generator fund 2026

Western New York is where electric power as we know it began—when Nikola Tesla harnessed the force of the Niagara River to transmit energy over a great distance, lighting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo and transforming the world. Inspired by this legacy of innovation and possibility, the Generator Fund supports artists who are generating new ways of making, sharing, and thinking about art in our region.

The Fund is grounded in a simple but increasingly rare premise: that visual artists deserve support to develop their practices, pursue ambitious ideas, and make great work.

We believe in the public power of art—but we start by investing in the artists themselves.

The Generator Fund supports projects that are public-facing, community-engaged, and materially inventive, but it is not prescriptive about the outcomes. Instead of framing art as a means to an end, the Fund creates space for artists to take risks, explore process, and push creative boundaries on their own terms.

To date, the Generator Fund has awarded over 50 grants since 2023, supporting exhibitions, performances, workshops, publications, gardens, sound works, and new artist-run spaces.

We offer two types of grants:

• Kinetic Grants (up to $5,000)

  For short-term, public-facing visual arts projects—like exhibitions, performances, installations, workshops, or publications.

• Potential Grants (up to $10,000)

  For long-term, collaborative, or platform-building projects—like artist-run spaces, recurring events, media platforms, or other structures that extend beyond a single outcome.

Not sure which one is right for you? Ask yourself:

• Does your project have a clear beginning and end, with a specific event, release, or presentation? → Kinetic

• Is your idea more about creating an ongoing space, system, or collaborative project? → Potential

• Are you working mostly on your own or with a small team? → Kinetic

• Are you building something that involves many people or is intended to evolve over time? → Potential

If you’re still unsure, we recommend reviewing the application preview below and thinking through your project goals.