Apply Now for FY 2026 Commission on the Arts Grants

Published on July 09, 2025

(July 9, 2026) — “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

The City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts couldn’t agree more with icon Pablo Picasso — and invites artists to apply for its annual grant.

The commission encourages artists who produce, compose, write, present, or support dance, literary arts, media arts, music, theatre, visual arts, or related arts to apply for the grant. The grant funds support a specific project (as distinguished from the artists' general operating funds) that results in a product or service that will be available to the public for the benefit of the city and its residents. 

Click here to review eligibility requirements.

The fiscal year 2026 grant application is available on the City of Fairfax website. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, and must be submitted electronically.

The grant program provides public support for the growth and development of local artists and arts organizations; offers a myriad of diverse, cultural arts activities; and provides equal access to city arts resources for those who create art from and around our everyday life. Info:  Email; 703-273-6097.

FY 2025 Grant Recipients

• The Cathedral Brass – “Day of Brass,” free master classes with guest clinicians.
• FX Players – One Act Play: She Kills Monsters - at the VA Thespian Festival.
• Acting for Young People – a Playwright Festival featuring original short plays written by elementary and secondary students and performed by a company of professional actors.
• Mason Community Arts Academy –  “May the 4^th Be With You: Music from Film & Television“ presented by GMU Music faculty
• DanceArtTheatre – a dance festival featuring a variety of genres from contemporary to classical, modern, and urban
• Fairfax Academy Music & Computer Technology – MCT Music Fest
• Better Said Than Done – “The Malaga Ship Story,” a dramatic storytelling performance
• The Fairfax Ballet – "The Nutcracker"
• Fairfax Symphony Orchestra – “Link Up: The Orchestra Swings! Provided 3 months of classroom activities at Daniels Run Elementary and a culminating concert where students sang and played the recorders with the FSO from their seats in the audience at GMU’s Center for the Arts
• Fairfax Academy Musical Theatre/Actors Studio – “Once Upon a One More Time”
• Next Reflex Dance Collective – “Kinetic Canvas.” dancers choreographed dances specifically for four works painted by Fairfax Art League artists.
• Music to Free – “Jingle Bronze” Handbell Concert – performed holiday favorites in collaboration with a local high school chorus.
• Fairfax Art League – presented six public art enrichment workshops.
• Jazz4Justice – presented a jazz concert to educate audiences on the justice gap.
• Virginia Opera Association – presented “A Loving Community” featuring music and history relevant to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The performance was a prelude to the world premiere of “Loving v. Virginia” in April 2025.