Announcement |
Pennsylvania Creative Industries to End Regional Partnerships and Creative Sector Flex Fund Program
The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council has learned that Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, will end its long-standing regional partnership agreements.
The Arts Council has proudly served as a longtime partner of Pennsylvania Creative Industries through the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program, administering grants to both individuals and organizations across Allegheny, Beaver, Greene, and Washington counties.
Fiscal Year 2025–2026 will be the final year that regional partners administer programs on behalf of Pennsylvania Creative Industries, a decision the agency says reflects an effort to better align its programs with its new strategic plan.
The regional partnership model, which first launched in 1997, was originally designed to ensure that public arts funding reached communities across all counties of the commonwealth. Over the past 28 years, the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts grant programs have evolved several times but have consistently supported both individual artists and cultural organizations.
Beginning in Fiscal Year 2026–2027, Pennsylvania Creative Industries has also announced that the Creative Sector Flex Fund will sunset, to be replaced by a new Creative Asset Program, designed to provide support to arts organizations with average annual revenues between $100,000 and $2 million. Eligible applicants will apply directly to Pennsylvania Creative Industries, which expects to publish guidelines for the Creative Asset Program in December 2025.
Importantly, the discontinuation of the Creative Sector Flex Fund will not affect the availability of grants during the current fiscal year. Currently, the Creative Sector Flex Fund program supports organizations with average annual revenues between $10,000 and $200,000.
“The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council is deeply disappointed to learn of this change from the state arts council, particularly since neither we nor other regional partners were consulted before the decision was made,” says Patrick Fisher, CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. “We are concerned about how this shift will affect the arts field, not just in Southwestern Pennsylvania, but across the state. Changes in grant eligibility mean small organizations will lose critical operational support, and rural counties are likely to be disproportionately affected by the absence of regional partner expertise and relationships.”
According to Pennsylvania Creative Industries, the Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator grant program will also be redesigned in Fiscal Year 2026–2027 to “ensure enhanced, strategic business development support for program participants,” with additional details expected in fall 2026.
While these changes will alter how state arts funding is distributed in the future, the Arts Council will continue to administer both the Creative Sector Flex Fund and Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator grants for the current fiscal year. Due to the ongoing state budget impasse, however, the current Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator grant cycle is temporarily on hold. The Arts Council is awaiting updated guidelines from Pennsylvania Creative Industries and will announce revised application dates, originally scheduled to open in January 2026, as soon as they become available.
In addition to the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program, regional partners impacted by Pennsylvania Creative Industries’ decision include Rivers of Steel, which currently administers the Folk and Traditional Arts program, and Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media, which currently oversees the Arts in Education program.
“Beyond grantmaking, we are also deeply concerned about the impact on the arts workforce, particularly teaching artists who have long relied on residency opportunities to supplement their income and sustain their creative practice,” adds Fisher.
Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media's Artist Residency Program and Artist Residency Projects will continue as usual through this program year, September 1, 2025 - August 31, 2026. Rivers of Steel says it will be continuing its Heritage Arts education and community-building activities as usual.
For questions or concerns about the discontinuation of the regional partnerships, the ending of the Creative Sector Flex Fund grant, or changes to the Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator program, please contact Amanda Lovell, Director of Access to the Creative Sector at Pennsylvania Creative Industries, at alovell@pa.gov.