$59,000 awarded to 13 recipients in first 2025 round of funding for Windsor’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Fund (ACHF)
Local artists and creators submitted thirty-five eligible applications in the first round of ACHF funding for 2025. This included twenty-five applications from individuals and ten applications from organizations. Of these, thirteen projects — seven grants to individuals, and six grants to organizations — will receive support for arts, culture and heritage projects in the community.
The funding requests totalled about $160,000. With $59,000 available in this round, the competition was high, and the jury had to make difficult decisions. The jury was pleased to see eleven projects receive their full funding request. Of the applicants in this round, fifteen were first-time applicants to the program, and four of those applicants were selected to receive funding. The jury selected a strong mix of projects across genres including the music, performing arts, storytelling, dance, film, and comedy; and some important projects supporting diversity, inclusivity, heritage and the celebration of humanity in the city of Windsor.
The ACHF, approved by City Council, awards grants to individuals and cultural organizations to help stimulate creative and economic growth. Each project could be funded to a maximum of $5,000 in a given round. $118,000 in project funding is available each year, administered through two rounds of $59,000 each. In 2022, City Council approved a recommendation to increase funding by $30,800 to a total of $118,000 annual, which represents a 35% increase in funding to the program.
Since the launch of this program in 2014, and including this current round:
- 989 applications have been submitted for consideration for funding;
- 481 individual projects have received funding;
- $1,127,000.00 has been awarded in project funding to local arts, culture and heritage initiatives benefitting our community, including funding for:
- 33 community arts-based programs and initiatives,
- 77 visual arts projects and initiatives,
- 65 literary arts projects and initiatives,
- 88 performing arts projects and initiatives,
- 124 musical arts projects and initiatives,
- 62 film arts projects and initiatives, and
- 32 heritage and culture projects and initiatives.
The City extends congratulations to the following 2025 Round 1 recipients:
Windsor Jazz Concert Series. $5,000. Windsor Jazz Day. Funding for artist fees and production costs for a special jazz festival.
Windsor Feminist Theatre. $5,000. Fringe Windsor. Funding for venue rentals, technical costs, graphic design and promotion of a Fringe festival.
Terrance Travis. $5,000. A Blaze of Story Festival. Funding for artist fees and workshop fees for a storytelling festival.
Windsor Light Music Theatre. $5,000. Funding for American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation for live theatre productions in the 2025 season.
Arts Collective Theatre (ACT). $5,000. Funding for artist fees and production costs for a new musical.
Nuha Elalem. $5,000. The Salam Project. Funding for post-production costs, distribution, festival fees, and promotion of a locally made film.
Anh Nguyen. $5,000. 30th Anniversary of HNM Dance. Funding for artist fees and venue rental for a dance company’s 30th anniversary production.
Michael Poirier. $5,000. Displaced by War. Funding for production and post-production costs for a locally made documentary film.
Rising Lotus Foundation Inc. $5,000. Summer Fest 2025. Funding for artist fees, materials, production costs, and promotion of a multicultural festival showcasing diversity and inclusivity.
Kristen Siapas. $4,950. Jazz in the Park 2025. Funding for artist fees and venue rentals for a summer jazz series in community parks.
Stefan Cvetkovic. $3,550. Loop Sessions Windsor. Funding for venue rental, production costs, and promotion for a monthly music workshop and performance series.
Windsor Dance eXperience Inc. $3,000. Wonderland. Funding for set and costume costs for an original dance production.
Jill Moysiuk. $2,500. Intimate at Anchor with Mom Said Duck. Funding for artist fees, venue, videography, production costs, and promotion for a live comedy and poetry reading event.
Opportunity for Sponsors, Donors, Community-Builders with the ACHF:
As the ACHF program continues to evolve, the City is reaching out to those individuals, organizations, businesses and corporations that have expressed an interest in supporting arts, culture and heritage in Windsor in the past. There are two possible opportunities for partnership between sponsors, donors and community builders in connection with the ACHF grant program.
Those who wish to register as a Patron will be provided with information on funded ACHF projects that are seeking additional funding support to realize their project goals and increase community impact. City staff will facilitate a meeting between interested parties to see what possibilities exist.
Those who wish to register to become an ACHF Partner will have the opportunity to donate a funding amount to the ACHF funding stream, which will increase available funding in a given round, thus increasing opportunities for additional creators and projects to receive funding. The ACHF Jury will adjudicate all funding requests, and City staff will work with ACHF Partners to determine the best fit for donations in any given round.
Those wishing to take advantage of this unique opportunity to direct support to Windsor’s arts, culture and heritage creative community are asked to reach out to culturalaffairs@citywindsor.ca to begin the conversation.
Quotes:
“For the fourth year in a row, $118,000 will be awarded to individuals and organizations through the City’s ACHF program. The results of the program speak for themselves, with over $1 million in funding awarded to over four hundred and eighty innovative projects since the program launched. The ACHF is one of many components of Council’s overall significant investment in arts, culture and heritage in Windsor. Congratulations to the funding recipients this time around. We look forward to seeing these new projects come to life in Windsor!” - Mayor Drew Dilkens
“We remain proud of the ACHF program, and grateful for Council’s ongoing support and investment into this important initiative for our creative community. We are grateful to our volunteer jurors who step up to help us support arts, culture and heritage projects through this fund. We are excited to see this latest batch of projects move forward.” - Michelle Staadegaard, Manager of Culture & Events, City of Windsor
Further details on the program guidelines and objectives, application process, eligibility requirements, success stories from previous recipients, and deadline dates for funding rounds as available are posted at www.ACHFWindsor.ca online. To learn more about arts, culture and heritage services at the City of Windsor, visit www.CityWindsor.ca or contact 311.