Mississippi is a deep and foundational source of American creativity and innovation. As we look ahead to the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Mississippi Arts Commission proudly presents the America250 Public Art Grants. MAC’s America250 Public Art Grants are a competitive one-time opportunity to explore our state’s stories through the power of public art. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi Legislature, the Mississippi Arts Commission will award $100,000 in public art grants to 10 eligible applicants.

We offer three distinct thematic pathways, each designed to reflect Mississippi’s past, engage with its present, and imagine our shared future:

• We the People: The American Ideal & Fundamental Rights
• Power of People & Place: Mississippi in the American Story
• The Future of Mississippi: A World of Possibilities

We encourage eligible applicants to interpret one or more of these themes with creativity and authenticity, grounding your proposals in local and regional narratives that resonate with the broader American story. Additionally, MAC aims to have Mississippi’s five major geographic regions represented through this grant program. Each region will have an opportunity to receive one $12,000 grant and one $8,000 grant towards the creation of a public artwork.

• $12,000 grants are for eligible applicants with a FY26 operating budget of over $250k.
• $8,000 grants are for eligible applicants with a FY26 operating budget of under $250k.
• 10 awards total, one of each for the five regions: The Gulf Coast, Capital-Rivers, The Pines, The Hills, and The Delta.

MAC is seeking proposals that center public art as the vessel for compelling storytelling, community participation, and a reflection of Mississippi’s spirit and its contributions to the American experience.

Eligible applicants may choose one or more of the themes listed below for their public art project:

We the People: The American Ideal & Fundamental Rights

Mississippi is at the forefront of (re)defining the American ideal and the nation’s understanding of fundamental rights. How does your public art offer a Mississippi perspective or interpretation of these foundational concepts as set forth in the US Constitution:  

Ideal: All people are created equal.  

Fundamental Rights: Liberty, Free Speech, Freedom of Religion, Due Process of Law, & Freedom of Assembly.  

Eligible applicants are encouraged to explore how these ideals are expressed, challenged, or reimagined through the lens of Mississippi’s unique history and voices. 

Resource: Founded on a Set of Beliefs – Creating the United States Library of Congress Exhibitions

Power of People & Place: Mississippi in the American Story

Through public art, celebrate what makes your community and its culture distinct. How does your local story contribute to the broader narrative of Mississippi’s story and the American experience? Consider intersectional elements such as:

• Natural world and agriculture
• Local history and heritage
• Folk traditions, including site-specific and regional local art forms, community rituals, cultural gatherings, and social practices
• Economic or technological contributions

This theme invites nonprofits to reflect on the power of place and people in shaping Mississippi identity, memory, and meaning.

The Future of Mississippi: A World of Possibilities

Mississippi has profoundly influenced the cultural vocabulary of the nation and the world through our literature, music, visual arts, and folklife. Rooted in a Mississippi perspective, imagine the future through public art. What new ideas, movements, or art forms might emerge from Mississippi to further influence the nation? How will Mississippi’s creative legacy continue to shape what’s possible?

This theme is a call to dream boldly and create forward. 

Mississippi Arts Commission Working Definition for Public Art

Public art is the intentional presentation of any artistic discipline in a public space with free public access, designed to activate the space and foster community dialogue.

Mississippi Arts Commission: Working Guideline on Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use in the Arts

The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) recognizes artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool that can support and enhance human creativity.

MAC acknowledges the value of generative AI in improving accessibility and supporting individuals of varying abilities who wish to engage in arts and culture, both creatively and administratively. MAC maintains that human authorship and creative intent must remain at the core of all artistic and administrative processes.

For grant applications, a human applicant must develop, review, and enter all required data. In the creation of artworks, a human artist, creative, or collective must serve as the primary author and creative force behind the work.

The final result must reflect human authorship and intent, rather than generative AI-generated work (e.g., lacking a personal voice, specific details).

ADA Accessibility

ADA accessibility refers to the accessibility standards established under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which apply to places of public accommodation, commercial facilities, and state and local government facilities. ADA Accessibility Guidelines

• Sources
  • https://www.ada.gov/
  • https://www.access-board.gov

Mississippi Arts Commission Working Definition for Accessibility

Ensuring that everyone can participate in arts and cultural activities. This can involve removing barriers and making adjustments so that everyone can participate. It can include the public in planning and reviewing a project. Any steps should align with what each organization can afford and manage, as every organization is unique.

For more information, contact Arts Industry Director and Accessibility Coordinator Victoria Meeks at 601.359.6031 and vmeek@arts.ms.gov.

