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.
Title: 2025 3Arts Awards Celebration
Dates: Monday, November 10, 2025
5:30pm Welcome Reception
6:30pm Awards Celebration and Performances
7:45pm After Party
Location: Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 East Randolph Drive
Tickets: Tickets are $150-$300 and can be purchased in late September at 3arts.org/tickets and via the Harris Theater Box Office at 312.334.7777.
About 3Arts
Founded in 1912, with a history centered on women artists, 3Arts is a nonprofit organization that supports artists working in the performing, teaching, and visual arts in the Chicago metropolitan area, including women artists, artists of color, and Deaf or disabled artists. The 3Arts Awards were launched in 2007 to provide unrestricted awards, project funding, residencies, professional development, and promotion to help artists take risks, experiment, and build momentum in their careers over time.
3Arts extends special thanks to the 2025 Award Partners: The HMS Fund, The SIF Fund, Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appell Lipkin, MSUFCU, The Reva & David Logan Foundation, and the estate of Alison Zehr.
One of the ten 3Arts Awards, the 2025 3Arts/MSUFCU Community Award, is named in honor of the 75 community donors who contributed to a crowdfunding campaign to fund the award.
3Arts also recognizes support for the Next Level Awards from an anonymous donor at The Chicago Community Foundation, Good Chaos, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and from The Siragusa Family Foundation, our Make a Wave Partner.
3Arts gratefully acknowledges the generous support of our sponsors: Presenting Partner, Allstate Insurance Company and Lead Sponsors, Morningstar and Xfinity.
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