ARTIST SUPPORT
ARCOS offers support and mentorship to independent dance artists in Austin throughout the process of supporting their practices and projects, providing logistical and creative guidance. Current artist support programs include the DADA microgrant and ARCOS Presents production mentorship.
ARCOS is committed to relational, rather than transactional, practices of sharing resources, knowledge, and care in artmaking. ARCOS Presents awardees receive financial support, including an artist stipend, production budget, studio rehearsal space, technical inventory access, and performance venue. Additionally, mentorship provides awardees creative thought-partnering, production and technical support, and community outreach guidance.
![ARCOS Presents: Short Form - Adrian José Flores, Anna Bauer with Celeste Camfield, The Clubhouse, Nandini Majumdar with Venese Alcantar (2025)]()
![Kelly Goetz: Menstruator / Ciceley Fullylove: Rhythm & Grooves (2024)]()
![Angelica Monteiro: Narratives of the Migrant Body (2023)]()
![Michael J. Love: Dope Fit! (2019)]()
![anxious 20yr olds: This Isn't New (2017)]()
Past ARCOS Presents awarded artists include:
- Adrian José Flores for
MESTIZO, Anna Bauer with Celeste Camfield for delicates, The Clubhouse (Gabbi Melton and Sarah Smith) for The Tale of the Swamp Witch, Saraswati Nandini Majumdar and Venese Alcantar for Empty Beat (2025) - Kelly Goetz for Menstruator and Ciceley Fullylove for Rhythm & Grooves (2024) at CRASHBOX
- Angelica Monteiro for Narratives of the Migrant Body (2023) at Motion Media Arts Center
- Interdisciplinary tap artist Michael J. Love for The Auralvisual Mixtape Collection, Part II: Dope Fit! (2019) at Carver Museum and Cultural Center
- University of Texas at Austin alums anxious 20yr olds (Gianina Casale, D’Launa Lawson, Oluwaseun Samuel Olayiwola, Lizzette Chapa, Hunter Sturgis) for This Isn’t New (2017) at Museum of Human Achievement
This project is supported in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
Dance Artist Development Award
ARCOS Foundation for the Arts provides the Dance Artist Development Award (DADA) to honor independent professional dance artists in Austin seeking to deepen, expand, or refine their practices. While many grants provide funding for artistic projects, the impact of which can be quantified (for example, by measuring artists paid or audience members directly affected), this award is intended to provide dance artists the opportunity to take a risk to explore a practice- rather than product-based pursuit that may have profound, long-term effects on their creative development and work going forward. Prior recipients have used the development funds to explore new movement modalities within and outside of our community, work with mentors to strengthen their self-producing capacity, and conduct leadership training in art as social engagement and activism.
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2018
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2017
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2016
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2015
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Fiscal Sponsorship
Previously, ARCOS served as a nonprofit fiscal sponsor primarily to Austin-based artists by providing financial management and administrative support for municipal arts grants. Since the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division launched revised funding programs that no longer require fiscal sponsorship for application, this is no longer one of ARCOS’ currently offered forms of arts service.
Past fiscally sponsored artists and projects include Magdalena Jarkowiec’s In Here at Fusebox Festival (2018) and Us Kids Are Alone In The House at Salvage Vanguard Theater (2016), Millie Heckler’s SoulFunktion Yes Body summer dance parties (2018), Esther Bramlett’s Articulate Austin Series (2019), and Michael J. Love’s virtual-hybrid Beatbox Series (2020-21).