Saint Paul, Minnesota (October 1, 2025) — The Arts Partnership is accepting proposals for its Knight Foundation Cultural Opportunity Fund, now through Dec. 31, 2025. Established in 2014, the fund provides both full and partial grants for Minnesota performing artists and ensembles to perform at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall. Selected artists will present their performances during the July 2026 through June 2027 season.
“Our state is home to so many incredibly talented artists, and this fund allows us to welcome more emerging talent, established Minnesota-based performers and mid-sized arts organization to our Concert Hall stage each season,” said Christopher Harrington, President of The Arts Partnership, and President and CEO of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. “We are very grateful to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for their generous support that makes this program possible.”
In 2014, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation endowed $1 million to create the Knight Foundation Cultural Opportunity Fund intended for those who could not otherwise afford to rent the Concert Hall to produce a performance or event in the hall. Since then, 65 performances have received more than $330,000 in support to host concerts, film screenings, stage productions and author readings in the Concert Hall.
The fund is administered by the Arts Partnership, which is composed of the four highly acclaimed organizations that perform regularly at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts—Minnesota Opera, the Ordway, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Schubert Club.
The Ordway Concert Hall opened in March 2015. The Hall seats 1,087 guests with no seat being more than 90 feet from the stage. The sprung wood mahogany stage makes it suitable for intimate classical music performances, popular concerts, lectures, choral music, a variety of dance styles and more. Lauded as one of the best music venues in the Twin Cities, the Ordway Concert Hall remains an acoustical gem even 10 years after it’s construction.
Submissions will be evaluated by a panel that reviews applications for outreach strategies, organizational capacity and productions that fulfill that organization’s mission or advance the artist’s career. Learn more about the fund and eligibility here. The online application portal will close Dec. 31, 2025, and award recipients will be notified in mid-February.