The Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona Announces its 2025 stART Grantees.
$147,885 are awarded to 52 Grantees across 6 City of Tucson Wards.
TUCSON, AZ — The Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona is pleased to announce the 2025 stART Grant recipients, celebrating Southern Arizona creatives who are shaping the region’s cultural landscape. The 2025 stART Grant investment provides $147,885 in support of 52 individual artists, collectives, and 501(c)(3) organizations. The program is generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Tucson, and Pima County.
These awards foster artist development, community engagement, and artistic expression. The funding allows creatives at various stages of their careers to advance their practices, experiment with new projects, and contribute to the cultural vitality of the region.
Funding was allocated across two tracks: first, through Community Impact, which supports projects that will positively benefit the community; and second, through Artist Development, which supports individual creatives seeking resources or experiences that will improve their artistic practice. Projects funded include work by arts professionals working at the intersection of culture and heritage, career advancement, community advocacy, professional development, creative placemaking, economic development, historic preservation, neighborhood associations, and public health.
“Artists and Cultural Workers imagine our communities into the future,” said Gabriela Muñoz, Director of Grants and Programs. “Investing in their work catalyzes a more joyous, vibrant, and healthier future in our region.”
Grantees requested up to $3,000 each, empowering recipients to focus on their work and engage meaningfully with their communities.
“This funding supports artists at all stages of their careers while strengthening Tucson and Southern Arizona’s creative ecosystem,” said David Gaxiola, Grants and Programs Project Manager. “The impact will continue well beyond the initial support.”
2025 stART Grant Highlights
37 of the 52 Awardees (71%) in this year’s cohort are first-time grant recipients, many of them representinga new generation of Tucson and Southern Arizona creatives. Removing barriers to engagement and expanding the reach of the funding underscores the Arts Foundation’s commitment to supporting both emerging and established talent. Grantees’ work spans a wide range of disciplines, including the visual arts, music, film, dance, theater, literary arts, and community arts. Grantees are supported to make creative innovations, deepen their engagement and community impact, and purchase much-needed supplies and equipment to enhance their artistic vision and sustain their artistic practice.
2025 stART Grantees
Artist Development Track
Alex! Jimenez
Betsy Bright
Brian López
Cazo / Ana Sofia Gonzalez
Christopher Scott
Claire Fall Blanchette
Dee Ruff
Dennis Tamblyn
Elaine Greenwood
Eryka Dellenbach
Harrison P. Preston
Isadora Hale
Jacqueline Arias
Jazzy “Boho” Benson
Jorge Ruiz / JR Miniatures
Linda L Chappel
Lydia See
Mariel Miranda
Mark Mitchell
Martina Car
Philip Alejo
Revolta Art / Monique Laraway
Ryan David Green
Sara Curtiss
Sara Hubbs
Total Fantasy / Genevieve Schroeder
Victoria Westover
Xinyu Zhang
Community Impact Track
BorderLens Southwest: A Women’s Photography Collective
Desert Survivors Inc
Eva Karene Romero
Femme Photo Club
Fluxx Productions
Jennie Gubner
Jonathan Heras
Lindee Zimmer & Lisa Rooney
Living2Portraits, We Make Art Collective
Los Descendientes del Presidio de Tucson
Mariana de la Vega
Mariana Rivera
Meela Hill
Monique Garcia
Native American Advancement Foundation (NAFF)
Outspokin’ & Bookish
Paul Mirocha
Red Herring Puppets
Sketching the Senses
Society for Bevel Intentions, Inc. / Mat Bevel Company
The Backup Brass Band
The Projects/Space
YISELART / Yisela Núñez Molina
The Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and funding agency with a mission to advance the artistic expression, civic participation, and equitable economic growth of our diverse communities. Through forward-thinking, accountable leadership, the Arts Foundation works to affect systemic change that fosters an accessible, diverse, inclusive, and equitable local arts community.
As the designated local arts agency, the Arts Foundation provides arts and cultural development across Southern Arizona for individual working artists, artist collectives, ensembles, and nonprofit organizations through grant programs, professional development opportunities and public art program management for the City of Tucson.
The work of the Arts Foundation is made possible through generous support from the City of Tucson, Pima County, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Arizona Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and individual donors. Our service area includes all counties and native sovereign nations South of the Gila River, including 372 miles along the US-Mexico international border in the South and along the 590-mile stretch of the Gila River, which flows west from the New Mexico border to the Colorado River.