Other Tools

MAC has developed two supplemental resources to support your application. The Public Art Supplemental Guide offers an overview of the public art discipline, outlining eligibility, project requirements, funding details, and strategies for success. It also includes examples of both traditional and non-traditional public art to inspire projects that celebrate Mississippi’s various stories. The Mini-Public Art Glossary and MAC America250 Project Art Grant FAQs define key public art terms and answer common questions about the MAC America250 Public Art Grant. These documents will continue to evolve as MAC advances its public art initiatives.

Five Large Mississippi Regions

At MAC, we recognize that arts and culture doesn’t start and stop with county lines. In the application, you will be asked to select the region that your organization is most closely associated with.

The map is from Film Mississippi.

MAC America250 Public Art Grant – Timeline

November 17, 2025 — MAC America250 Public Art Grant opens at 12:00 AM CST.

November 17, 2025 – January 9, 2026 — To be scheduled: MAC America250 Public Art Grant Workshop
To be determined: MAC America250 Public Art Additional Workshop Project Application + Project Narrative office hours with MAC Special Initiatives Director Simone Cottrell are open. 45-minute appointments.

January 15, 2026 — MAC America250 Public Art Grant closes at 11:59 PM CST.

January 20, 2026 – February 13, 2026 — Applications are reviewed.

Late February 2026 — Applicants are notified of their grant application status.

March 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026 — All project expenses incurred between March 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026. Public presentations of the public art can occur anytime after the creation of the public art. Awardees’ final reports are due by June 30, 2026. Awardees must virtually attend a MAC America250 Public Art Program Workshop (to be scheduled)

Applications must be completed, including all required information and materials. Incomplete applications, defined as applications missing one or more of the below-listed documents, will not be considered for funding and will be returned to the applicant.

Please note that the following information reflects the largest portions of the America250 application eligibility and criteria. Minor information, such as legislative districts, will be requested in the application.

For guidance on grant writing, please see Tips for Writing Grant Applications.

Grant Awards Criteria

MAC America250 Public Art Grants total $100,000 and will be awarded to 10 eligible Mississippi applicants.

Five $12,000 grants are available for nonprofits whose FY26 operating budgets are $250k or more. Five $8,000 grants are available for nonprofits whose FY26 operating budgets are less than $250k.

MAC aims to have each of these grant types awarded in each of Mississippi’s large geographic regions – The Gulf Coast, Capital – Rivers, The Pines, The Hills, and The Delta.

Budget Criteria

Budgets must represent the maximum or more of the grant award provided. Partial grants will not be awarded.

For both MAC America250 Public Art grant types, there is a 1:1 match. There is a requirement of a minimum 10% cash match, while the remaining 90% can be in-kind. Artists’ fees cannot be considered as an in-kind donation.

In-kind donations may come in the form of: awarded org’s salaries/time, volunteer time, any government assets that are being donated towards the public artwork and/or its event, resource donations, free ad space, etc.

If you are applying for a MAC grant and an MHC America250 grant with the same project, you will need to choose which grant award you want. The MAC America250 Public Art Grant and the MHC America250 grant cannot be a cash match for the same project.

Note: Indirect costs are capped to 10% of the total project budget

Who Can Apply

MAC’s America250 Public Art Grants are eligible to organizations:

• Based in Mississippi
• Have IRS 501(c)3 non-profit status OR
• Be a unit of local government, such as a school, library, or another county or municipal agency. These entities may be required to provide documentation of their status as a governmental agency

Organizations that have received a cumulative $30,000.00 or more from the Mississippi Arts Commission in FY26 are not eligible for this grant program.

Priority will be given to nonprofits whose primary mission and focus are arts & culture.

First-time eligible applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with MAC Special Initiatives Director Simone Cottrell about the viability of their proposal before submitting an application. 601.359.6044, scottrell@arts.ms.gov

How to Apply and Application Criteria

Apply online using MAC’s eGRANT system. Faxed, mailed, or emailed applications are not accepted. Please review the guides and video tutorials available on MAC’s Frequently Asked Questions page, then contact Special Initiatives Director Simone Cottrell at 601.359.6044 or scottrell@arts.ms.gov if you have any questions.

