Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts

The Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts Program is a city-led funding opportunity to enhance creative opportunities in Downtown, Uptown, and other parts of the city, aiming to boost vibrancy, innovation, and sustainability.

The overarching goal of the Program is to provide public financial support, advocacy, and community building for local artists, creative entrepreneurs, and arts organizations.

View Properties | Apply Here | Due May 16

Image: Justin Sengly

Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts Initiative

Purpose

The Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts is a city-led funding rolling opportunity to support and grow creative opportunities within the ecosystem of downtown and other parts of the city with the goal of increasing vibrancy, innovation, and sustainability. The Arts & Cultural Affairs department is bringing together property owners with individual artists and arts organizations by providing funding to subsidize rental costs. This yields a dual advantage: ensuring stable tenants for property owners and furnishing essential space for the local creative community.

The overarching goal is to provide public financial support, advocacy, and community building for local artists, creative entrepreneurs, and arts organizations to:

Stimulate the economic revitalization of targeted areas in the downtown district by building a new sense of cross-sector creative cohesion.
Increase and catalyze arts vibrancy, foot traffic and cultural public engagement through supporting and incentivizing prime areas for arts activation.
Assist local artists, creative entrepreneurs and arts organizations with physical space to workshop, incubate, develop and offer their programming and artmaking to the public.
Address the ongoing space crisis affecting the creative community in Minneapolis and increase a sense of public safety in downtown.
Remediate patterns of systemic and institutionalized discrimination, disinvestment, economic exclusion, and disenfranchisement of peoples and identities that have been suppressed and erased.

Terms and conditions

Each selected applicant may receive up to $50,000 per year for up to two years to cover partial or full rental costs of a Participating Property
Selected Applicants will be required to enter into an award agreement with the City
Selected applicants must sign a two-year lease agreement with the owner of their chosen Participating Property and adhere to its terms to receive Program award funds. The City will not be a party to this agreement.
Payments will be issued only after the contract is executed and a signed lease agreement is submitted to the Program Manager. Selected applicants may receive up to 25% of the total award upon contract execution, with the remaining funds disbursed upon submission of rent receipts and documented quarterly deliverables.
Award funding cannot be used for costs such as, tenant improvements, programming, staffing, utilities and general operations expense; political, religious, or lobbying activities; and gift cards, cash incentives, or giveaway items.

2025 Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts: Review participating properties

IMPORTANT DATES

Applications open: March 17, 2025
Program information webinar: March 21, 2025 at 3 p.m. (View Webinar Part 1 & Part 2)
Questions on NOFA due: March 26, 202 5 (Download 2025 NOFA)
Responses to Questions posted: April 2, 2025
Properties site visits: April 11, 12 and 19, 2025 (RSVP here)
Application deadline: May 16,2025 at 4:30 p.m. CST
Applications review: May 19 - June 23, 2025
Award notifications: June 27, 2025
Eligible funding period: 24 months from the executed contract date

Eligible Applicants

Applicants must be Minnesota residents and be able to work in-person throughout the term of their work on this program. Preference will be given to Minneapolis residents.
Applicants must be local individual artists or artist groups/teams with professional artistic resumes spanning a minimum of three years or arts organizations or arts/culture service organizations that can demonstrate a minimum of three years of programmatic history.
Applicants must focus on one or more of the following artistic and community-building practices: visual, performing, literary, media, traditional, digital and public arts as well as design and craft and those working in non-traditional media.
Applicants who are able to commit to a 2-year lease in one of the Participating Properties.
Applicants must program the Participating Properties with on-going, at least quarterly accessible, free or low-cost events which are open to the public. These programs need to be reviewed and approved by ACA staff and should be relevant to the work of the artists/organization.
Multiple applicants may submit a joint application to “cluster” together in one of the Participating Properties to maximize the potential of collaboration and use of the space, so long as each applicant meets all eligibility requirements of this NOFA.

Evaluation Criteria

Program applications will be based on the criteria below. The City may, in its sole discretion, expand or reduce the criteria upon which it bases its final decisions.

Ability to facilitate collaborative art or cultural activities that support the economic vitality of downtown, plus have the capacity to bring the community together by operating a Participating Property.
Ability to facilitate programming that celebrates or promotes the rich diverse character and identity of Minneapolis and greater Minnesota.
Demonstrated ability to ensure proposal is accessible to a diverse audience and inclusive of various backgrounds, abilities and perspectives.
Proposed use of one of the Participating Properties, the fit of the applicant to venue and lease conditions for one of the Participating Properties, and ability to provide on-going positive impacts to the vibrancy of Downtown.
Strength of the theme/concept/use of the Participating Property and its activation and its implementation.
Whether the applicant and application meet all eligibility criteria and satisfy all NOFA requirements.
Whether NOFA Project funds are available.
How well the application meets City goals, priorities and plans including the reduction of climate impact and ensure equity. See City’s official Climate equity plan here: Climate Equity Plan - City of Minneapolis (minneapolismn.gov)
Expressed needs of the applicant and affiliated arts sector.
Quality, thoroughness, and clarity of the application.
Qualifications and experience of the applicant.
Feasibility of proposed activities and ability of applicant to complete proposed activities.
Level of creativity, innovation, and community building expressed it the application.
Ability to support a broad range of unique artists and diverse arts activities that support creative art making and cultural exchange.

Program Deliverables

Audience Engagement: An audience/community engagement strategy that demonstrates the incorporation of interactive elements to engage passersby and encourage participation to support gatherings and activations.

