PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2025
Contact: Dana Whipkey
grantsandprojects@hocoarts.org
(410) 313-2787
Howard County Arts Council Awards Over $600,000 to Local Artists, Arts Organizations, and Schools with FY2026 Grants
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – The Howard County Arts Council announced the FY2026 grant recipients for the Community Arts Development (CAD), Individual Artist Merit and Creativity (IAM Creativity), and Artist-in-Education (AiE) programs, among others, on October 19, 2025, at the Howard County Center for the Arts.
Over 170 arts supporters were on hand at the Arts Council’s Annual Meeting and grants were awarded to 25 Howard County organizations, nine Howard County public schools, and 12 Baltimore City arts and cultural organizations in support of general operations, artist residencies, and special projects in the arts.
Grantees were congratulated by Howard County Arts Council Executive Director Coleen West, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, State Delegate Jessica Feldmark, County Councilmember Deb Jung, State Senator Clarence Lam, and State Delegate Natalie Ziegler.
Grants were presented in these categories to the following organizations:
Community Arts Development (Operating)
· Chamber Music Maryland – $44,000.00
· Columbia Center for Performing Arts – $60,000.00
· Columbia Festival of the Arts – $23,000.00
· Columbia Orchestra – $50,000.00
· Columbia Pro Cantare – $30,000.00
· Howard County Poetry and Literature Society – $18,000.00
· Kinetics Dance Theatre – $36,000.00
· Silhouette Stages – $9,000.00
Community Arts Development (Project)
· Columbia Bands – $6,000.00
· Columbia Vantage House- $2,752.00
· First Evangelical Lutheran Church – $6,000.00
· Glen Mar United Methodist Church – $6,000.00
· HopeWorks of Howard County – $6,000.00
· Howard County Chinese School – $6,000.00
· Howard County Concert Odyssey – $6000.00
· Howard County Summer Theatre – $5,980.00
· Inner Arbor Trust – $6,000.00
· Little Patuxent Review – $6,000.00
· ManneqART – $5,000.00
· Maryland Winds – $6,000.00
· Misako Ballet Company – $6,000.00
· Movement in Music Ensemble – $6,000.00
· ShowTime Singers – $5,500.00
· Sundays at Three – $6,000.00
· Winter Growth – 6,000.00
Jim Rouse Theatre Subsidy
· Columbia Orchestra – 5,500.00
· Columbia Pro Cantare – $3,660.00
· Howard County Chinese School – $1,740.00
· Kinetics Dance Theatre – $7,500.00
· Misako Ballet Company – $1,760.00
·
Artists-In-Education
· Burleigh Manor Middle School PTA – $2,500.00
· Clarksville Elementary School PTA – $2,024.00
· Dunloggin Middle School PTA – $2,500.00
· Elkridge Landing Middle School PTA – $1,500.00
· Glenwood Middle School PTA – $4,200.00
· Lime Kiln Middle School PTA – $2,100.00
· Patapsco Middle School PA – $2,250.00
· Running Brook Elementary School PTA – $2,500.00
· Talbott Springs Elementary School PTA – $2,936.00
Baltimore City Arts & Cultural Organizations
· American Visionary Arts Museum – $4,751.00
· Baltimore Center Stage – $20,497.00
· Baltimore Museum of Art – $24,013.00
· Baltimore Museum of Industry – $12,067.00
· Baltimore Symphony Orchestra – $23,963.00
· Maryland Center for History and Culture – $6,125.00
· Maryland Science Center – $19,212.00
· Maryland Zoological Society – $24,878.00
· National Aquarium – $13,469.00
· Port Discovery Children’s Museum – $14,000.00
· The Walters Art Museum – $18,517.00
Outreach Howard
· American Visionary Arts Museum – $2,040.00
· Baltimore Symphony Orchestra – $13,627.00
· Chesapeake Shakespeare Company – $13,597.00
· Maryland Science Center – $11,333.00
· Maryland Zoological Society – $6,627.000
IAM Creativity – Film/Video & New Media
· Kelli Williams – $5,000.00
· Christopher Heady – $2,000.00
· Willy Conley – $1,000.00
IAM Creativity – Music & Music Composition
· Evan Nicole Brown – $5,000.00
· Diana Cantrelle McKinney – $1,000.00
· Junghoon Park – $1,000.00
· Jason Wilson – $1,000.00
Each year, the Arts Council awards nearly $1 million in operating and special project grants to artists, local arts organizations, K-12 schools, key Baltimore City arts and cultural institutions, and others. As the primary funder for the arts in Howard County, the Arts Council is committed to investing grant funds wisely, broadening opportunities in the arts, and encouraging greater public participation in the arts. For more information and to all the Arts Council grant programs, please visit hocoarts.org/grants or call (410) 313-2787.