We are pleased to announce the four community arts collaborations selected to receive 2025 City of Birmingham Community Arts Grants. Each project will receive a $10,000 grant in support of creative cross-sector programming that will serve residents of all ages across the city this year.

ALABAMA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL 

MARC STEEL SCULPTURE GARDEN

This grant will support The Marc Steel EcoScape, transforming an industrial landscape in Titusville into a botanical garden for residents, visiting school children, and university audiences. This project will replicate and expand the former Hugh Kaul EcoScape at Birmingham-Southern College, an outdoor classroom that featured animal sculptures, flower mosaics, and huge music chimes made from discarded materials. Marc Steel EcoScape will serve as a STEAM field trip destination for K-12 schools, a climate change research lab for college classes, and a community greenspace for local residents. 

Marc Steel Sculpture Garden is a collaboration between the Alabama Environmental Council and artist Jurgen Tarrasch. 

BIB & TUCKER SEW-OP

THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

This grant will support The Intersection of Art and Agriculture, a series of four workshops that will teach the public how to dye and embellish textiles using food, leaves, and flowers grown at Jones Valley Teaching Farm. The goal of this programming is to educate the public that attractive textile-based creations can be made sustainably with materials that can be readily found growing around us in our yard. This collaboration will demonstrate that the intersection of art and agriculture can be very fruitful and good for the planet. 

The Intersection of Art and Agriculture is a collaboration between Bib & Tucker Sew-Op and Jones Valley Teaching Farm.

GIRL SPRING

BE EMPOWERED POETRY CONTEST

This grant will support the Be Empowered Poetry Contest, which aims to empower teen girls in the Birmingham area through creativity and self-expression. The contest will be open to girls aged 13-18, and participants will learn about the different types of poetry, how to use poetry as a tool for creative expression, and how poetry can be a catalyst for social change. Contest winners will receive cash prizes, framed prints of their poems, and be highlighted on GirlSpring's website and social media. The advisor for the Be Empowered Poetry Contest is Javacia Harris Bowser. Javacia is a writer, journalist, and poet, as well as the founder and CEO of See Jane Write, LLC. She is a frequent contributor to local and national publications, including Style Blueprint, Birmingham Times, Good Grit, and more.

Be Empowered Poetry Contest is a collaboration between Girl Spring and See Jane Write, LLC. 

INTOTO CREATIVE ARTS 

UNSHELTERED EXPRESSIONS: BINDING HOPE

This grant will support InToto Creative Arts’ collaboration with Firehouse Shelter to produce "Unsheltered Expressions: Binding Hope," a book that will feature artwork and writings by Firehouse guests. Content for the book will be developed in weekly sessions that will take place at Firehouse Ministries from January through May 2025. The book will be released in June 2025 during a community event at East Village Arts, which will feature live poetry readings from book contributors. Attendees will be given raw pages and, together, will bind the books by hand. The book will include six pages that will be perforated by hand that the reader may remove to be sent as postcards, dispersing these works even further into the community. Unsheltered Expressions: Binding Hope will use the arts to address the community needs of connection and hope. By facilitating collective art-making, this program will build community bonds among participants and encourage mutual support and understanding.

Unsheltered Expressions: Binding Hope is a collaboration between InToto Creative Arts and Firehouse Ministries.

This Community Arts Grant Program is funded and made possible by the City of Birmingham and administered by Create Birmingham. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM HERE