Cultural Council

Carlisle’s Virtual Showcase is accepting submissions

Carlisle’s Virtual Showcase is the online place where Carlisle residents and CCHS students of all ages and abilities (professionals included) are sharing their talents. We accept pictures, videos or writing in these categories: music, dance, photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, prose, poetry, video/filmmaking, fiber arts, nature, multimedia, storytelling, or create a category.

Submissions created from July 1, 2019 to date qualify for posting. Creations made during the ongoing COVID-19 shutdown period are encouraged and will be highlighted in the Showcase.

Visit www.carlisleculture.org to visit the Showcase and learn how to share your creativity. 

FY21 Cultural Grants

The Mass. Cultural Council has established dates for the FY21 grant cycle. The application window has been delayed by one month due to the late passage of the state budget. Further changes to the timing of monetary determinations are possible. Please check this space.

October 1, 2020                               Grant Cycle begins – application window open

December 14, 2020                        Grant Cycle closes – application window closes

January 11 - February 13, 2021      Local Council deliberations and decisions

Late Jan./early Feb. 2021                Announcement of grant awards

We encourage new applicants for arts and culture programming or participatory activities to apply for FY 2021 grants. To learn more about the CCC’s grant guidelines, please read the Grants Information Page. 

Cultural Council 2020 Community Survey

Thank you to all the Carlisle residents who responded to our survey. See a summary of the results here.

New Council Members Needed!

The Cultural Council is currently looking for new members to help create and run programs, collaborate with other cultural organizations, and participate in the annual grant funding process. Members are appointed by the Select Board for 3-year terms. If interested, please email culturalcouncil@carlislema.gov.

About the Cultural Council 

The purpose of the Carlisle Cultural Council (CCC) is to promote the arts, music, history, culture and the humanities. Our goal is to serve our community by supporting and producing both participatory and audience-based cultural and arts activities which benefit local residents.  

The Carlisle Cultural Council is currently a 9-member appointed group of Carlisle residents who support local cultural initiatives and vote on local grant applications. The CCC supports local cultural initiatives through a grant award process established by the Massachusetts Cultural Council that provides funds to deserving organizations and individuals to offer a variety of cultural experiences to the residents of Carlisle. The Council also produces its own programs. 

The Carlisle Cultural Council is part of the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Local Cultural Council (LCC) Program. Each year, LCCs award more than $3 million in grants to more than 6,000 cultural programs statewide.  

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Applications are available on line at: https://www.mass-culture.org 

Questions? Please contact culturalcouncil@carlislema.gov