The City of Minneapolis is giving out $656,800 in grants to dancers and performing arts projects. The awards come at time when Mayor Jacob Frey says he is attempting to keep city property tax increases to a minimum.
Distributed as a part of the “inaugural 2025 Bridge Fund for Dance,” grants were awarded to 41 recipients from over 120 applications. Grant awards ranged from $5,000 to $30,000 and are funded from revenues generated by local sales taxes on liquor, food, lodging, and entertainment.
Among the recipients, one performer will develop “an immersive Indigenous dance rooted in the Yaqui story of the Talking Tree,” and another will put on “an an iridescent one-woman show tracing a personal journey of self-love through movement, sound, and light.”
An additional project will “focus on exploring resilience and unity through queer cultural dissent, with community engagement via showings and a video blog.”
The grants are a part of the Bridge Fund for Dance, a program “designed to support the local dance ecosystem and broader dance community.” Grant recipients are required to perform their dance routines in one of several designated Minneapolis neighborhoods.
“This a thrilling moment for dance in Minneapolis,” said Ben Johnson, the city’s director of arts and cultural affairs. “The Bridge Fund for Dance was created to fuel innovation and collaboration across our local dance community. This year’s awardees embody the spirit of experimentation, cultural dialogue, and community engagement we set out to support.”
Last week, Frey delivered his annual budget address and proposed a $2 billion city budget that included $23 million in cuts. According to Frey, his budget proposal preserves core city services and will prevent property taxes from increasing by 13%.
Instead, the mayor said property taxes are slated to go up by 7.8% under his budget.
Frey’s proposed budget cuts include eliminating non-essential vacant job openings, ending double-overtime for police, and shifting funds away from “untested new initiatives.” The Bridge Fund for Dance is not a part of the mayor’s proposed budget reductions.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said the grant program is funded by sales taxes, not the city’s property tax levy, and does not run counter to Frey’s efforts to minimize property tax increases.
“This dance program is about more than performances—it’s about bringing people downtown, fueling our small businesses, and strengthening our economy,” said the spokesperson. “Every added footstep downtown supports the restaurants, shops, and venues that make Minneapolis unique. And when downtown succeeds, the entire city benefits.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
