grant · Illinois Arts Council
Creative Accelerator Fund (FY27)
the opportunity
The Illinois Arts Council's Creative Accelerator Fund gives individual artists a $10,000 taxable award to invest in their practice and professional growth. Each of the Council's regions has its own allocation. Applications are checked against compliance criteria (an active, sustained practice, a complete application and eligibility for state funds) rather than judged on artistic quality, and recipients are then chosen at random with the Illinois State Lottery. Applicants apply through their IAC Salesforce account with two work samples, one made in 2024–2026 and one from 2023 or earlier. The grant period runs January 1 to August 31, 2027. Applications close at 11:59pm.
eligibility
Individual artists aged 21 or older with an active, sustained practice who were established as Illinois residents before October 14, 2025. People enrolled in a degree program are not eligible; Ph.D. candidates must have finished coursework by the deadline.
fees
No application fee is stated on the IAC program page.
Applications happen on Illinois Arts Council's website. Seeke reviews and indexes the listing but does not accept applications.