$295,000 Awarded to 33 Artists Advancing Creative Work Across Tucson’s Six Wards and Beyond.
TUCSON, AZ — The Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona is pleased to announce the 2026 Artist Grant recipients, celebrating innovative artists expanding the definition of artistic work in our region. This year’s program will invest $295,000 in support of 33 artists working across 11 artistic disciplines, with grantees representing all six City of Tucson wards and communities throughout Southern Arizona. This program is generously funded by the City of Tucson, the Pima County Department of Community & Workforce Development, the Mellon Foundation, and the Arizona Community Foundation.
The Artist Grant program supports artists as they pursue creative projects across multiple sectors, affirming artists’ transformative role in shaping our communities. This year, 63.6% of recipients are first-time grantees, and 24.2% represent rural communities.
This year’s grants exclusively support artists’ labor, enabling recipients to realize their creative work while partnering directly with 33 Clients, one selected by each grantee. These collaborations will span sectors including tourism, public education, public health, housing and community development, creative placemaking, cultural heritage, economic development, government, community advocacy, and local nonprofit organizations. The resulting impact promises to ripple throughout Tucson and Southern Arizona, strengthening the creative ecosystem for years to come.
“The stART Grant connects artists and clients to further charge the Tucson and Southern Arizona creative economy,” said Gibran Villalobos, Interim Grants and Programs Director. “For many artists, this is a launchpad to professionally develop and share their work with new members of the community.”
2026 Artist Grant Highlights:
- $295,000 awarded to 33 artists
- Recipients from all six City of Tucson wards and Southern Arizona communities
- 24.2% of grantees represent rural communities
- 63.6% are first-time Arts Foundation grantees
- Supported disciplines: visual arts, theater and performance, dance, music, writing and literature, film, photography, and community arts
- Each grantee will collaborate with a community Client across diverse sectors.
2026 Artist Grant Recipients:
- Alex Smith/ Client: Splinter Collective
- Ana Santos Acinas/ Client: Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block
- Andre Baray Rocha/ Client: South Tucson Community Outreach
- Bibi / Client: Esther Adult Care Home
- Cameron Hood/ Client: Saguaro City Music Theatre
- Carolyn King/ Client: Heart to Hand Studio
- Charlotte Adams/ Client: Funhouse Movement Theater
- Daniela Dawson/ Client: Border Loomers
- Danielle Anderson/ Client: Homer Davies Elementary School
- Diana Ortiz/ Client: ScholarshipsA-Z
- Delaney Wamer/ Client: Art State Arizona
- Lizz Denneau/ Client: University of Arizona Museum of Art
- Fernando Serrano/ Client: Central School Project
- GK Lamb/ Client: Vail Preservation Society (VPS)
- Garrett Larribas/ Client: Spectrum of Joy Academy
- Gloria Alejandra Flores/ Client: MOCA Tucson
- HCortez Media/ Client: Imelda Cortez
- Blizo/ Client: The Drawing Studio
- Lindsay Joelle/ Client: Invisible Theatre
- Lisa Ann Swanson/ Client: The Opportunity Tree
- Lisa Rooney/ Client: Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona
- Logan Phillips/ Client: Tucson Small Business Center
- Louise Fleurs/ Client: Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area
- Lydia R. Otero/ Client: Borderlands Theater
- Marla G. Kuhn/ Client: Amity Foundation’s Circle Tree Ranch
- Maxie Adler/ Client: Tucson’s Buffelgrass Adobe Brickyard
- Nefftys/ Client: Gok Building
- Quinton Antone/ Client: Tohono O’odham Juvenile Detention Center
- Rachel Strong/ Client: Habibs Holdings, LLC
- Ruben Urrea Moreno/ Client: Mexican American Heritage and History Museum
- Shirley Wagner/ Client: El Rio Behavioral Health and Integration Services
- Simba Rusita/ Client: The Dunbar Pavilion African American Cultural Center
- Ty Atiyeh/ Client: The Southern Arizona Film Society
The Arts Foundation congratulates this year’s Artist Grant recipients and remains dedicated to supporting artists who drive creativity, innovation, and community impact in Southern Arizona.
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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, Arizona Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, the Mellon Foundation, the Arizona Community Foundation, 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.
