Art Fund by XARTS Organization

Oberlin College Announces XARTS Fund for Multi-Disciplinary Arts Projects

Oberlin College is inviting students from both the College of Arts & Science and the Conservatory of Music to apply for the XARTS Fund, a grant that supports collaborative, multi-disciplinary artistic projects during the winter term or summer.

The XARTS Fund is open to all current students who are in good academic standing. The Fall Application deadline is set for October 29, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST, with a Spring Application deadline on April 1, 2026, at the same time.

Individual or group projects that demonstrate creative and focused multi-disciplinary endeavors will be awarded grants of up to $4,000. Projects should be collaborations of disciplines working towards a single project outcome.

To help applicants prepare for the application process and the challenges of implementing funded projects, Oberlin offers workshops, courses, and advising from the Office of Conservatory Professional Development and the Creativity and Leadership Program.

The primary contact for the project is Susan Ellinger, Associate Director of Professional Development. Applicants are encouraged to review their proposal with her prior to submission.

Each discrete project may be funded only once by the XARTS Fund. The project term includes Fall (Winter Term all of January 2026) and Spring (May - August 2026).

The application process requires a project title, project summary, amount requested, narrative, budget, biography and unofficial Oberlin transcript for each student involved in the project, a signed letter of support from a College or Conservatory faculty member, and supporting audio, video, or portfolio files that highlight the applicant's work.

It is important to note that the XARTs Fund is not available to support an individual's participation in a group winter-term project, unless the individual's use of the grant is to support distinctive work separate from that of the group project.

Additionally, if the project includes the research of human subjects, the applicant should review information about Oberlin's Institutional Review Board (IRB) process and contact Susan Ellinger prior to submitting the application.

There are also available documents to aid applicants, including a "Sample Expense Document" and "Award Terms and Conditions". To access the application form, you need to be signed into your Oberlin account.

Lastly, students on leave are not eligible for funding.

For students enrolled in artistic and design programs at the Kunstakademie Münster, there is an opportunity to apply for the XARTs scholarship for the winter semester 2026/2027 or summer semester 2026. More information about this opportunity can be found on the academy’s website.

For more details, please visit the XARTS Fund website or contact Susan Ellinger.