For Kids
An Arabian market in Spokane, like one would find in the big cities of the Middle East and North Africa.
Cultural
Grantee
Grantees
Spokane Arts Grant Awards (SAGA) funds multiple programs and projects three times every year through a competitive application process. Grant winners carry out arts related activities in the Spokane area during the twelve months following their award date. Awards can be for any amount up to $10,000.
SAGA defines the term “arts” by observing our community’s creative activity. We live in a region populated by many cultures, talented in varied crafts and trades, and curious about learning and engaging in technique, expression, and artistic community. SAGA has funded blacksmithing and glassblowing, cultural art forms such as canoe making, performance, exhibition, education, therapy, and individual artistic development. We have also funded arts-based businesses and new collaborations.
SAGA stands on the principle that creatives should be paid for the work they do and we educate both the broader community and the artistic sector that creative work has value.
By July of 2026, SAGA had funded 219 proposals providing a total of more than $1,200,000 to local artists, organizations, and businesses in Spokane and the Spokane area.
2026 is SAGA’s tenth year serving the Spokane region. Below we provide a complete list of each of our awardees since our first year of funding in 2017. View just the most recent year’s winners here.
Due to Covid, the City of Spokane faced a 60% drop in its admissions tax income in 2020. The City’s 2020 tax revenue was the basis for SAGA grants in 2022, leaving us with less than half of the funds we required to sustain meaningful grantmaking to arts and culture that year. We were prepared for relatively normal tax base downturns, so we were able to offset some of the Covid shortfall, but even exhausting our emergency fund, the tax base losses outstripped our resources by well over $50,000.
To maintain our grantmaking in 2022, SAGA was grateful to receive $50,000 in support from the NEA Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) program. This support meant we were able to fund an additional seven projects in 2022 during a time when organizations were feeling a second pinch: that audiences and customers were not yet returning to pre-Covid levels. We are grateful to the NEA for supporting Spokane’s arts and culture at that critical time.
Film
Grantee
Rachel Baker
untouchable is a comedy short film inspired by true stories about the pains of growing up. Originally a one-woman show, it tells the story of a girl growing up while navigating and overcoming limitations, bullying, and learning what it means to be a “good” person.
Music
Grantee
Devonte Pearson (T.S. The Solution)
A six track EP, educational workshops surrounding the release of the album, and a concert debuting the final product.
Cultural
Grantee
Friends of Mmofra
An outdoor exhibition reflecting the universality of play across place, culture and time.
For Kids
Grantee
Blue Door Theatre
Improv League is a year-long transformative program taught by local, professional improv faculty and offered for free to Spokane area high school students.
Native/Alaska Native
Grantee
Robert Charloe
The project will capture the rich narratives and expressive portraits of Kalispel tribal elders.
Fashion
Grantee
Heather Litnauwista Metrokin Cannon
Cannon will study the process of transforming fish skins into usable leather, and hold an educational event in 2024 for Alaska Natives in the Spokane area.
Arts Business
Grantee
HaveUHeard!?Live
You Oughta Know will feature five different panels on various aspects of the music and performing arts business Fall of 2023 / Spring 2024.
Cultural
Grantee
Spokane United We Stand
SAGA is providing support to compensate cultural artists in United We Stand’s International Arts and Foodfest (IAF) and provide materials and arts business education for IAF participants.
Visual
Grantee
Eastern Washington University Department of Design
EWU’s Design Department has been awarded a SAGA grant to pilot university-based risograph residencies. These residencies will help advance the practices of local and regional artists in collaboration with students and the Spokane community.
Stage
Grantee
Madeline McNeill
Bodies in Conversation will be presented at The Magic Lantern Theater as a multimedia event: a screening of a short art film, live music, and a new play.