The Moody Fund for the Arts (MFA) is setting records with its grant cycle announcement this year. MFA is awarding $475,000 in grants to 70 small arts organizations. Both the total award and the total number of recipients are records for MFA.
Moody Fund for the Arts was created a decade ago with a $10M gift from the Galveston-based Moody Foundation to annually provide flexible grants to small Dallas arts organizations with budgets under $1M. Since 2018, MFA has supported 498 grants to 114 unique organizations and this year’s grant cycle brings the MFA award total to $3.3M over its nine years of grantmaking.
“We set out to create a unique endowment that would support the growing, diverse and vibrant small arts community in Dallas,” says Francie Moody-Dahlberg, Moody Foundation chairman. “We wanted to help these organizations realize their creative vision with projects and programs across our city. We are beyond pleased by the results, and excited at what’s ahead.”
MFA recipients must be based in Dallas and be supported by the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture (OAC).
“The MFA grants amplify the work of Dallas artists and boost the impact of the funding investment we provide these groups through the Office of Arts and Culture,” says Martine Elyse Philippe, Office of Arts and Culture Director. “It is exciting to see so much vibrancy in our cultural ecosystem. It really sets Dallas apart.”
This year, the fund increased the maximum grant per organization to $15,000, up from $12,000 in the previous four grant cycles. This year’s recipients include a wide array of art forms, including theater, music, dance, visual arts, film, literature and multimedia. These also include organizations and projects that give voice to historically underrepresented themes in Black communities, Hispanic communities, LGBTQ+ communities, women and more.
Photo by Kali Rhe Creative | Courtesy of Adrian J. Cardwell, Founder & Executive Director, Badge Of PridePhoto by Kali Rhe Creative | Courtesy of Adrian J. Cardwell, Founder & Executive Director, Badge Of Pride
Visitors explore “From Silence…To Celebration!,” Badge Of Pride’s landmark exhibition at the Irving Archives and Museum, the largest LGBTQ+ history exhibition ever presented in Texas.
This year’s grant cycle features seven new grant recipients, including Badge of Pride. The organization was awarded $10,350, the highest amount for a first-time recipient.
“Every artifact has the potential to start a conversation. This investment from the Moody Fund for the Arts helps us put LGBTQ+ history into public life through exhibitions, performances, and educational programs that meet people where they are. History only changes hearts and minds when people have the opportunity to encounter it. We’re grateful to the Moody Fund for the Arts for helping ensure more people have that opportunity,” said Adrian J. Cardwell, Founder and Executive Director of Badge Of Pride.
Herrera Dance Project is another first-time recipient.
“With this funding, we can continue our ‘Echoes of Justice’ series, ensuring important stories are passed down to the next generation. It empowers our youth to carry these stories forward through dance and dialogue. It also enables us to fairly compensate our performers and fulfill our commitment to artists from all backgrounds. In a time when arts funding is scarce, the Moody Fund’s belief in our mission gives us the stability to create meaningful work that sparks dialogue, fosters unity, and uplifts voices that deserve to be heard,” said Favian Herrera Jr. and Madi Frampton-Herrera, Co-Directors and Co-Founders of Herrera Dance Project.
For Artstillery, this grant is a vote of confidence for its work.
“The Moody Fund for the Arts’ support is an investment in artists, community, and the transformative power of multidisciplinary storytelling. This grant allows Artstillery to continue creating immersive experiences like Dichotomy of Compassion, where performance, visual art, and technology invite audiences into meaningful conversations about empathy, identity, and our shared humanity. We are deeply grateful for this support, which strengthens our ability to create ambitious work that is accessible, thought-provoking, and rooted in community. We also want to share special thanks to the Director of Strategic Services at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, Hector Garcia, who is such a dynamic lead to work with,” said Ilknur Nilufer Ozgur, Artstillery’s Founder and Executive and Artistic Director.
