3arts Awards Grants Over $1M to Chicago Artists 

The nonprofit organization 3Arts announces the date for its annual 3Arts Awards Celebration, a festive evening of dynamic performances by Chicago artists and the announcement of the recipients of unrestricted grants to artists working in the performing, teaching, and visual arts. 3Arts will grant over one million dollars to more than one hundred artists this year, marking a $400,000 increase from years’ past, to support artists navigating the shifting funding landscape. This significant increase reflects 3Arts’ deep belief that investing in artists is investing in the health and vibrancy of our communities.

The 2025 3Arts Awards Celebration takes place at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (205 E Randolph) on Monday, November 10, at 5:30pm. Tickets for the event, which includes a welcome reception, awards program, and a jubilant after-party, are $150 (general admission) and $300 (VIP) with a limited number of $50 tickets available for industry professionals. Tickets will be available at 3arts.org/tickets in late September. Funds raised during the event will be split between 3Arts and Chicago nonprofit, Center for Native Futures.

Cat Tager, Executive Director of 3Arts, said, “A thriving city depends on a thriving arts community. Right now, our arts community faces mounting challenges with each new day, each news cycle, and each trip to the grocery store. Recognizing this critical moment, so similar to the onset of the pandemic with its requirement for greater resources and greater resolve, 3Arts will dramatically increase our support for artists this year. We will add five new 3Arts Awards, 40 additional Make a Wave Awards, and over $150,000 in emergency funding, all of which will go directly into the hands of artists who shape the soul of our communities.”

This year’s program features powerful performances by three past 3Arts awardees, including The Chicago Immigrant Orchestra (with 2024 3Arts Awardee Wanees Zarour) and performances by Michel Rodriguez (2013 3Arts Awardee) and Jacinda Ratcliffe (2021 Make A Wave Awardee) with choreography by Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi (2014 3Arts Awardee).

This year’s event honors fifteen new 3Arts Awards recipients (up from ten recipients in 2024) with $30,000 grants and six $50,000 Next Level Awards recipients along with fifty $2,000 Make a Wave recipients (up from ten recipients in 2024) who were selected by past 3Arts awardees. To exceed the one-million-dollar threshold, 3Arts is distributing over $150,000 in emergency grants to address urgent and unexpected financial needs in the arts community; and is additionally launching two $30,000 awards in Music and Visual Arts specifically for artists in downstate Illinois, in partnership with Artspace 304.

3Arts has distributed more than $8.2 million in grants to more than 2,500 Chicagoland artists since 2007. 3Arts awardees reflect 66% women artists, 74% artists of color, and 17% Deaf or disabled artists.

Chicago Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. HAIRSPRAY (Uptown Music Theater of Highland Park)

7.3% of votes

2. RENT (Highland Park Players)

7.3% of votes

3. THE WIZARD OF OZ (Up and Coming Theatre/Elgin Summer Theater)

6.6% of votes

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