Programming: Applicant must program the space with ongoing, at least quarterly events that are accessible, free or low cost, and open to the public.
Local Context: Demonstrate how applicant will integrate elements of the local community, culture, or history to create a sense of connection and relevance.
Documentation: Record and photograph production of artwork, projects and or events held at the participating storefront. On site activations and public/community engagement must be captured and shared with the city and the constituents. Deliver a communications/marketing plan that includes how applicant will make their events accessible, collect demographic data. Conduct surveys before and after the integration to gauge community members' sense of connection and relevance
Quarterly Reporting: Award recipients will provide two primary types of reporting to ACA staff on a quarterly basis: financial and programmatic reporting. These reports provide information about the overall financial status and performance of the awardees ACA Vibrant Storefront Program. Financial reports will include proof of rent paid per month and revenue generated. Programmatic reporting will include tracking the number of artists supported, variety of audiences and communities served via the ACA approved programming. Recipients must also respond to any audit requests that pertain to the award.
Annual Reporting: An annual report must be submitted twelve months from the date the property lease is signed. This annual report must include audience engagement numbers, number of events, description of event outcomes. revenue, number of jobs created/artists supported, description of the ways in which applicant was able to leverage their work and achieve more opportunities as well as demographics of onsite events and attendees and financial reporting.

Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts

Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts Initiative

Purpose

The overarching goal is to provide public financial support, advocacy, and community building for local artists, creative entrepreneurs, and arts organizations to:

Stimulate the economic revitalization of targeted areas in the downtown district by building a new sense of cross-sector creative cohesion.

Increase and catalyze arts vibrancy, foot traffic and cultural public engagement through supporting and incentivizing prime areas for arts activation.

Assist local artists, creative entrepreneurs and arts organizations with physical space to workshop, incubate, develop and offer their programming and artmaking to the public.

Address the ongoing space crisis affecting the creative community in Minneapolis and increase a sense of public safety in downtown.

Remediate patterns of systemic and institutionalized discrimination, disinvestment, economic exclusion, and disenfranchisement of peoples and identities that have been suppressed and erased.

Terms and conditions

Each selected applicant may receive up to $50,000 per year for up to two years to cover partial or full rental costs of a Participating Property

Selected Applicants will be required to enter into an award agreement with the City

Selected applicants must sign a two-year lease agreement with the owner of their chosen Participating Property and adhere to its terms to receive Program award funds. The City will not be a party to this agreement.

Award funding cannot be used for costs such as, tenant improvements, programming, staffing, utilities and general operations expense; political, religious, or lobbying activities; and gift cards, cash incentives, or giveaway items.

2025 Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts: Review participating properties

IMPORTANT DATES

Applications open: March 17, 2025

Program information webinar: March 21, 2025 at 3 p.m. (View Webinar Part 1 & Part 2)

Questions on NOFA due: March 26, 202 5 (Download 2025 NOFA)

Responses to Questions posted: April 2, 2025

Properties site visits: April 11, 12 and 19, 2025 (RSVP here)

Application deadline: May 16,2025 at 4:30 p.m. CST

Applications review: May 19 - June 23, 2025

Award notifications: June 27, 2025

Eligible funding period: 24 months from the executed contract date

Eligible Applicants

Applicants must be Minnesota residents and be able to work in-person throughout the term of their work on this program. Preference will be given to Minneapolis residents.

Applicants must be local individual artists or artist groups/teams with professional artistic resumes spanning a minimum of three years or arts organizations or arts/culture service organizations that can demonstrate a minimum of three years of programmatic history.

Applicants must focus on one or more of the following artistic and community-building practices: visual, performing, literary, media, traditional, digital and public arts as well as design and craft and those working in non-traditional media.

Applicants who are able to commit to a 2-year lease in one of the Participating Properties.

Applicants must program the Participating Properties with on-going, at least quarterly accessible, free or low-cost events which are open to the public. These programs need to be reviewed and approved by ACA staff and should be relevant to the work of the artists/organization.

Multiple applicants may submit a joint application to “cluster” together in one of the Participating Properties to maximize the potential of collaboration and use of the space, so long as each applicant meets all eligibility requirements of this NOFA.

Evaluation Criteria

Ability to facilitate collaborative art or cultural activities that support the economic vitality of downtown, plus have the capacity to bring the community together by operating a Participating Property.

Ability to facilitate programming that celebrates or promotes the rich diverse character and identity of Minneapolis and greater Minnesota.

Demonstrated ability to ensure proposal is accessible to a diverse audience and inclusive of various backgrounds, abilities and perspectives.

Proposed use of one of the Participating Properties, the fit of the applicant to venue and lease conditions for one of the Participating Properties, and ability to provide on-going positive impacts to the vibrancy of Downtown.

Strength of the theme/concept/use of the Participating Property and its activation and its implementation.

Whether the applicant and application meet all eligibility criteria and satisfy all NOFA requirements.

Whether NOFA Project funds are available.

How well the application meets City goals, priorities and plans including the reduction of climate impact and ensure equity. See City’s official Climate equity plan here: Climate Equity Plan - City of Minneapolis (minneapolismn.gov)

Expressed needs of the applicant and affiliated arts sector.

Quality, thoroughness, and clarity of the application.

Qualifications and experience of the applicant.

Feasibility of proposed activities and ability of applicant to complete proposed activities.

Level of creativity, innovation, and community building expressed it the application.

Ability to support a broad range of unique artists and diverse arts activities that support creative art making and cultural exchange.

Program Deliverables

Audience Engagement: An audience/community engagement strategy that demonstrates the incorporation of interactive elements to engage passersby and encourage participation to support gatherings and activations.

Programming: Applicant must program the space with ongoing, at least quarterly events that are accessible, free or low cost, and open to the public.

Local Context: Demonstrate how applicant will integrate elements of the local community, culture, or history to create a sense of connection and relevance.