Grants

Nao Bustamante and Marcus Kuiland-Nazario perform at Ain't I a Womxn?. Presented by LA Freewaves at LA Historic State Park, Los Angeles, CA, July 28, 2018. Photo by: Safi Alia Shabaik.


Infinite Expansion Grants

In keeping with our mission, the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts (MKFA) supports arts organizations that foster critical thinking, risk-taking, and provocation in the arts through innovative programming and projects with artists. The grant program furthers Mike Kelley’s philanthropic work and honors his legacy by awarding funds to arts organizations that reflect the spirit of his practice.

For the 2025 grant cycle, MKFA will offer the new Infinite Expansion Grants (IEG). The grant takes its name from Mike Kelley’s Infinite Expansion (1983), a large drawing depicting a tiny landscape in the center of the work from which radiate larger and larger psychedelic wood grain patterns. With this in mind, the aim of these grants is to emphasize the expansive impact that arts organizations and artists make in the world and the communities they build.

A shift away from the recent Organizational Support Grants (2021-2024), the IEG will center on the experimental and thought-provoking work of artists presented by arts nonprofits and fiscally sponsored organizations in LA County. Grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded based on the submission of an upcoming project. Award size will depend on the project budget, operating budget, and how much MKFA can offer in awards. While the grants will primarily support the culmination of an artist project, a portion of the funds may be directed toward general operating support.

The Foundation is particularly interested in supporting work that has proven (or may prove) challenging to undertake or fund due to its content, experimental nature, complexity, or other factors. Grants may cover any or all project phases, from planning to implementation, but the project must culminate in a publicly presented work in Los Angeles County by December 2026.

A number of changes have been made to this grant cycle, including the addition of an initial submission of a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) due by August 16, 2024. Please read the guidelines and FAQs to help complete your LOI. To access the LOI click here.

Our 2025 grant cycle is now closed. Please stay tuned for the announcement of our grantees in Spring 2025.


Ron Athey and Sean Griffin, Gifts of the Spirit: Prophecy, Automatism and Discernment, 2018. Presented by Volume at Vibiana, Los Angeles, CA, January 25, 2018.