Photo by Johnny Rutledge, Producer & Creative Director | Courtesy of Ilknur OzgurPhoto by Johnny Rutledge, Producer & Creative Director | Courtesy of Ilknur Ozgur
Dichotomy of Compassion, Artstillery’s current multimedia activation, explores empathy, identity, and human connection through immersive performance, visual art, and technology.
MFA grants allow arts organizations like Arga Nova Dance/Beckles Dancing Company to remain accessible to the entire community.
“In much appreciation and relief, I am thrilled to receive the Moody Fund for the Arts grant! We can continue our work with this support. I can concentrate on refining the dancers for performances, teaching some of our FREE classes, and continuing our outreach into the communities we serve. Many thanks to the MFA for granting us!” said Loris Anthony Beckles, Artistic Director of Beckles Dancing Company.
“Receiving support from the Moody Foundation for the Arts is an incredible honor because it represents more than financial assistance—it is a vote of confidence in Beckles Dancing Company’s mission and our impact on the Dallas community. Flexible funding gives us the ability to strengthen our organization, invest in our artists, expand access to dance, and continue building a sustainable future where the arts inspire, educate, and connect people of all ages,” said Dedra Brent, Managing Director of Beckles Dancing Company.
Photos courtesy of Dedra BrentPhotos courtesy of Dedra Brent
Dedra Brent and Loris Anthony Beckles
The AT&T Performing Arts Center administers the MFA and its application, review and funding process. The granting process has two review levels, including the MFA Advisory Review Panel and the 2026 MFA Executive Review Committee. The grants were awarded based on five categories: general program and operating support (41 grants); new works, commissions, and unique presentations (12 grants); community performances/artist-in-residency programs (nine grants); capacity building (six grants); and cultural equity/new initiatives (two grants).
“Supporting the MFA grant program is a point of pride for the Center,” says Warren Tranquada, President & CEO of the Center. “Our consistent stewardship of this fund and its endowment reflects our dedication to providing essential resources and services to the Dallas arts community for continued growth and engagement.”
THE 2026 MOODY FUND FOR THE ARTS RECIPIENTS
2 Inspire Peace
A.rt Experience
Agora Artists
AHA Art House Dallas
Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico
Arga Nova Dance/Beckles Dancing Company
Artists Sans Frontiéres
Arts Mission Oak Cliff
Artstillery
Avant Chamber Ballet
Badge Of Pride
Ballet North Texas
Bombshell Dance Project
Color Me Empowered
Dallas Arts District Foundation
Dallas Chamber Symphony
Dallas Film Society
Dallas Metroplex Musicians Association
Dance Council of North Texas
DFW Play
Echo Theatre
Emerge Coalition
Fine Arts Chamber Players/Basically Beethoven
Flamenco Fever
Greater Dallas Choral Society
Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra
Herrera Dance Project
Indian Cultural Heritage Foundation
Kitchen Dog Theater Company
kNOw BOX Dance
Lone Star Circus Arts Center
Lone Star Wind Orchestra
Make Art with Purpose
New Texas Symphony Orchestra
No Limits Arts Theatre
Oak Cliff Film Festival
Oak Lawn Band OK2BX Foundation
Ollimpaxqui Ballet Company
Orchestra of New Spain
Orpheus Chamber Singers
OutLoud Dallas
Over the Bridge Arts
Pasos for Oak Cliff
Pegasus Contemporary Ballet
Pegasus Media Project
Prism Movement Theater
The Artist Outreach
Representa Foundation
Second Thought Theatre
Soul Rep Theatre Company
South Dallas Concert Choir
SPARK! Dallas
Swan Strings
Teatro Dallas
Teatro Flor Candela
Texas Latino Pride
Texas Supremacy of Music & Arts Conservatory
Texas Winds Musical Outreach
The Flame Foundation
The HighArt Foundation
The Smart Project
The Women’s Chorus of Dallas
The Writer’s Garret
Top Ten Records
Undermain Theatre
Uptown Players
Urban Arts Collective
USA Film Festival
Verdigris Ensemble
Learn more: Moody Fund for the Arts