenting a program of new music written in Yiddish-language folk traditions, including three concerts, six workshops, and a recorded EP.
She Rock She Rock
Funding general operations, including salaries for working artists, space rental, and support for increasing access to programming.
Sweet Potato Comfort Pie
Hosting the 11th MLK Holiday of Service and the 30th anniversary of Kumbayah: The Juneteenth Story, bringing Minnesotans together through theater, music, and beloved cultural traditions.
Tapestry Folkdance Center
Supporting the 2nd Dancing in the Park series, featuring free, weekly outdoor dances with instruction and live music from diverse cultural traditions, held in a public park.
Transplant
Completing Transplant, a web series set in Minneapolis created entirely by local trans people, which will be shown for free at a local theater and posted online.
Twin Cities Carifest
Supporting Caribbean music and art programs, funding operations, and maintaining and purchasing equipment for the International Festival of Burnsville.
Twin Cities West Metro Asian Fair
Presenting the 2026 Twin Cities West Metro Asian Fair, featuring stage shows, art booths, and interactive cultural activities from Asian communities across Minnesota.
Vogue Down Mpls
Building sustainable operations, expanding capacity, and growing programs that uplift BIPOC queer/trans communities through arts and culture.
Walking Shadow Theatre Company
Staging Topher Payne’s Perfect Arrangement, a queer farce about closeted federal workers under 1950s’ McCarthyism, at the Crane Theater in Minneapolis during May and June 2026.
Xuqian Music Center LLC
Creating an immersive and educational performance where classic Chinese poetry and music meet projected masterpieces, producing a rich cross-cultural and multisensory artistic experience.
zAmya Theater Project
Supporting staff and programming in 2026, with an emphasis on robust accessibility.
Ramsey
Accord
Transforming Accord’s Day Support Center into an accessible, vibrant arts environment, revitalizing the art room, improving accessibility, and celebrating creativity for more than 100 adults with disabilities.
African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS)
Supporting and partnering with African heritage artists to present five month-long exhibitions, building capacity, showcasing work, and deepening community engagement in African arts and culture.
Away Runakuna
Representing diverse regions of Ecuador through a cultural dance show filled with music, dance choreographies, traditions, and pride.
East Side Arts Council
Providing 90 free classes in visual arts, clay, and poetry writing for seniors 62 and over with artists to be held at three accessible sites in East St. Paul.
Exposed Brick Theatre
Supporting early-career playwrights from historically excluded communities though training classes and the Our Eyes Cohort & Festival.
The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library
Producing the Fireside Reading Series, including eight intimate author talks with Minnesota writers at Saint Paul Public Library’s Rondo and Hamline Midway branches.
Frogtown Tuned-In Inc
Creating a training and storytelling program that empowers underrepresented voices in St. Paul through mentorship, technical training, and public showcases.
Hmong Archives
Preserving the arts and cultural heritage of Hmong Minnesotans by transforming their oral folktale traditions into children’s books.
Minnesota Huayue Music Ensemble
Presenting the 3rd annual concert of traditional Chinese music to celebrate cultural heritage and connect communities through music.
Minnesota Youth Media
Presenting a screenwriting and media production workshop to 8th grade students at Global Arts Plus in St. Paul.
Monarch Joint Venture
Bringing people together in celebration of art, culture, community, and the monarch butterflies’ incredible migration from Canada to Mexico at the annual, bilingual Minneapolis Monarch Festival.
MSS/Fresh Eye Arts & Gallery
Engaging artists with and without disabilities in two exhibitions, an artist residency, a studio intensive, and access training.
One Voice Mixed Chorus
Digitizing One Voice concerts and educational materials to expand access and deepen engagement across Minnesota schools and communities.
Saint Paul Civic Symphony Association
Developing a multidisciplinary, community-based cultural arts project for youth and adults based on the Latinx folktale Dream Carver in collaboration with Latinx artists and dancers.
Shakespearean Youth Theater Company
Producing of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night with an ensemble of 18 young actors aged 13–19 that speaks to their experiences as young people today.
Sounds of Hope, Ltd.
Producing the Songs of Hope Global Concerts, with children and young adults from countries worldwide, mixed with local peers, performing vocal concerts in fifteen Minnesota cities.
Sub-Saharan African Youth & Family Services in Minnesota (SAYFSM)
Supporting the program coordinator for Under One Roof and classroom space for our fiber arts program for African immigrant women.
30,000 Feet
Implementing thirty youth art and performance workshops, expanding culturally relevant arts programming for East St. Paul youth.
Trademark Theater
Supporting operations increasing capacity through salaries for managing director and advancement manager.
West Side Farmers Market
Supporting payments to artists performing at the farmers market, honoring the value they bring.
Scott
Savage Arts Council
Providing for continuation of contracted leadership and the foundational elements needed to offer a series of arts education classes for Savage area adults and youth.
Washington
Belwin Conservancy
Producing the two-day Music in the Trees 2026 event, a diverse mix of musicians performing from a 16-foot tall tree in an aging pine grove that is undergoing restoration.
StoryArk
Empowering elementary and middle school students to discover their voices, build creative confidence, and share stories that reflect diverse perspectives during summer storytelling camps.