Please be prepared to submit the following information through the eGRANT system:

• In 2022, the federal government transitioned from the use of the DUNS Number to a new SAM.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI) as the primary means of identification required to apply for and receive federal funding. Due to federal regulations, MAC will be unable to award any funding to organizations that fail to provide this information. It is 100% free for an organization to request a UEI, and you need not complete the full SAM.gov registration in order to obtain your ID. Follow the steps outlined in this guide to obtain your organization’s UEI, or click here to view a video which provides a detailed explanation of the SAM.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI). For further assistance in obtaining a SAM.gov UEI, you can reach the help desk by calling 866-606-8220 to speak to a registration specialist.
• Narrative (8000 characters maximum) in which you address your proposed public art project. Please include the following:
• Grant Pro Tip: Write your narrative in an active voice. Clearly describe what your project does and how it will impact your community, art form, and/or organization. Avoid unnecessary fillers or “padding” the narrative. Authentic, concise storytelling is the most compelling.
• Note: Applications must request funding towards the creation of a public artwork within the themes that were provided by MAC. MAC’s working definition of public art: Public art is the intentional presentation of any artistic discipline in a public space with free public access, designed to activate the space and foster community dialogue.
• Budget Itemization that explains in greater detail each expense and source of income included in the Budget section of the application.
  • See sample budget itemization.
  • Note: Pay careful attention to your budget itemization since it will answer many questions that the narrative description is not likely to answer and it speaks for the applicant’s accountability.
• Grant Reminders: Your America250 budget must max out either the $12,000 grant option or the $8,000 grant option. Required 1:1 match. Minimum of 10% must be cash, while the remaining 90% can be in-kind. Indirect costs are capped to 10% of the total project budget. The MAC America250 Public Art Grant is only to be used towards the creation of the proposed public artwork.
• Public schools should submit a list of their current school board members.
• Current bios of
• A copy of letters of agreement or signed contracts between your organization and the artists, consultants, and partnerships participating in the proposed project that have been finalized as of the January 15, 2026, application deadline. If arrangements with the artist(s) have not yet been finalized, please submit a timeline for securing these agreements.
• If your organization is applying to MAC for the first time: a copy of your official IRS 501(c)3 determination letter. You do not need to send a copy of the letter if your organization has applied for a grant from MAC in the past three years. If you are unsure whether or not your organization has applied recently, please call and check with MAC Program Staff before submitting an application. Public schools, libraries and other agencies of local government are exempt from this requirement.

Work Samples & Supplementary Materials

You should be prepared to submit work samples and supplementary materials through the eGRANT system that will help panelists understand your organization and its proposed project.

Work Samples & Supplementary Materials | File Types

Ineligible File Types

Items uploaded from the following file types will be disregarded in adjudicating applications and may result in rejection of an application for being incomplete:

• Pages (.pages)
• Numbers (.numbers)
• Keynote (.key)

Please note, the above programs offer the ability to export to or save as a PDF.

Video & Audio

If you share media from your website as a work sample, link directly to the video/audio rather than the home page. MAC recommends applicants upload links to video or audio files. Applicants can link to websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, etc. Please provide a start and end time within your work sample description not to exceed 5 minutes total of all audio and visual work samples. Please check all links to confirm they are public.

MAC recommends applicants upload using the following file types: MP3, MOV, MP4, WMV, WMA.

Images & Documents

MAC recommends applicants upload using the following file types: Word (.doc or .dox), Excel (.xls, .xlr, or .xlsx), PDF (.pdf), or JPEG (.jpeg).

You may upload links contained in a Word Document or PDF.

Work Samples

Please provide 5 – 7 work samples that best represent your organization’s past experience(s) with arts and culture projects. If this is your organization’s first arts and culture project, please lean heavily on the work samples of your contracted artists and creatives. One work sample entry must be a sample of the proposed public artwork. If you are contracting artists for your project, please reserve one work sample entry for each artist or artistic team.

Guidelines for Work Samples:

• 3 page maximum for any written work samples, such as, but not limited to: previous project plans, curriculums, press releases, reviews, print media and online articles, original prose or poetry samples, original scripts, etc.
  • One 3-page maximum = One Work Sample Entry
• 3 page maximum for any visual samples, such as, but not limited to: photographs, graphic designs, designs and illustrations.
  • One 3-page maximum = One Work Sample Entry
  • You may also choose to upload one visual sample as one work sample entry.
• 5 minutes TOTAL for any combination of video and audio recordings.
  • One video or audio recording = One Work Sample Entry
  • If you have multiple videos for one project, consider editing them together to create one video.
  • No matter how many audio and visual work sample entries you submit, the total time cannot exceed 5 minutes.

Please use the following format for each uploaded work sample:

• • “TITLE OF ARTWORK.WORK SAMPLE NUMBER.ORG or ARTIST’S NAME.”

Please note that you will be asked to describe the work sample. Please provide the title of the artwork, organization name/artist’s name, and 1 – 3 sentences describing the work sample.

