HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) — Arts Council of Valley (ACV) announces the allocation of $7,500 in Fall 2026 Advancing the Arts grant funding to support 11 Harrisonburg-Rockingham area arts projects designed to serve almost 3,500 people. Since launching the grants program in 2001, ACV has reportedly awarded more than $539,800 to area artists and art educators.

“Awarding these grants reflects ACV’s continuing dedication to promoting innovation, fostering community involvement, and stimulating economic development,” noted ACV Executive Director Jenny Burden. “Advancing the Arts grants invest in the vital arts infrastructure of our community,” she added. “These awards are a concrete expression of ACV’s commitment to creative projects designed to cultivate the arts, create experiences, and connect communities.”

Fall Advancing the Arts grants were awarded in two categories: Arts for Education, provided to educators and educational organizations, and Creative Inspiration, allocated to individual artists.

This year’s Fall grants support community-based projects to be completed by May 31, 2027.

Four Arts for Education grants, designed to serve a total of 525 people, were awarded to:

  • James Blakey for High School Fantastic, an anthology of original speculative stories by high school students and homeschoolers, with the goal of encouraging student writers, while providing real-world experience in revision and editing to a printed book;
  • Trace Feng of MIMA Music for Band Together Thomas Harrison Middle School, an after-school collaborative songwriting program designed to provide a rich musical experience while fostering positive peer relationships;
  • Rachel Gagliardi of James Madison University for Multicultural Student Murals, to foster community building and cultural understanding among K-5 students in the Gus Bus afterschool programs at Stone Spring and Keister elementary schools; and
  • Maureen Ward of Rocktown House of Music for a Spring 2027 Community Concert at Court Square Theater.

Creative Inspiration grants that will serve an estimated 2,962 people were awarded to:

  • Natalie Doughty of inRenaissance Music & Art for You’re Invited to Play! – a Participatory Music-Making Pilot, an original, interdisciplinary participatory arts project exploring how play, improvisation, and shared creative agency can transform the relationship between artists and audiences;
  • Nathanael Eby of The Arc of Harrisonburg and RockinghamforThe Arc Anthology, a collaborative literary and visual arts project where adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities will create original short stories and artwork for a book;
  • Jo Enke for Stories from Home: Recording the Music of Jo and Ray Enke;
  • Jodi Haas of Still Meadows Enrichment Center and Camp for Bringing Our Garden to Life, adding a mural to the exterior of a playhouse in the camp’s therapeutic garden;
  • Ver Ikeseh for A Place to Belong, to create new paintings exploring how people come to feel at home in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County;
  • Robert Mott for And the Beat Goes On, to develop pieces for his July 2027 Smith House Galleries exhibition; and
  • Zachary Williams for Mouth Obsidian, to use iconic locations in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County in creating a short film exploring grief and related subjects.

Advancing the Arts grant awardees may receive one grant – ranging from $500 to $1,500 – per calendar year. Matching funds are not required for grant submissions. Spring 2027 grant cycle information, guidelines, and application materials will be available online by early January at Grants Expanding Creativity In The Classroom And Beyond and Grants Fostering Artistic Innovation.

The application deadline for the Spring cycle is 5 pm March 11, 2027, for projects taking place between April 1 and October 31, 2027.