How to Apply
The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation supports artistic production and creative practice across the University of Pennsylvania community with grant opportunities for Penn faculty, staff, students, departments, programs, and centers.
The Sachs Program 2027 grant cycle is now open.
During our 2027 grant cycle, we are offering six different grant opportunities. Sachs Program grant awards provide essential catalytic support to get ideas off the ground, encourage experimentation, and cultivate meaningful engagement with and through the arts. This support is offered across disciplines, encouraging artistic and intellectual exchange, multimodal practices, and deep investments in particular fields or areas of study.
2027 Grant Opportunities
Student Grants
The Sachs Program offers grant opportunities to University of Pennsylvania undergraduate and graduate students as well as student groups.
- Student Grants provide up to $3,500 to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as student groups, to support creative practice, including independent projects, thesis and dissertation-related work, and programs and initiatives that engage the student body or broader public.
Annual Grants
Sachs Program 2027 Annual Grants include a range of opportunities supporting University of Pennsylvania faculty and staff, departments, programs and centers, as well as collaborations with community partners.
- Artist Residency Grants provide up to $25,000 to departments, programs, and centers to bring artists, curators, and collectives (formal or informal) to Penn as artists-in-residence or curators-in-residence.
- Community Partnership Grants provide up to $15,000 to support collaborations between Penn faculty (standing and non-standing), staff, departments, programs, and centers in partnerships with community arts and civic organizers and non-profit organizations. For the 2027 cycle, the Penn Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts and the Sachs Program are co-sponsoring Community Partnership Grants.
- Curricular Support Grants provide up to $3,500 to non-standing faculty for the implementation of arts-based activities in a currently running or scheduled course, or for research and professional development related to a course they are teaching.
- Independent Creative Production Grants provide up to $7,500 to faculty and staff to support (partially or fully) the production of their own artistic work.
- Project Support Grants provide up to $7,500 to faculty and staff, departments, programs, and centers to support engagement with the arts and humanities through projects directed towards the Penn community or the broader public.
Additional Grants
Additional grant opportunities are available to support arts activities that fall outside the annual Sachs Program grant cycle schedule.
- Rolling Grants provide up to $1,500 to faculty, staff, departments, programs, and centers to support urgent requests in the arts and humanities.
2027 Information Sessions
Following the opening of our 2027 grant cycle on September 21, 2026, the Sachs Program will host a series of information sessions during the month of October to review our 2027 grant opportunities. All interested applicants are encouraged to attend for a chance to learn about each opportunity in discussion with Sachs Program staff and previous grantees.
For More Information
For more information about Sachs Program grant opportunities and application guidelines, please email Sachs Program Associate Director Chloe Reison at reison@upenn.edu.