Supplemental Documents

Upload any of the following supplemental documentation:

1. Artist Resumes: 2-page max per artist; one for each artist and/or artistic teams
2. Any additional paperwork to support and strengthen your proposed public artwork

Review Criteria

MAC staff reviews grant applications for eligibility. A review panel of professional artists, creatives, and arts administrative professionals will review all eligible grant applications. Administered by MAC staff, the panel meets to review scores and discuss proposals. Ten (10) grants will be awarded, five (5) for the $12,000 grant and five (5) for the $8,000 grant. MAC aims to have each of the five major Mississippi regions represented through one of each grant type. Major Mississippi regions include are The Gulf Coast, Capital-Rivers, The Pines, The Hills, and the The Delta.

Scores are assigned based on the criteria for MAC’s America250 Public Art Grants:

• Project is strongly aligned to one or more MAC America250 Public Art Grant themes (20 points)
  • Is the narrative a story that isn’t widely known?
  • How does the narrative fit into the larger Mississippi story and/or the larger American story?
  • How does the narrative and/or public art speak to the future of the community, both locally and at-large?
• Reasonable and responsible project budget (20 points)
  • Is there a confirmed or tentative cash match and in-kind contribution?
  • Does the budget seem reasonable for what the applicant is wishing to create?
  • Are contracted artists and creatives being paid?
• Artistic quality (30 points)
  • Proposed public artwork meets MAC’s working definition of public art.
    • Proposed public artwork is thoughtful in its accessibility, enhances community dialogue, and engages meaningfully within the selected artistic discipline.
  • Work samples demonstrate the capabilities needed to create the public artwork.
• Community ties, collaborations, and partnerships (30 points)
  • What are the conditions regarding public access to experience the public artwork?
  • Is there a sense of a mutually respectful relationship between the applicant, the applicant’s proposed public art, and the community?

The review panel will meet in February 2026 to discuss the results.

Review panelists are asked to write comments regarding each application. Should you wish to have your application’s comments sent to you, please email Special Initiatives Director Simone Cottrell at scottrell@arts.ms.gov

Grant Payments

MAC’s America250 Public Art Project Grants are paid in two installments:

90% of the grant award will be distributed within early March 2026.

First payments will not be made until MAC is in receipt of a properly signed contract and accompanying documents.

10% of the grant award following receipt and approval of the final report.

Other Awardee Information

Awarded applicants will participate in a two-hour online workshop in March 2026 facilitated by MAC Special Initiatives Director Simone Cottrell. The purpose of this workshop is for creative fellowship, share MAC information, ask and answer questions, and provide support to awardees, including how to document your creative process. Office Hours will be made available with awardees to support their goals for their project.

Legal Requirements

MAC and its grant recipients are contractually committed to abide by state and federal regulations that bar discrimination based on race, color, national origin, disability, age, or sex and require accessibility for persons with disabilities.

All grant recipients must assure compliance as required by these federal acts:

• Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which bar discrimination of federally assisted projects based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, or handicap;
• The Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires paying professional performers, artists, related and support personnel, laborers, and mechanics at or about the minimum compensation level for persons employed in similar activities;
• The Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, which prohibits the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance in conducting any federally assisted activity; and
• Executive Order 12549, which requires certification from the grant applicant that neither it nor its principals are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in any federal program.

Step One: Discuss Your Project with MAC Special Initiatives Director Simone Cottrell – OPTIONAL

MAC’s America250 Public Art Grant will be competitive. MHC’s available funding is $850k. MAC’s is a total of $100k.

Contact Simone Cottrell to discuss whether your proposed idea is a strong fit for this grant program or for the Mississippi Humanities Council’s America250 grant program. 45 minutes by appointment between November 17, 2025, through January 9, 2026. First scheduled, first-served.

Step Two: Submit a Narrative & Budget Draft to Simone Cottrell for Review – OPTIONAL

MAC staff reviews eligibility of grant applications. We select panelists to review all applications through a given set of criteria. Simone Cottrell can assist in reviewing your draft to offer pointers for a competitive application.

Narrative and budget must be emailed prior to a scheduled 30-minute review appointment. First scheduled, first served.

Step Three: Submit Your Online Application between Nov 17, 2025 – Jan 15, 2025 REQUIRED

Applications must be submitted between November 17, 2025 starting at 8 AM through January 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM CST.

Please visit arts.ms.gov/apply to check your account status or to create a new account. Contact Simone Cottrell if there is an issue with your grant account or application.

Step Four: Now What?

Your grant application will be reviewed a panel of professional artists, creatives, and arts administrators from the state, region, and/or nation. All applicants will receive a notification of their status in late February 2026. Awarded applicants will be sent additional required paperwork and information.